It’s been difficult for me to get motivated to be creative recently. The oversaturation of content is numbing my brain. A bathtub with the drain plugged. Faucet broken into the on position, unable to stop the flow. Spilling and flooding and seeping through the floor. Filling the room, the house. Busting down the door and surging out into the streets. Engulfing the block, the schools, the businesses. So on. Yet, it’s not water that is coming out of the spout. At least it doesn’t look like it – more like whatever those poor folk had to deal with in Flint, Michigan. This is Social Media. The Content Matrix Machine.
For ‘creators’, I feel like one has to try way too hard to be original, to the point of being ‘cringe’ as they say, or you are just copying someone else, doing the same thing that’s already been done; following the trend. Fit the algorithm or get left behind. Arouse the brain, feed it that hit of dopamine it so desperately scratches (scrolls) for. Conjure up something so bizarre, so breathtaking, they will love to see it. They will have to see it. And everyone will see it! Or, better yet! We constantly feed it. Whatever we can find, whatever it will accept. Why should it care? Eating the food (poison) and relaxing is a lot better than working. And we feed it. And feed it. And feed it. Until it’s gluttonous and greedy and only wants more and more and will not leave our side because we hold the food and treats. Ah, what a good audience. Genius!
I write to you today, my good friends, because this is not what surfing is about. Surfing is not insta anything. You can’t just tik-tok dance your way into your wetsuit on a cold morning. It’s not a click of a follow button to paddle out into the lineup, and you can’t double tap your way into a formed out roundhouse cutty. When you surf, whether you realize it or not, your brain is experiencing great tranquility. Quite the opposite of the perpetual stimulation it receives from screens. Surfing, the actual riding of the wave, the part where your brain does receive the coveted dopamine, is somewhere around only 8% of a session. Ask your favorite surfer how long they were in the water to get the clip for that 15 second reel you just scrolled past. Surfing is a tall glass of bourbon meant to be sipped slowly. Enjoyed, nurtured, appreciated, loved. Social Media is tequila shots, as many as you can handle.
It’s quite a known and accepted ideology within the industry that surfers are “their own brand”. Social Media would be their “business”, and content is their “product”. The more followers and eyes you have on your pages, the longer those eyes can stay engaged on your pages, the more of a prospect (employee) you look like to a ‘real’ business with sponsorship dollars to spend. What else does a professionally talented level surfer have to offer a company?
My personal belief is that the surfing community needs to take a turn into a more niche, artist like market. It’s not meant to be big business. Until wave pools open up world wide and give more people access, surfing will never be able to match other “extreme sports” such as skateboarding, dirt biking, or even snowboarding/skiing. All 3 of these ‘sports’, or cultures, are much more relatable to the average human for many reasons, if not for the standalone fact that surfing can drown you. “Only a surfer knows the feeling” so they say. Why try to package it up and sell it to someone who doesn’t understand?
I wish surfers would save all of their clips from Social Media. Don’t waste one more post chasing likes and shares. If content is your product, sell it. Don’t give it away for free. Collect every second of footage, material, or substance that you can. Team up with some of your friends, local rippers, and hometown talents, and create a project. An edit with a movie premier, maybe some posters or a photo book or some shirts for merchandise to sell. Local bands to play. How about local shops throwing contests again, with after parties at the shops? Shapers with demo days. Used board swaps. Interaction. Local shopping and support. Fucking Real Life. That’s what surfing is; real. At least that’s what it should be. Not this fake, moderated, censored, bot filled, vlogging facade bullshit that we’re currently being served.
What’s the solution, you ask? I don’t have a direct answer. I’d like to say kill your smartphone. We all know that won’t happen, so at the very least, do yourself a favor and set some timers. Unless you’re doing some serious work or research, an hour a day for an app is more than enough. Also, support local. If there are shows, events, contests – anything, attend. Support. Spend some time and money with your local, smaller businesses, especially anything surf related. Maybe, hopefully this brought you some thoughts or ideas. I’m always open for conversation. If you agree at all, maybe you know someone you could share this with that may benefit. Would be appreciated from my end. Lets try and make surfing Core again.
Cheers,
hwilsin
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