In between sessions of highly contested ping-pong battles at the 5ones office last night, I decided to take advantage of the break in action and flip open the April 2008 edition of Surfing Magazine. Particularly stoked on finding the ‘North Shore In Black and White’ section, I found myself thumbing through the pages and making my way to my intended destination. No sooner than my mag-browsing sixth sense alerts me that I’m only pages away from said section do I end up face to face with an advertisement for Affliction Clothing.

Did I miss the boat on this one? Is there something that I just am not seeing when it comes to Affliction and surfing? To be clear, my issue isn’t at all with Affliction. Clearly they are doing something right when it comes to marketing and their bottom line. It’s everywhere and continues to spread like wildfire. It was just surprising to find myself toe-to-toe with an ad for skull-patch laden black leather boots while trying to lose myself in the North Shore ‘07/’08 season recap.

Where is this connection between surfing and Affliction coming from? I’m fully aware of the crossover made by many wave-riders into the blossoming sport of Mixed Martial-Arts and have all of the respect in the world equally for those who have been passionate about the sport for years as those who have just recently taken up training. However, this is different than the connection between RVCA and BJ Penn. It’s nearly impossible for me to see anything positive whatsoever brought to the surfing community/industry by the infiltration of a brand like Affliction that thrives on the ‘tough-guy’ image into our sport.

I realize Affliction is just doing it’s job by seeking to capitalize on the growth and expansion of MMA into other markets. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I guess I never expected the decision-makers at Surfing to open their publication to a brand that in my opinion doesn’t have any business, other than business, being there. Hopefully Surfing Magazine realizes that surfing is about setting trends, not following them.

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The second round of the Quiksilver Pro found Snapper Rocks coming back to form following several days of small-surf and uncooperative conditions. Snapper wasn’t alone in returning to it’s form as 2 time world-champ Andy Irons opened up and let loose in the opening heat of the day to put a quick end to 16 yr. old trials winner Tamaroa McCombs run and avoid what would have been an absolutely disastrous T-33rd finish for A.I. in the inaugural event of the ASP Tour. In a stark contrast to his demeanor in and out of the water during the opening round, the former world-champ sounded quite pleased with the way he surfed Tuesday, and after posting a 9.70 to seal his spot in the 3rd round he has every reason to be.

I haven’t gotten a 9 in about six months so it felt unreal. I haven’t made heats in a while and I guess I just haven’t been into it. In the offseason I really had to think about that and now I’m really psyched. I want to be here and I want to do well. I like to win heats and it feels good. It’s my new buzz.

ROOKIE WATCH - The frosh class pulled off some very impressive victories Tuesday, setting up some interesting match-ups in the upcoming 3rd round. Jordy Smith surfed a flawless heat and Dane Reynolds fired away and both move on to face Bobby Martinez and Dean Morrison respectively. Julian Wilson narrowly edged out Pancho Sullivan to move onto the 3rd round as well. This was a particularly surprising result to me as I really expected Pancho to do well with the way he had been surfing as of late.

INJURY WATCH - Fred Patacchia was unable to get the his ankle back into good enough condition and Jay “Bottle” Thompson moved on as a result. Aritz Aranburu also wasn’t able to go, giving Neco Padaratz (my dark-horse contestant) an easy pass into the next round of action.

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While Luke Munro, Dane Reynolds, and Damien Hobgood were laying it down at Duranbah during the 15th heat of the 1st round at the Quiksilver Pro, Tom Carroll and Kelly Slater joined Todd Kline and were on the call at the announcers booth over at Snapper Rocks.

I wrote the other day about how intriguing it was to listen to Carroll and Slater and the unique perspective that two legends with a combined 10 world championships between them brought to the webcast. Given the fact that Slater is still active (for now anyway) on the tour it was interesting to hear his thoughts on this years ‘CT. What struck me the most, however, was a question he raised as the conversation became more directed to Dane Reynolds and his potential as a pro-surfer.

