Transmission Dispatch #6

In: Transmission by doclach 0 Comments Fri 21st Oct '11

Tags: The Danarchist , Tom Morey

click to enlarge

Dispatch 6: On new adventures in inclusiveness and identity.
By The Danarchist

Dear Mr Tom Morey,

I think you should come on holidays with me. Every Xmas I've been on this ball I've holidayed on the same North Coast beach, 15 minutes from where I live. The wind blows Nor- east 9 out of 10 days, chopping the summer windswell to shit by 10 O'clock every day. I stayed three weeks last year, and I scored two fun days. Outside of grommethood nostalgia sessions with old mates it offers nothing for the discerning waverider. I think you would enjoy it.
You see, it's a beach completely devoid of surf pretention. Dads push there gromtackers ashore on k-mart boogs, Granny gripes the rails tight as she slides to shore next to her granddaughter. Teenage girls get belted as they nosedive in the shorey. Fat old guy mows down everyone in his path as he powers through the wash. Teenage boy with his froth on and chronic board rash spends every minute he can in the water. All enjoying your invention.

Mr Morey, in your recent interview in Riptide you lamented how your creation had been hijacked. High jacked by "guys wanted to flex their muscles". Am I right in saying that your original vision for the Bodyboard had been, after all, a surfcraft for everyone?. The democratization of the ocean! The Macho rebel world of the "surfer" laid bare for all to experience and enjoy.

As you know, Bodyboardings financial peak the late 80's / Early 90's was also the era of it's biggest mainstream public engagement. (Although I do wish that you hadn't sold Morey Boogie to a soulless Multi-nation corporation) The bodyboard was accessible. It was open for a diverse range of people to try, it carried no cultural baggage or social elitism that had developed around other forms of waveriding vehicles. Sure, there were some cringe worthy moments as people sort to exploit the latest fad, but in terms of participation rate and growth, it was the sports Zenith.

In my time sliding a boog ,I've transitioned through many different self delusional psychological incarnations . Rashed kid, frothing grom, aspiration pro, wannabe local legend, old guy trying to keep up with the whippersnappers. The one constant that remained through all this was that experiencing the ocean on a Bodyboard was fun. Stripping away all the hype and manufactured delusions, that's remains the keystone of why all we keep Bodyboarding.

The real Beauty of your invention Tom, is that the versatility of the bodyboard means that the same board can offer Grandma fun on a two foot mushburger, aspiring grommy airtime at the local wedge and pro guy jaw dropping , slabbing ten foot pits. If it's breaking you can ride it and enjoy it on a boog. In the twenty odd years I've been in the water I've only ridden waves on different surf craft a handful of times. Not because I can't, but because I haven't needed to.
The great untapped resource that Bodyboarding possesses is it's ability to span a diverse spectrum of ability levels while still remaining enjoyable. Perhaps one of the ways in which Bodyboarding can grow in the future will be to become more inclusive of the diverse facets of people who utilize the bodyboard to experience the ocean. How do we include Gran, little kids, weekend Warrior, once a year westie, teenage girl, insert your favourite cliché' here, within the framework of what it is to be a Bodyboarder?
Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying Tom, I'm not advocating that the Bodyboarding world move away from it's appreciation and aspiration of the high performance levels being achieved by both professional and recreational riders in favour of a more watered down, softer image. We have worked hard to gain appreciation and respect for the skill level people can be achieved when using your creation in the ocean. For me, this type of riding is core to creating interest in Bodyboarding and is what gives it credibility.

Maybe, however we can open up our minds and extend our frame of reference as to what is to be a Bodyboarder. Maybe we should stop letting our ego and desire "to push limits" and flex our muscles blind us to the kind of people we make feel included or excluded in Bodyboarding. As they grow up , will my young daughters, who love nothing more than to shot shoreward on a piece of foam, drift away to other pastimes because they don't feel there is a place for them in the Bodyboarding world? Isn't it supposed to be fun for everyone?

Perhaps Mr Morey if we become more inclusive in our outlook, this can provide us with a greater scope with which to grow the sport. We can recognise that by remaining locked into narrowly defined ideas on who we currently identify as "Bodyboarders" (Male, 14 to, well pushing upwards, but 30 odd, devoted to extreme! riding ), we are essentially placing limits on the ability of the sport to garner a wider appeal. Millions of people have ridden a Bodyboard in the ocean at some point in their lives. Imagine the flow on affect to the organisational and financial structure of the sport if these people felt included and engaged enough with Bodyboarding to contribute towards supporting and represent it.

There's an old guy who lives in the coastal village I regularly surf at. He's probably in his mid 70's, perhaps older. Every day he feels like it (Which is often), he rides his trike with the basket on the back the ten minutes or so from his house to the beach. He unloads his 20 odd year old Bodyboard off the back, (I think it's an O&E Razor 4) , puts on his diving fins , paddles out and catches some waves, mostly whitewash. I'd strongly wager that he's never read a mag, couldn't name a pro and has absolutely no idea whats happening in the Bodyboarding world. He obviously gets joy from being in the ocean. And I bet he loves the Bodyboard that allows him to experience it. What do you think Y, Does that make him a Bodyboarder?
I think it does.
And I think you think so too.
But, I suppose that depends on whose definition we apply.
Viva la demockracy......

The Danarchist.

(The views expressed in this article are my own, many of which I don't actually agree with or support. However, never let your ideals get in the way of trying to start a good argument....)

Loading Comments