Bobby Martinez and Dane Reynolds: Surfing Dropouts?

Jeff    surfingholidays     ASP tour, pro surfing, Surf, Surfers, Surfing, surfing holidays

Recent months have seen two of the ASP’s top competitors deliberately and indefinitely drop from the roster. This summer, Bobby Martinez unleashed a flurry of expletives for the association after his swan song session in New York – effectively cutting his tie with professional competition.

Association or not, it's a solo sport Image: Flickr/Daniel Flower

Then, in December, ever-popular Dane Reynolds tendered his resignation with an unusually revealing blog post on his website. The tour they are leaving behind represents the apex of the sport to many: the best of the best duking it out on the best waves in the world. Competition is fierce just to be considered for the world tour.

Money. Travel. Fame. Waves. What could make these two men willingly leave the “Dream Tour”?

The answers are obvious. And not so obvious. In Bobby’s case the storm had been brewing for a while. He was fed up with the decision making in the ASP. Any sort of policy shift is voted on by the surfers themselves or their representatives. When the tour moved ahead with its ‘One World’ tour formatting, it changed how it was decided which surfers remain on the tour. Bobby cried foul.

Ranking in the top 44 in the world no longer secured a surfer’s spot for the entire year. He didn’t believe in the new system, and didn’t believe in kissing anyone’s ass to get what he wanted. While the merits of his argument can be endlessly debated, the upshot of it cannot: Bobby bowed out.

With less transparent objections to the tour, Dane Reynolds also removed himself not more than a month ago. Dane’s motives were intrinsic to the man himself, not problems he had with ASP or tour system. If you read his blog, you recognize Dane is not a super-human-machine-gunning-wave-slicer. He’s just young dude who’s unsure of as many things as the rest of us. Although what seems to separate him is an ability to land gyroscopic punts with notable statistical frequency.

Association of Surfing Professionals

Still, Dane appears to have simply become disenchanted with world of professional surfing competition. Is scoring the maximum number of points on a Hossegor close-out with two minutes left in the quarterfinal heat really of great consequence to any human? Perhaps. But not for Dane. Not right now. Instead, Reynolds will spend 2012 making himself useful in his own right, chasing his own goals, without the influence of judges and rankings and tour dates.

The criticism circling these two men is hard to overlook. They’re getting paid to travel the world and surf! In all reality, you can’t really do much better than that. Yeah, you’ve got to deal with the politics and bureaucracy inherent in any organization. And yeah, you’ve got to consolidate your existentialist worldview to fit your chosen profession, but doesn’t everyone? You’ve got to make a living somehow, and getting paid to surf doesn’t seem like the worst option. How many professional football players are hanging up their cleats at the peak of their career because things don’t feel right anymore, or the rules are changing?

Maybe Bobby and Dane’s decision reflects something in the sport itself. Surfing isn’t a team sport. The only organizations behind these men are the logos stamped on their boards hoping to become associated in the mind of the spectator with the rider himself. In this way, professional surfing depends more on its individuals than they do upon it.

Some things never change. Image: Flickr/ A. Strakey

In effect, surfers sponsor the businesses, not the other way around. It’s the surfers who hold the upper hand, not the teams or the manufactures or the league. And hence the physical act of surfing remains independent in itself. ASP, World Tour, sponsors or not, the waves and riders remain (albeit with smaller incomes). The autonomy of Bobby Martinez and Dane Reynolds is a reminder of the inherent values of surfing: It’s only you and the ocean. And no one can force you to paddle out.

About the author

Jeff Rhodes wrote 23 articles on this blog.

Jeff was born and raised just east of New York City on Long Island. He moved to Santa Barbara, California for college and studied psychology and philosophy. At school he discovered a love for surfing, reading, and writing. Jeff has explored both coasts of the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Australia in search of waves and authentic experience.

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