Carroll and Kline were calling the current wave when out of nowhere Slater let loose the question, “Is Dane Reynolds the next Martin Potter?” Kline seemed fairly taken back by the question and somewhat surprised, even asking if that was one of the questions that had been submitted by online viewers for the booth to answer. It wasn’t. Slater threw that question out there to the universe and seemed genuinely interested in finding out the answer. He isn’t the only one either.

Is Dane Reynolds the next Martin Potter? Growing up my two favorite surfers were my father and Martin Potter. Aside from being the first person to put me on a board (Fact:coming in slightly behind giving birth, that is second on the list of greatest things a parent can do for their child), my dad could really charge. And Potter, he was to my gromhood what I suspect Jordy Smith and Dane are to most of surfings newest generation. He was ‘the next big thing’ in surfing. He was the surfer who many in the era of A.P.E. gloves and “North Shore” wanted to surf like. In fact, the 8-time world champ himself even patterned his style after Potter’s, plastering his walls with shots of Potter putting his trademark green-and-yellow explosion boards in positions that no one had ever seen before. That is part of what makes Slaters putting this question out into the universe all the more interesting.

The line on Potter as he made his way up the ranks is the same one that Dane is facing today. Potter was explosive, innovative, and unleashed on waves in ways that were never before imagined, much like the way that Reynolds is currently surfing. With the intense 25-stop tours that were held in those days, Potters style simply wasn’t conducive to winning a world-title. It was renowned conservatives and contest machines like Damien Hardman and Barton Lynch that persevered throughout the tour and stayed consistent enough to win it all. Once Potter admittedly decided to rein in his aggressive, all-out style, he blew away the field in the ‘89 season in a way like no one else had before.

Here we are at the beginning of the 2008 ASP Tour and the world of surfing is watching closely, waiting to find out. Will Dane Reynolds be willing to rein it in enough to produce the consistent results needed to win it all? Slater said himself that “Dane surfing at 70% is better than most greats surfing at 100%.”

Facing top contest machines like Mick Fanning, Andy Irons, and the fellow rookie Smith, that may be the only way Reynolds will ever finish the year on top. It all comes down to where winning a world championship falls on Dane’s list of priorities and right now, it seems that Dane himself isn’t even sure where that is. When asked about Smith and his future on the ‘CT, Dane said…

He lives to win heats and he loves winning, and I just know that he’s going onto be world champion, and that’s not where I’m headed. I don’t like to be compared to him, because I feel like I’m being put on this big disappointing sort of thing where I’m going to let people down, but I’m just not headed there.

With this only being Dane’s inaugural year as a full-timer on the tour, it’s still too early to tell what direction he’s headed. One thing is certain, he is an absolutely phenomenal surfing talent and whether he decides to be a ‘tour-surfer’ or not he will undoubtedly have as big an influence on what goes on in the water as any we’ve ever seen. He is that good and beyond. Will winning championships become imperative enough to surf at 70% as ‘The King’ suggested? Only time will tell, but I have a feeling it will. Right now, Dane is at the very beginning of a long career in surfing. And years from now, after it’s all said and done, Slater, myself, and the rest of the surfing community will have their answer to the question, “Is Dane Reynolds the next Martin Potter?”

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It was a super windy day throughout the opening round at the Quiksilver Pro today. With steadily building winds whipping around and changing directions throughout the day there were tricky conditions prevalent throughout the opening heats at Duranbah. The locals held their own as expected with Parko, Fanning, and Dean Morrison all winning their heats. Here are a few of todays highlights from D-bah:

Top Heats - There were a number of exciting battles throughout the day, but heats 7 and 15 were the two that caught my eye the most. Parko ripping it up in tailor-made conditions for him at a break he’s surfed many many times was no surprise. However, watching Brazilian Neco Padaratz put a couple of very solid waves together was a welcome site as I really see this being a huge year on tour for Neco. Dane Reynolds in heat 15 was everything everyone expected and more. After going for a couple of huge moves early and not quite pulling them out, he settled down and put together one of the most impressive run of waves seen all day. Unfortunately for Dane he was in the same heat as Aussie Luke Munro who was absolutely on fire and put on one of the top performances of the day. Munro finished off his scores with a 9.50 to pull out the win and move on to the 3rd round.

