Matt Warshaw, 1978 – the days before it became “more difficult to read through a surf publication, watch a surf video, or even peruse the net for surf-related content these days without becoming bombarded with intolerance towards proper decency, manners, and morality.” Photo:Surf-Shot.com
The word “celebrity” is partially defined by Wikipedia as “a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media.”
Within the surf culture, as in most popular cultures today, celebrities are manufactured by the media, with the primary goal being to generate a maximum amount of interest and allure. The problem, simply stated, is that today’s public fascination for celebrity has allowed for a wide open acceptance and even worshipping of inappropriate, immoral, and lewd behavior. Although this is a larger cultural phenomenon, our sport should take on a more proactive and responsible tact in regards to the promotion of the surfing lifestyle.
The surf media and industry often times markets our sports celebrities as confident, rebellious, and even charismatic. This seemingly leaves today’s surf media and industry less interested in marketing the passion for, and majestic beauty of, our amazing sport and more focused on generating imagery of thoughtless, uninspiring and predictable shock tactics similar to those used in pop culture today.
It would be inappropriate and irresponsible for me to name names and give specific examples of this descent into moral ambivalence. Furthermore, it would only further promote these marketing examples of indecency and imprudence. Rationally speaking, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to read through a surf publication, watch a surf video, or even peruse the net for surf-related content these days without becoming bombarded with intolerance towards proper decency, manners, and morality.
The surfing culture, lifestyle, and sport are deserving of an accurate and honest representation, one that highlights the attributes that make surfing the amazing lifestyle that it is. Little to no sensationalism is needed when it comes to publicizing or marketing the sport of surfing. A plethora of amazing and constantly changing storylines and individual characters exist within our sport that go unnoticed for the sake of the glorification of immaturity and luridness.
We are the consumers; therefore we have the power to re-direct the manner in which the sport of surfing is portrayed. By choosing to support (or not support) corporations and governing bodies based on how they market our sport, we can send a powerful and much needed message to those who control the manner in which our sport is portrayed.
Surfing is a beautiful, inspiring, and powerful lifestyle. The true image of our sport needs to be publicized with integrity and magnificence. This is not a call for censorship; it is a cry for sensibility!
