Looking Sideways: 10 Things
This week's ten things I thought were worth sharing.
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1. Ocean temperatures around the UK and Ireland are 4°C above normal for this time of year. Here’s why.
2. Congrats to my pals Lewis, Demi and Chris who won Campaign of the Year at the recent Surfers Against Sewage Awards last week. As the industry continues to circle the wagons, it’s going to be fascinating seeing what happens when the film is actually released.
3. Congratulations to Charlie Dark MBE. I chatted to Charlie a few years ago and it was a really interesting episode. Listen here.
4. For me the most discomfiting detail about Tom Lowe’s Tahiti wipe-out last month was the fact that he relied on a Greg Long-organised GoFundMe to pay his medical bills.
At the time, the online consensus on this seemed to be ‘what a great community we are, helping our brother out’. Fair enough.
But what does it say about the state of our industry if a pro with Tom’s profile is relying on his mates to pay his medical bills? (See also Alex Moul‘s GoFundMe last month). You can’t see if happening in Formula 1.
Hence why this NY Mag piece is so timely. Decent mainstream takes on our culture are still rarer than an off-shore day at the Shit Pipes. So what a treat to read a piece that delves into a topic (that, shamefully yet predictably, core media hasn’t gone near) in such a forensic, critical and sensitive way. Read it here.
5. Geoff Rowley’s new (ish) part is, as you’d expect, worth a gander.
6. My pal Sam Haddad headed on down to North Devon to cover the World Surf Reserve inauguration for Huck. More here.
7. Loved this Freeskate Mag piece on journaling and writing for mental health.
8. I found this new film from Patagonia, a short, sharp explanation of how over-fishing is affecting the Scottish west coast’s delicate ecosystem, to be very impactful.
9. Related: sign the Blue Marine Foundation petition to stop deep sea mining here.
10. I so enjoyed reading this blog by this week’s guest Melody Sky about her experience of taking part in a Looking Sideways conversation. I wish more guests did this tbh. Read it here.
Geoff Rowley is one gnarly mid lifer!
Brilliant 10 things as always, cheers Matt. Adam Elder's article was refreshingly well-informed; no cringeworthy, clumsily used action sports jargon. It hadn't crossed my mind that being associated with a national team would benefit athletes insurance wise, but it makes sense. It's certainly clear that they get better access to training facilities and trips. It seems that there has been a shift away from sponsors taking this responsibility and towards national teams organising team park trips or airbag sessions (I am only speaking from a freeskiing point of view). Which is massively detrimental for riders who are not in the comp scene or follow the Olympic branch of the sport. Big sponsors used to get these riders together from across different genres of the sport for park shoots, pow missions or team weeks, but I feel like these are fewer and further between. To not have this cross pollination between different factions feels like it weakens all tribes in our culture.
Insurance wise, spending the 40 EUR on the Carre Neige that is offered with your lift pass was the best 40 EUR I ever spent. I use two different insurance companies to cover just about everything that can go wrong anywhere across the alps. But I sent my 5000 EUR heli rescue bill straight to the Carre Neige people in Bourg and they sorted it out with no questions asked. Worth having even if you are insured elsewhere.
Have a good weekend.