Not So Top Heat - Heat 5 ended up being a 2-man event right from the beginning. Trying to rest the leg he injured at Pipe recently, Fred Patacchia was content to paddle out and enjoy some rays for a half-hour while hoping the condition of his leg improves before the second round. With Freddy P taking it easy, it left Andy Irons and french-man Mikael Picon to battle it out for the second-round bye. It may have had something to do with the drilling he took on the rocks earlier in the week, but Irons just did not look himself at all and was visibly frustrated as Picon ended up outsurfing him to take the heat. Although he looked out of sync today, he is A.I. and I’m sure he will be just fine as he moves on through the following rounds.

The Rookies - With all of the hype and hoopla surrounding the full-time arrival of Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds (I’m as guilt of it as any), I was very interested to see how they would hold up under the pressure. While it’s still too early to say and this was only one heat here are my thoughts. Dane easily had the better heat of the two and was really catching his rhythm as the heat progressed. Jordy looked solid early on in his heat but just could not do enough with the waves he caught to catch Luke Stedman. Overall it was an impressive opening to the season by both Reynolds and Smith and both appeared largely unaffected by the pressure.

Kelly Slater - Watching Kelly today and seeing him fall a little behind early on in the heat to Rodrigo Dornelles I once again had the same feeling I commonly had when watching the Chicago Bulls during the Jordan-years. With the clock ticking and Slater needing a 6.54 to overtake Dornelles and bypass the second round, Kelly sat calmly in the water and everyone watching knew what was about to happen. With about two minutes left in the heat, Slater ripped off a smooth 7.10 ride to take the heat and move straight into the 3rd round. Just another case of Kelly Slater doing what has made him the living-legend he is. When asked about his plans for the tour beyond the Gold Coast, Slater replied nonchalantly: “Well I got a heat tomorrow or the next day and that’s it, I’m definitely not going to surf all the events, that’s for sure.” Kelly also spent a few heats up in the booth at Snapper announcing with Tom Carroll. With 10 world championships between the two it was great to hear their points of view for a while, especially on the future of Dane Reynolds during his heat. It was also quite entertaining to watch their reactions as the cameraman seemed to increase the shots of backsides of some of the Gold Coast’s finest with Carroll and Slater on the call.

Forecast - While the swell that has left over what was surfed on today will continue to diminish, Ben Macartney from Coastalwatch appeared very optimistic about a swell that is building and likely to move through next weekend. The Superbank is in fantastic condition and if this swell comes through as expected it will provide an unbelievable arena for a display of world-class surfing at what will more than likely be Snapper Rocks as the contest moves into the later rounds.

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The 2008 ASP World Tour is officially upon us and round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast is officially on and will be starting at 2:00p.m. (PST). Although they held the Komunity Project trials at Snapper Rocks yesterday they have opted to hold the lead-off round at nearby Duranbah with the surf coming in around the 2-4ft range but conditions are clean.

I imagine ‘The King’ has to be stoked on D-bah being the call for now. As I mentioned earlier his ‘06 victory, as well as the only victory by a foreigner in this event took place at this location.

