Kneeboarding on Surfers Journal web site

[alfredo zavala]

For all those interested, under the photo tab on the Surfers Journal web site Jeff Divine had this down for the days entry with a cool old kneeboard photo:
FocusBack to January 2010 photosBig Rock '72
"When I think back on the '70s it seems like it was the last call for kneeboarding. The endangered species was shrinking rapidly into the '80s, and was all but gone by the '90s. What happened? It was so popular , or so it seemed, with pods of riders at any given spot. I've always thought the interest stemmed from all of the media about George Greenough in Surfer and the photos of him laying it over with the fin out at Honolua, Lennox and Rincon. Any photo shoot would always include the odd knee boarder getting a good set wave. Terry Hendricks was always out a La Jolla Shores, and there was always two or three out at Blacks. The Huffmans controlled Big Rock, Buddy McCray and Ron Fredirico roamed from V-Land to Backdoor, and Peter Crawford was getting pitted at North Narrabeen. There was nothing more stunning than to see a competent kneeboarder like Steve Lis go to places on a wave, with speed, that no surfer could do. Up at Newport Ron Romanosky made a living off shaping the boards until his business fell off in the '90s. Am I wrong? Where have they all gone? A friend of mine reported a rare sighting while in the Mentawai's. A boat pulled up to where he was surfing and off jumped eight kneeboarders. As they say, you don't see that everyday." Photo/Words: Jeff Divine
Please for those more tech savvy than I, link us up .

[southpeakbrad]

Dear Jeff,
Cool reflections! You're invited to the KSUSA US Kneeboarding Titles in Huntington on the 29th and 30th of this month. Bring your camera and share the stoke

p.s. there's ususally 4-5 kneeboarders out at Blacks these days

[Bob]

Need a link. Not on website under photos.

[joe]

http://www.surfersjournal.com/photo/2010-01-01-3

[kidrock]

very touching words, but may have more to do with the fact that nobody sees Jeff Devine at Big Rock, Blacks, North Narrabeen and Backyards...or Santa Cruz and HB for that matter.

Nobody disputes that kneeboarding "slept" during the 1990's, but there has been a resurgence during the last decade...it'd be pretty obvious if one were to visit the "old watering holes".

Maybe the fact that 8 kneeboarders jumped out of a boat would be a wake-up call.

[alfredo zavala]

Thanks alot Joe for linking us up!!

[khoningford]

When we jumped out of the boat this past July, there were only four of us...but to the other standups, I'm sure it seemed like a lot more.

[kneelingBROTHA]

I don't know Jeff Divine, but I just sent him an email (via his website) alerting him to the contest happening and asking him to stop by if he'd like to. I included a link to this thread.

[Sparrow]

Maybe Jeff has had is head up his arse since the 70's and just has forgotten to pull it out before doing any current research into his comments.

Jeff wrote. "There was nothing more stunning than to see a competent kneeboarder like Steve Lis go to places on a wave."
&
"Where have they all gone?"


I think it easier for people like Jeff to write from the past than to research his own words.
Where have they gone Jeff! Are you really interested? or is it just easier to repeat the same sh-t decade after decade & move on.

There is an amazing opportunity to show case kneeboarding from past to present & thankfully not from the mainstream. Some one show Jeff a copy of Steeno's up coming coffee table book with images that would even demand his(JD) respect.

Yes! that photo is amazing he has shown but there are thousands more recorded & many more still to come.
Do you open your eyes in the dark if you want to see something?
Someone send Jeff a message that if he is interested he has to get of his arse & look outside the masses.

but what would i know

[kidrock]

well said, Sparrow.

[DYdamo]

Well, I think that p!ssed someone off.............

[stevea]

Yeah well said Simon and who better qualified to say it ,i just fell off the fence where i sat for too long .
i had the honour of seeing some of the pics from all over that Steen has gathered for his book any photographer that ends up being in there can be truly proud ,theres enough quality photos for volumes ,the hardest part is confining it to one book
The fact that surf media dumped kneeboard exposure, photos during the 80s 90s and 00s has nothing to do with the talent out there or the pics available but purely and simply the seduction of the $ the missionaries (corporations) became the pimps of surfing journos, editors and camermen became the whores doing it for the $ ,the advertising and corporate $ was rammed into every orifice sorry every page of every mag
So whats the solution buy Steens book ,Simons videos support kneeboard surfing be proud get barreled have fun and enjoy we will still be here after the bangs go out with a whimper

[RMcKnee]

I'd venture a guess that Jeff was lookng at kneeboarding from a fairly local perspective, both geographically and chronologically. Most of the people he mentions were based in California, and even more specifically 1970s San Diego. Once you stop looking at that one time and locale from a local point of view, perhaps kneeboarding is a little harder to find. PC was a fixture at DY. As a SoCal local, JD would be unlikely perhaps to know that DY Point is as different from North Narra as Pipe is from Sunset. In the same way he couldn't be expected to know the essential differences between PC and Nov, let alone where all the rest of the kneeboarders went. As lowered centre of gravity types, most people frequenting these forums know that the kneelos went to Baja, the Islands, Indo, the North Coast, the South Coast (though why anyone would bother as there are no waves there ...), South America, Pomgolia, France, the South Pacific ... in short anywhere there are waves, there are kneelos.

The forthcoming project Sparrow mentioned will be precisely what we've all wanted forever: an in-depth exposition of what kneeboarding is, where it's been and where it's going. The irony of Jeff's comments and reactions to them is that kneeboarding today is probably stronger and healthier than it's ever been. Our future will be what we make it, not what the mainstream surfing press or anyone else tells us it will be.

[Mark Ramirez]

I've been away from the computer for 3 days, but I feel that you Aussies are spot on! Jeff's definitely looking from a local perspective. He's a born a raised La Jolla boy. He's been exposed to the likes of Rex, and Stevie Lis, and Mark Skinner. The kneeboarders still dominated at the Rock too! We're just the kind of lot that isn't just going to go out in any kind of s@#t! Sure, things have changed since the 70's, just speaking for myself, I would say that I tend to be more of a Mathematition these days. Hummm, Do I go out with 2 guys out, or the spot with 20 guys out? You do the math

[Hoppo]

Simon, spot on mate. And REALLY who cares what JD thinks. Alot of stand-ups think just like him. I have a life long friend in AUS, he says no one kneeboards anymore .... He lives in MOLLYMOOK ! Just keep doing what we do ... It's that simple.