Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

not really a story, more questions. and a rant.

why is it that knee boarders are so looked down upon (at least on long island) i mean, im open to any wave riding device, weather it a.. surf mat, surfboard, bodyboard, knee board. but almost all of the people ive talked to have said terrible things like. "what a kook thing" "why not just stand up" "poser surfers" and things of that nature. but i want to get your guys input on the situation. i would think that body boarders would get even less respect because i think it takes less skill than surfing. but it seems the more there are the more its respected. im sure that if there was more knee boarding on long island and in NY, than i think it will be more respected. for the years ive been going to the ocean i haven't seen not 1 knee board, would it be just the location. or hasn't it caught on?ive ridden a knee board for the first time last month and i absolutely loved it!! looks like i need to move to California or Australia to get any type of respect.

hansel wrote:not really a story, more questions. and a rant.

why is it that knee boarders are so looked down upon (at least on long island) i mean, im open to any wave riding device, weather it a.. surf mat, surfboard, bodyboard, knee board. but almost all of the people ive talked to have said terrible things like. "what a kook thing" "why not just stand up" "poser surfers" and things of that nature. but i want to get your guys input on the situation. i would think that body boarders would get even less respect because i think it takes less skill than surfing. but it seems the more there are the more its respected. im sure that if there was more knee boarding on long island and in NY, than i think it will be more respected. for the years ive been going to the ocean i haven't seen not 1 knee board, would it be just the location. or hasn't it caught on?ive ridden a knee board for the first time last month and i absolutely loved it!! looks like i need to move to California or Australia to get any type of respect.

hey hansel!

don't move! i live in long beach and just got myself a KB shaped by mike becker of nature's shapes. he's very pro-KB and so are the guys in his shop. the people who are KB ignorant are people who have been surfing for a year, bought themselves an al merrick potato chip and think that they know everything. it drives me crazy. they are also the same ones who insult bodyboarders but are the first to run off the beach when the guys from new york bodyboarding show up on a head high - overhead day to rip shiznit up.

there are plenty of solid cats around, you just have to wade through a huge pile of idiots to find them, unfortunately.

maybe we can surf together sometime. you can watch me give myself multiple cold water dunks getting used to my KB.

chris

Hi Hansel,
It seems that attitude is world wide, but don't let it deter you, as waterlogged says it's mainly the ignorant who are the loudest. Grow a thick skin 'cause thats what it takes to be different. When these guys see someone like Simon Farrer or any of the top flight kneeboarders they shift right down the back of the crowd. There is plenty of good advice from some good kneeboarders on this site and they will all say the same thing....if you enjoy it do it. In fact I think there is a number of threads that relate to the attitude your talking about, have a look.
Good luck with it all, you'll end up loving it if you stick with it.

Cheers Wolruss

G'day Hansel
Mate - I've found here in South Oz that most people are curious as to why & how long I've been kneeboarding & are interested in maybe giving it a go as an alternative to the log (& I'm not even any good on the kb - must be Parksey's sweet ride I'm on). Found the only tossers are the wanna be AI or Slaters who are sheep & can't think for themselves. So they ride a 6'3 wafer thin thruster in summer slop because "Tracks mag" tells em they're a kook if they ride anything but, wonder why they have to pump the bd to go 5 feet, yet it's the logs & kb's designed for these conditions that get the waves & longest rides.
So I say to all of those thruster sheep who follow the pack - f*ck em.

I'm having fun & that's all I care about.

I've heard it all from the mean people. What I have found is that if it looks like I am having fun doing what I am doing, I get compliments instead of put-downs. When I go out there and get aggro, I hear it. Mostly hearing compliments lately.
The best rip I ever had was from some old aussie in Bali while surfing Impossibles. I was getting waves from the shack to the bay, super long, and he paddles out and asks me "Aren't you embarrassed riding that?"
Random.

Hello Hansel

Surfer's are like dogs pissing out their turf. Doesn't matter what you ride you have to earn respect. You can earn respect lots of ways - eg from a kind word, from not wearing Zinc on your nose - or by tearing it apart.