You can watch live rd.1 action HERE

Rd. 1 Heats-

Heat #1: Bobby Martinez, Royden Bryson, Jihad Khodr
Heat #2: Dean Morrison, Daniel Wills, Kieren Perrow
Heat #3: Jeremy Flores, Bruce Irons, Roy Powers
Heat #4: Pancho Sullivan, Ricky Basnett, Heitor Alves
Heat #5: Andy Irons, Fred Patacchia, Mikael Picon
Heat #6: Bede Durbidge, Leonardo Neves, Daniel Ross
Heat #7: Joel Parkinson, Neco Padaratz, Nic Muscroft
Heat #8: Mick Fanning, Michael Campbell, Tamaroa McComb
Heat #9: Taj Burrow, Adrian Buchan, Julian Wilson
Heat #10: Kelly Slater, Rodrigo Dornelles, Michel Bourez
Heat #11: CJ Hobgood, Adriano de Souza, Ben Bourgeois
Heat #12: Kai Otton, Travis Logie, Aritz Aranburu
Heat #13: Tom Whitaker, Dayyan Neve, Tiago Pires
Heat #14: Taylor Knox, Ben Dunn, Jay Thompson
Heat #15: Damien Hobgood, Luke Munro, Dane Reynolds
Heat #16: Luke Stedman, Tim Reyes, Jordy Smith

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16 yr.old Tahitian giant killer Tamaroa McComb killed it today at a smaller than expected Snapper Rocks, securing himself a spot in the main event of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. Edging out Aussie Troy Brooks, McComb sealed his victory at the Komunity Project Trials with a solid final heat score of 16.60. Dale Richards and Blake Ainsworth, fellow Aussies themselves, joined McComb and Brooks in the finals for the right to move on to take on the worlds greatest pros at Snapper. Last year’s trials winner, Richards, was looking strong throughout the day but couldn’t hold on to secure the victory.

McComb is just another drop in the bucket of young up and coming surfers to keep your eyes on as it appears the sport of surfing is will be in good hands for years to come. Now, with the trials being completed, we move on to the main event.

When Billabong launched it’s initial XXL Global Big Wave Awards competition almost eight years ago, it was said that the unveiling of the first contest of it’s kind was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to big-wave surfing. Now with just one month left to go in the entry period for the 2008 awards, we’re starting to get an idea of exactly what that meant.

When word that a contest of this type was first coming out around 2000, I, and I’m guessing many others as well, basically assumed that the winning entries would annually come from the bellies of the beasts we know to be Jaws, Mavericks, or Cortez Banks. As big-wave surfing has grown and expanded all over the world, other jaw-dropping, bone-crushing breaks have introduced themselves to the surfing community and have made the Billabong XXL truly an international event. With still four weeks left in a year that has produced some of the largest and heaviest waves ridden to date, Billabong is already shattering previous marks with over 420 entries already submitted. Equally remarkable as the quantity of submitted entries has been the diversity of the locations that they are coming from. With videos and photographs from Chile, Tahiti, Western Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Tasmania, Spain, the British Isles, and France among others, this contest has gained interest from all over the earth and has helped lift big-wave surfing to new heights.

So just how high are these ‘new heights’ that the Billabong XXL as well as big-wave surfing in general are reaching? One of the recent entries, and my new favorite to load up the $50,000 at the Billabong XXL Awards ceremony this April 11 at the Grove Theater in Anaheim is the shot of a truly epic monster at Belharra Reef off southern France being ridden by Vincent Lartizen of Hossegor. When I first laid eyes on this shot I simply found myself speechless and staring dumbfounded at my computer screen. To me it comes across more as a natural disaster than a surfable wave, and captivates a truly epic display of skill and bravery. It’s nearly impossible to fathom guys charging anything larger than that. With that being said, I learned my lesson a long time ago that with surfing, anything is possible.

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Amidst speculation that recent weeks of being hammered by La Nina weather had ripped out a lot of the sand that makes Snapper Rocks the world-class break that it is, it appears that all is well as the Komunity Project Trials of the 2008 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast are set to get underway at Snapper. As of last night most of the Gold Coast was in the 4-6 ft. range with winds blowing offshore. If the pattern continues to hold it there will be some very rippable conditions.

Earlier in the week, ASP Tour President Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew voiced his concern over the havoc wreaked by the storms that have pounded the Gold Coast.

