Today was a slow one in the world of surf; perhaps it was a comedown from the dramatic conclusion to the Billabong Pro Tahiti? Perhaps the downswing in surf was really starting to take effect?
Whatever it was, content was scarce. Apart from Ben Mondy’s brilliant Post Tahiti Match Rankings, my inbox had digital tumbleweeds rolling through it. The humble surf website is a beast that needs regular feeding however, so the hunt continued.
Youtube turned up nothing, and even the ever-reliable Vimeo produced no gold. Deeply troubled, I tentatively entered the generic term of ‘surfing’ into the Vimeo’s search bar and changed the filter to ‘recently uploaded’.
Boom! Just like that, my fears about the demise of surfing evaporated. Our sport wasn’t dying! It was blossoming! On the first page alone I was greeted by two completely new forms of surfing I had never even heard of! Where had I been living? My faith had been restored.
My friends, I present to you:
Inflatable Up River Stand Up Paddleboarding! Yes!
And the exquisite hybrid strain of Stand-Up Hydrofoil Wake Surfboarding straight out of Chicago!
Rejoice my friends, our sport is alive and kicking!
FANATIC RAPID AIR from optcool on Vimeo.
Hydrofoil Surfing in Chicago with Zane Schweitzer from Mike Killion on Vimeo.