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Grom surf contracts - DONE
- Thread starter casa_mugrienta
- Start date
Now there's a dad who really teaches life lessons, you know, pushing his kid into waves from the top of the pack at Lowers since before he was out of diapers.
"Fvck 'em all, you're tops kid!"
Wish we had more dads like him.
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Well said.
I have a little one and have never forced him to surf. I don't care if he wants to surf. He can make his own decisions. If he wants to draw in the sand and play on a blow up inner tube (he's still really young) then he is free to do so. I always shake my head when I go to the beach and I see some Dad with a brand new $500+ grom board trying to push surfing on a 6 year old who doesn't have any interest. One guy I know pretty much forces his 7 year old to paddle out with him and pushes surfing on him non stop. Let the kids be kids and do all that you can to make sure they get through college and become productive members of society.
There is literally no money in men's aquatics. Title IX has even decimated most of the scholarships for men. There were guys on our college waterpolo team who were also on the Olympic team and still didn't have full rides.
"Range" by David Epstein explains why you can't take a kid and train him to be an elite athlete in a particular sport from a young age. I remember talking to a guy who had his kids in twice a day swim practices at the local club. He wasn't tall nor was his wife so none of his kids are going to make it in the elite level of swimming setting aside their body segment lengths which also have to be right. He was also telling me that a lot of high school coaches don't make club athletes practice with their teams: the athletes just show up for the meets. What message does this send to the non-club swimmers?
There's a group of former pros my age who all got rep jobs or team manager jobs. Some of them even made it to the CT. They happen to be the nicest of guys, never arrogant or snobby and the industry loved them. They were lucky. I'm talking about like 5 guys. Majority of former Hawaii pros in my age group didn't fare so well.
There was one aspiring pro, I won't say his name, but he was really good. He did one year on the QS and realized it's fucked. He started and owns a super successful retail store for women in Japan with his wife, nothing to do with surfing. Funny story, I saw him last Summer in the parking lot at a popular spot in a $1,000 all black high end outfit. Paddled out on a yellowed Tokoro and destroyed 4 waves then went in.
There was one aspiring pro, I won't say his name, but he was really good. He did one year on the QS and realized it's fucked. He started and owns a super successful retail store for women in Japan with his wife, nothing to do with surfing. Funny story, I saw him last Summer in the parking lot at a popular spot in a $1,000 all black high end outfit. Paddled out on a yellowed Tokoro and destroyed 4 waves then went in.
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Most of the guys in my age group that wanted to be pro surfers now mow lawns for a living.
I honestly think the town guys fare way better than the country or outer island guys. More exposure to more people and opportunities and to a wider world of possible life choices.
The biggest problem that I've noticed is people who grow up on the North Shore seem to have a hard time understanding that there is life outside of surfing.
Same goes for football in Hawaii.
A lot of the guys who I knew in high school rarely did exceptional in college and none went to the NFL.
And my school was the powerhouse in Hawaii. I think Tyson Alualu and Marcus Mariotta were the only ones up until Tua Tagovailoa.
I knew some parents who held their kids back a year so they could play one more year of high school sports. Absolutely crazy.
I saw so many guys growing up thinking they were going to be pro and none of them ever made it further then winning surf into summer a few times and getting some sponsors.
In fact the one dude who was at the top when we were growing up and winning all the contests just surfs for fun and never cared about it. He did well for himself.
A lot of the guys who I knew in high school rarely did exceptional in college and none went to the NFL.
And my school was the powerhouse in Hawaii. I think Tyson Alualu and Marcus Mariotta were the only ones up until Tua Tagovailoa.
I knew some parents who held their kids back a year so they could play one more year of high school sports. Absolutely crazy.
I saw so many guys growing up thinking they were going to be pro and none of them ever made it further then winning surf into summer a few times and getting some sponsors.
In fact the one dude who was at the top when we were growing up and winning all the contests just surfs for fun and never cared about it. He did well for himself.
Nah, Japanese last name. I doubt many people will ever remember him, he came up the same time as John John, Marzo, Zeke, Keanu Asing, etc. He was like one tiny notch below them.
I just realized who you thought it was. Good guess LOL. He also wears $1,000 outfits and still shreds. I worked with him on a couple projects in the past few years. He's been getting some magic twin fins from Kohei Chiba.