Two weeks ago I was still concerned, but desirable conditions have since cooperated in streaming sand back into Snapper and with another week’s pumping I think we’ll be okay.

It looks like Rabbit was right on and Snapper appears to be coming to form. With as stoked as we all are on this years tour, did we really think it would happen any other way?

The 16 trialists are Dale Richards (AUS), Clay Marzo (HAW), Chris Salisbury (AUS), Troy Brooks (AUS), Garrett Parkes (AUS), Alain Riou (PYF), Ry Craike (AUS), Shane Bevan (AUS), Tamaroa McComb (PYF), Jadson Andre (BRA), Trevor Tripcony (AUS), Corey Ziems (AUS), Jay Phillips (AUS), Mitch Coleburn (AUS) and Blake Ainsworth (AUS).

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With the 2008 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast rapidly approaching to kick-off this year’s Mens ASP Tour, all attention will be squarely directed at Coolangata in anticipation of who will come out up on top and thus take the pole-position in the what is setting up to be one of the most highly-charged and competitive tours to date.

Just how crucial is it going to be to stand up on the podium and receive an over-sized cardboard check following this event? The last two world-champions(Slater ‘06/Fanning’07) have both started their title-runs with victories at the season-opener. Formerly an ASP WQS 6-star venue, Quiksilver launched their initial Quiksilver Pro ASP World Tour event at Snapper Rocks in 2002. In that time, Slater is the only event-winner to hail from outside of Australia. His victory came at nearby Duranbah after a finals battle with Taj Burrow in three-foot surf. With half of the top 10 seeded surfers on Tour residing in the land down under and the ‘Coolie Kids’ holding a solid ‘home-break’ advantage, it’s going to be super important for any surfer that holds high hopes of taking home surfings crown at years end to start their 2008 campaign off in impressive fashion.

Will a poor showing at the Pro Gold Coast kill the chances of title hopefuls? With the best ‘9 of 11′ results format that the ASP is using to decide this years champ, a bad result here certainly isn’t going to dash any visions of being carried up the beach and showered with goodies, flowers, and champagne. It will just put an unnecessary element of added pressure to let it fly at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach which follows a few weeks later, which itself has shown the likelihood of an eventual top 5 finish at the end of the year for the events most recent winners.

With as deep and talented a pool as the ASP has ever fielded chomping at the bit and raring to go, anything less than a top 5 result in, at the very least, one of the two Aussie’ events may be prove to be just too big of a mountain to climb as the Tour moves on. For anyone, especially outside of Kelly, A.I.,and the Australian contingent, who plans on coming out of Australia with any dreams of capturing the title, this weekends Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast definitely needs to be the intended site of their coming-out party.

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In what I view as a clear result of the endless buzz and hype that’s been building in anticipation of the 2008 ASP World Tour as well as the sport of surfing in general, U.S. bookmaker BetUs has arrived to be the first and only U.S. bookmaker to field for both the 2008 WCT, World title Futures market and this weekend’s Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast. Following suit are the South Africans and it’s pretty easy to see why the bookmakers at Black Pearl are also throwing out their own odds for the 2008 WCT. A quick way of checking out the different odds and find the best betting partner comes in the form of Surfing-Odds.com. It was quite interesting to take a look at the odds listed by the various bookkeepers and see where they had everyone set as the Tour approaches.

To be honest, I’ve never really thought too much about betting on surfing. In fact, I’ve never really done any type of serious betting in general so this really made me curious. I lobbed a couple of inquiries in the direction of close friends that I knew who had done some betting to see what their thoughts on this were. They both replied that they had never really given it much thought and one replied that the lack of television coverage weakens his interest because it hampers his ability to watch his bet take place, and that is half the fun.

Is there a sizable group that regularly or occasionally puts bets down on surfing events? I’m really not sure, although I’m positive the bookmakers must think so. Now that bookmakers in the U.S. are fielding bets, will betting on surfing in increase in the States? Only time will tell.