Just depends on the average local's intelligence what the currency is.

Go somewhere where the surfer's are intelligent.

Oz is good.

It's much better than it was.Have people paddle up,and ask questions,check out the board.A polite answer helps..I'll generally tell them to check out kneeboardsurfing on U-tube,which has been a + for KBing.Only takes a few souls to spread the word about the quality of the surfing,and the word spreads quickly.There will always be a few wankers...with their comments...and I'll have the appropriate answer... Haven't heard anyything new in the jiveass dept.in a long time.Then again I've been at the surf game for 40+and have a thick skin. Ride your waves,have fun.

cheers

When you have fun it become infectious, eveyone gets stoked. Its about the attitude: yours and theirs! It hard to get down when you see someone paddle back to the lineup with a big smile and you KNOW they got rocked!

Just happen to stop by Ambrose the other day to have a look, we started talking and I said I was into kneeriding, well before I could say anything more, he says "....its because of the speed, tubes, and being so close to the water...etc" and then brings up KSUSA and how I should check it out.
He was all stoke, and loves to ride waves. Thats what I think is the new attitude and not what the mags sell.

Have fun.

K-man wrote:It's much better than it was.Have people paddle up,and ask questions,check out the board.A polite answer helps..I'll generally tell them to check out kneeboardsurfing on U-tube,which has been a + for KBing.Only takes a few souls to spread the word about the quality of the surfing,and the word spreads quickly.There will always be a few wankers...with their comments...and I'll have the appropriate answer... Haven't heard anyything new in the jiveass dept.in a long time.Then again I've been at the surf game for 40+and have a thick skin. Ride your waves,have fun.

cheers

very well said! It is changing I just got out of the water about 1/2 hr ago and in the parking lot all the stand ups were oogling over my board. In fact one older guy talking about knowing Steve Lis said he would love to shape me some more boards. Let the BSers whine and let your surfing do the talking. Most of all have fun!

Hansel...fuk em"!!! Paddle deep behind the pack, drop in on the biggest wave and don't let anyone of em' vibe ya....be persistant, be onery, you'll get yer waves and respect

Just check some of the other surfing sites. How they say so much crahp to each other. For the most part they fear of something differnt Show the stoke to everyone when you see a good ride let them know hoot say good ride on the paddle back out. It will come back to you.

Craig

My 50c worth...Generally the standard of kneeboarding is good - kneelos are more dedicated than the average standup, so work hard at improving waveriding skills, fitness and local spot knowledge. All this helps to boost your position in the pecking order

Bide your time in the lineup & when you get the chance, go big! nothing like a heavy late takeoff, sweet barrel or big fat lip smack to make some grumpy standup wnnabe think again

Have fun - smiling is infectious !

cheers

Andy

Andy wrote:My 50c worth...Generally the standard of kneeboarding is good - kneelos are more dedicated than the average standup, so work hard at improving waveriding skills, fitness and local spot knowledge. All this helps to boost your position in the pecking order

Bide your time in the lineup & when you get the chance, go big! nothing like a heavy late takeoff, sweet barrel or big fat lip smack to make some grumpy standup wnnabe think again

Have fun - smiling is infectious !

cheers

Andy

Great post!!

Everyone here is so friendly and helpful - so different from a lot of other surfing sites out there.

I was a stand up surfer for a bit before changing my preferred method of surfcraft, and I've always said that they were jealous of my late drops and roller coaster shorey rides.

You're so *limited* in stand up surfing. No wonder everyone is so cranky.

Hansel,
Like you said it's good to respect everyone in the water no matter what they ride. All different ways of wave riding look good when done well. No matter what they're riding it will be the most experienced guys who will get most waves. The only time you get negative feedback is when your the guy getting most of the waves and some kooky stand up guy is jealous. This was the catalyst for the whole 'Thruster' debacle. Just ignore the nob head and carry on scoring more waves than him.
Dunc

a stand-up walks up to R.W. and Trowt and he's holding a handful of dogcrap and says " look what I almost stepped in"....