Kelly Slater’s impact on surfing mirrors the 90s Internet revolution. A piece of new technology originally dismissed as a cute, space-age toy that ended up changing the world in every conceivable way — from performance to money to records to design to longevity. Before Kelly, surf stars were just that: surf stars. After? They were highly paid, professional athletes with international appeal and limitless possibilities. The scariest fact? He’s still not finished.

Slater got his feet wet on the bunny slopes of Cocoa Beach, a sleepy Central Florida town made famous by a sexy, prime-time genie in the ’60s. Cocoa Beach, in Slater’s estimation, is as good a place as any to inherit a solid foundation as a surfer. “It breaks farther out,” he says, “so it’s easier to learn. If I had the choice of learning in Florida … Read More »

The surf world is full of specialists. There are aerial wizards, tow-in nuts, contest machines and freesurfing free spirits. Longboarders, long-johners,watermen and hellmen. Many surfers can claim knighthood in one or two disciplines, but few, if any, have the broad spectrum of skills that enables them to wear any hat they choose.

And then there’s Shane Dorian.

Since turning up on the surf media map in the late ’80s, the once-tiny kid from the Big Island has won a Hawaiian state title, pushed the paddle-in limits on the North Shore’s outer reefs, redefined deep tuberiding at spots like Backdoor, helped spearhead the “New School” of surfing, won WCT events, contended for a world title, towed in at spots like Jaws and continues to be on the frontier of cutting-edge, high-performance surfing on flawless canvasses like the Mentawais. And if that’s not … Read More »

Tom Blake One of the Most Important Watermen of this Century

Thomas Edward Blake was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 8, 1902. Eleven months later, his mother Blanche Wooliver Blake, died from tuberculosis. Devastated by his wife’s death. Tom Blake, Sr. gave young Tom to family members to be raised for the next seventeen years. In 1919, Tom Blake headed west facing many lonely, hungry years ahead, riding freight trains and taking various jobs in New York, Florida and California.

In 1922, Tom became a vegetarian and a pioneer of the health food movement. He has stuck to a philosophy of exercise and strict dietary habits. His understanding and perception of nature has become an inspiration to many.
Tom adapted to life on the California beaches easily. Blake was a “natural” waterman and with less … Read More »