The state of the surf industry is a frequent topic of discussion and, depending on who you ask, you’re bound to get different opinions but with a multitude of similar threads. Compared to the boom of the early aughts, things sure aren’t what they used to be.
In the latest episode of Pinch My Salt, Sterling Spencer and cousin Ryan, invite three-time world longboard champ, Joel Tudor, to talk story and discuss the state of the surf industry.
Joel and Sterling go back to the days when Sterling’s dad, Yancy Spencer, was Skip Frye‘s right-hand man on the East Coast. They were as Joel says, ‘Christ banditos’, in reference to their bond over Christianity which, at the time, was a pretty ‘hardcore’ thing.
Although Joel is introduced as ‘one of the most controversial surfers of all time’, he is also one of the best historians out there who was mentored by many of the titans of the past generations, icons like Donald Takyama, Skip Frye and David Nuuhiwa. They also touch upon stories involving one of Sterling’s most favorite figures–Laird Hamilton.
Many younger surfers may not know about Joel’s days riding for Oxbow, which he jokingly refers to as his ‘Little French Princess’ era defined by pink wetsuits and long stretches spent cruising in France pre-European Union.
As Joel says, his first interaction wasn’t all that friendly and then plenty of hazing ensued, “I took plenty of Laird dead legs.” They even went on a weird trip together, “I went to the Great Barrier Reef with Laird and Gary Elkerton…”. To which Sterling says, “Talk about the weirdest threesome ever.”
The story alone is worth listening to episode. From there they transition to Jonah Hill and whether or not, ‘he’s more core than Kelly Slater‘. According to Joel, of all the Hollywood A-listers who tried learning to surf at Malibu, Jonah did it well by keeping to himself, staying out of the way, and staying stoked enough to stick with it and learn.
