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General Climbing Discussion

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best climber????? 23-Oct-2007 At 4:34:19 PM surfinclimb

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You may call it cynical, I call it wary. I do get paid to teach people to surf but I think that we need to seperate surfing from commercial profit here. I love surfing, always have, always will and I love watching people catch that very first wave when they get to their feet and ride the whitewash into the beach, That is what puts a smile to my face the pure joy of surfing because it feels good.
Unfortunately I have an increasing family and some pesky bills to pay so I charge a lot of people to learn how to surf, I also teach a lot of kids how to surf for free because I know how much surfing will benifit them.
Theres also the fact that someone many years ago introduced me to surfing and just because I have found something that I enjoy doing doesnt mean no one else is allowed to start surfing now. (sort of like finding somewhere nice to live in the country and telling everyone else to piss off they cant come, this is my paradise)
Which brings me back to the commercial exploitation side of things. Yes Quiksilver etc should be allowed to make a profit out of surfing I just resent the fact that my scene (culture) has been merccilessly exploited by the massive corporations for profit, really $70 for a pair of shorts $80 for a shirt $100 for a jumper just because it has a Billabong label on it? Sposorship driven no dought but does Taj Burrow really need 6 mill over 10 years to survive plus all the added perks of being a pro surfer like being paid to do a Mentawai boat trip for 10 days?
Anyway its a tough one, where do you say "yes you can make money out of this" and "no you cant". Also no doubtly im gunna get slayed by everyone for my thoughts. My veiws are fairly complex and im not real good at typing with anything more than 2 fingers so ill try and leave it at that, besides i just looked out the window and I know a nice little wave that should be good very soon.
catch ya.