What’s wrong with surf culture? 

Today, I woke up early. My daughter – barely 4 months old, decided 5:38 am is a good time to start her day. I watched her rolling from one side to another for a while, marveling at the pace at which she was growing and trying to take a “mental picture” of her innocent face.

After a few minutes, the milk bank on the other side of the bed opened, and I had the next 1/2h to myself. So what do you do, as a responsible adult with nothing to do in 2023? Exactly, you open Instagram and start scrolling. And scrolling.

Until I stumbled upon a link to a story published in Vogue that made my blood boil. Well, not so much the article itself, but its headline.

𝙄𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙, “𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙 – 𝙣𝙤 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙.”

To be clear. I don’t have an issue with nonendemic brands trying to profit from surfing. This is nothing new. Companies like Monster Energy or Red Bull have been carrying the load and keeping surfers employed for a while now.

But what’s irritating about Vogue’s poor attempt to “surfify” its brand is that it disregards the culture, ethics and environment in which surfing was born and, in turn, hijacks the sport to advertise it as a trend.

Surfing used to be a counterculture, a movement that stuck it to the man! It was less a sport and more of a spiritual lifestyle, to the point that I’ve even heard it called a religion!

What’s happened to the rebellious spirit at the heart of surfing, how have we allowed it to become diluted to the point that it’s become something to lean into?

This isn’t a pro-purist or traditionalist stance either. I’m fully aware that surfing is no longer core. It has been appropriated by mainstream culture – and a lot of people, including myself, profit from surfing and the lifestyle it has created. On the one side, that’s a great thing! With it came progression, innovation and competition, which has boosted the sport’s popularity to unimaginable levels.

But…

On the flip side, the whole world surfs – resulting in overcrowded lineups, inflated prices, and unsustainable tourism, which often leads to more hostility and localism in the lineups.

In its purest form, wave riding is not just in touch with nature, it is literally enveloped by nature. In essence, surfing is not a toxic sport, yet, mass participation, surf travel, progression of performance, global competition, fashion, and “the business of surfing” has also resulted in impactful, inexcusable levels of environmental harm.

It created a ripple effect that trickles down to every element of surfing, from its culture to its economic, societal and environmental impacts. This is why nonendemic brands need to be aware of the seriousness of their claims and accept that there has to be some form of value exchange in return.

To further illustrate what I mean, we have to look at energy drinks and their role again. They were smart enough to invest in the sport and understand that they had a responsibility to give back, enabling them to build longstanding relationships with surfers, competitions and other stakeholders.

Vogue’s attempt at appropriating the surf culture might yield some short-term benefits – because, again, surfing seems incredibly popular at the moment, but is it sustainable?

It is not.

So, while I am not against nonendemic brands cashing in on surfing, we need to be mindful of how these brands enter the surf industry and ensure that they respect the culture and community in which it was born.

Or… we might just sell authenticity to anyone willing to buy a piece of the culture.