[stdbrouw]

So is it about making sure nobody dies or about not cheapening the subculture? Because those are two very different things. And if the latter, the dickheads might be those who use the purchase of expensive handmade gear as an exclusionary mechanism.

[fricken4]

Surfing is plenty exclusionary. whether or not this is a bad thing, there are a finite number of decent breaks in the world. You can go to the ends of the earth, paddle out an hour before the sun is up, and there are already 20 guys in the water trying to catch the same wave.

If you're a kook with a $100 soft top the others will work together to keep you at the back of the lineup. Whether it's a matter of safety or subculture is besides the point, dedicated surfers don't want you around.

Surfers have no inclination to promote surfing unless they have some kind of sponsorship. Promotion is a corporate venture that has nothing to do with surfing and everything to do with making money. Mo money, mo problems.

[spaceflunky]

The whole "safety" issue is a bit of red herring, used to just keep surfing exclusionary and to accuse others of malfeasance if they get in someone's way.

The serious risks in surfing are relatively low provided you're at a sandy bottom beach break with waves under 5ft. No one is taking these soft-top boards to the Pipeline and endangering lives, they're mostly just showing up at mellow low-risk breaks.

Yeah it's annoying when someone bumps into you, and yeah you might get a bruise in the worst case scenario, but no one is dying or drowning in 3ft waves because of too many surfers.

[pbrb]

> the dickheads might be those who use the purchase of expensive handmade gear as an exclusionary mechanism

haha, you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. surfing is really bizarre. when you start out, the guys who are better and probably have more expensive boards are the dick heads in your mind. when you get better, you slowly become one of the dickheads, and of course, you're not a dickhead, so the other guys who you once were become the dickheads in your mind.

i personally try to keep it at a balance... i'll help new ppl out, won't freak out on anyone in the water, tell a new surfer to go if they're in better position, etc. that said, i will burn you (snake you or back paddle) if you've missed a couple takes offs and we're going for the same wave as long as it's not a critical take off or anything like that.. i know, i know, shitty thing to do. though, i don't discriminate based on board type in these situations. i don't care if you're on a foam board, pop-out, or custom shape. i'm just kind of a greedy asshole like most dickhead surfers from the perspective of beginner surfers.

so i guess to answer your question, it is about making sure nobody dies, but is less about cheapening the subculture and more about serious surfers getting serious with their equipment. people do go gear head with surfboards, and that can be used by some people to show perceived hierarchy in the surf ecosystem, but like the other guy said, most people surf handmade boards because they are of higher quality and you work with the shaper to come up with a shape that works for you - your style of surfing, how you want to board to surf, the waves you will surf the board in, your weight, your height, design or artwork, etc. there's really nothing better than picking up a custom stick from a guy who you know made it by hand for you, and often, you can get a custom board from a shaper for roughly the same if not less than the heavily marketed big name brand but still not total pop-out companies (the ~$500 high performance boards i mentioned earlier).

[ndaiger]

That's a whole other problem with surfing!

Surfing regularly is a terrible hobby. Time-consuming, expensive, cold (depending on location). Wetsuits are annoying. Waves are crowded. People are jerks. People are dangerous. The ocean is dangerous. Injuries are fairly common.

In a two-hour session that starts just before first light (waking up at 4:30am in summer) I maybe get 5-10 decent waves to myself that last a minute, maybe two.

The fact that people still do it tells you just how amazing it feels to ride a wave.