Float On

I know what you’re expecting from me tonight. You probably assume I’m going to pile on and give a scathing, bitter takedown article of the WSL’s Abu Dhabi event based on some of my prior thoughts about wave pools and surf contests. That would make sense. I have a history of it.

You’d especially think I’d be here to do that if you knew that when I flipped on the event for the first time the other night I was greeted by Jack Robinson straddling a stationary bike in his (gray) wetsuit next to a pool, all alone. No fans. No waves. No music. No surfboard even. Just Jack on an exercise bike, pumping arms and legs. For kind of a long time. I knew I was logging on to watch a wave pool comp, but it wasn’t even that. It was like turning on ESPN to watch a cross country race and instead finding a guy on a treadmill alone in a hotel gym. Same, but very different.

I don’t have anything bad to say about the comp or that scene, it just wasn’t what I was there to watch so I turned it off. I like to watch surfing. What was happening on my television was something else. Which means I missed Filipe running over a camera man. I missed a few alley-oops. A lot of rides scoring a 6.2. Maybe some other drama? Looks like Al Cleland found some beer in the dry desert (love that dude) and there seems to be some sort of karaoke going on. When in…AbuDhabi? I’ll surely turn it back on later to see the assembly line fire back up.

The reason I’m not going to give you what you might expect of me tonight is because I am not myself. I have not surfed, or even really given it a thought or attempt in many weeks. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I’m always honest here. I can tell you. I’ve come to terms with it, I’ll be back. This isn’t permanent. It’s been a head down moment in life — for various reasons, most of it dealing with the preparation of surfing entertainment for you. But I will surf again soon. And our regularly scheduled entertainment on IB will return with it.

Tuesday at noon you’ll be able to watch Natural Selection Surf’s first-ever event run “as live” from Micronesia on YouTube and Red Bull TV (There's actually a premiere screening at 6:30pm in Laguna Beach at the Rivian Theater if you can make that, I’ll be hosting a panel with Eithan Osborne, Brad Gerlach and Kirra Pinkerton after too).

I’m excited for you all to see it and hear what you think but if for some reason you turn it on and see anything you don’t like (exercise bikes being ridden in a desert or anything like that) I won’t be offended if you turn it off. But I don’t think that’s what you’ll find.

You’re going to find 12 frothing surfers shipped off to the middle of nowhere on a strike mission to run a surf comp. A comp that embraces its flaws and celebrates a lot of surfing’s characteristics that have recently been sterilized or abandoned. This event is raw. Exposed. Real. Uncensored. Fun. And exciting. It is all the best parts of The Search, The Billabong Challenge and OP Boat Challenge rolled into one (recklessly optimistic) presentation that views like a Bud Surf Tour interpreted by Andrew Mackenzie and his Aether film team. Hard core meets high end.

It was a wild risk to run it and record it like this and I honestly still don't know how (or if) we pulled it off (you’ll have to watch Tuesday and let us know), but we did something new and there will be 5 hours of sick surfing for you to watch this week.

I don’t think it’s perfect. I don’t even think it’s what we intended to do exactly and I think that’s the best part about it. Our best laid plans often giveaway to nature’s influence and force us into new lines, pivots and alternate approaches that if done with style and enthusiasm often become the best rides of our life. It is not about the end result, it’s about getting there, it’s about right now. It’s about staying all night and eating AM/PM corndogs and drinking Red Bulls to stay alive and returning the next morning with the same panache you had on day one because you absolutely love the journey and the ride way more than the kickout or the glory. I’m more excited about tomorrow’s edit dungeon session than Tuesday’s World Premiere because the premier means the ride is over. Until the next one. —Travis Ferré

Above art: Scott Chenoweth, Floaties, 2023]