I get it, this is the stuff of entertainment news and reality TV. Who cares if Kelly Slater hangs out with the guy who plays Thor, and just so happens to be a pretty big deal in Hollywood these days?
“Stick to surfing, Inertia…”
Well, ok. But Surfing is fun. And so is hanging out with Kelly Slater. And So are surf trips.
Kelly and actor Chris Hemsworth are doing all these things apparently. And that sounds like fun.
Earlier this week the two were seen surfing in Byron Bay together. This, after they came back from a trip to Tavarua. My assumption is this trip was insane because 1) it was Tavarua, 2) it was a surf trip with Kelly Slater and Thor, 3) it was Tavarua and 4) it was pumping. Slater and Hemsworth both shared evidence of fact #4 and it turns out Chris charges. Then Kelly stole Thor’s hammer (really) and claims to have the thing up for grabs on eBay. Just a couple of guys being dudes.
Again, “who cares?” Well, for a guy who works in a town that notoriously never gets surfing’s image, the vibe, or quite frankly even the lingo right, it’s refreshing to see a Hollywood big shot who can walk the walk.
It was just a couple weeks ago my Facebook feed was filled with shots of Tom Brady doing some serious disservice to the act of riding waves. Now, I’m usually the last guy to use the word “kook” with a derogatory or mean spirited tone. I think it’s a word that should really be more about not taking ourselves too seriously, rather than to belittle others for their lack of surfing ability; we all have to start somewhere.
Unless it’s Tom Brady. Tom Brady is a kook.
At one point I came across a headline about #12’s recent surf trip that prompted the question, “What Can’t Tom Brady Do?”
Tom Brady can’t surf, that’s what he can’t do. He also can’t stop carrying around that smug grin or win a Super Bowl without benefiting from every lucky call and bounce the football gods offer in the span of four hours. But mostly, he can’t surf. Yet the tabloid photos of good ole Tom and super model wife Gisele made the rounds, all suggesting to the untrained eye that this is surfing. And this is why Hollywood rarely (if ever) gets surfing “right” – because the Ugg model with an ugly pair of boardshorts and zero style atop a surfboard gets passed off as “sexy,” “shredding,” and even “surprisingly good.”
Super Tom was just the most recent example of an A-lister (errr…backup from Michigan) who simply needed to show up on the beach with a board under his arm to get Hollywood tossing shakas left and right, probably inspiring the masses to hit the beach and live the dream. And somehow (to my despair) there are people who’d argue he came out of it looking cooler than before, uncoordinated backside stance and all.
Hemsworth on the other hand is the real deal, trading real waves with the real Jimmy Slade. That is cool. I would go on that trip and feel zero embarrassment on behalf of any celebrity surfers involved, if the itinerary read “surf with Thor.” But then again, I’d also go to Fiji with Tom Brady, if only to convince the guy he’s totally safe pushing over the ledge at 8ft Cloudbreak.
And it’s also pretty cool to hang out with Kelly Slater.
