I've decided to forgo the t-shirt idea and make a coloring book for my baby instead. Thanks for your opinions on the drawing though.Art is power.
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- Chum
- I'm a dad, husband, creative director, writer, illustrator, painter, and surfer who is constantly humbled by how little I know.
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47 comments:
Nice! The best part was that Slick Rick made that shirt and gave it to me as a b-day present. It's rad to rock stuff that is highly personalized and has a deeper meaning.
I don't think it's much of an issue for our example having the name of the spot of the shirt, one because it's a highly out-of-the-way spot and two I live in Florida. So no one here even knows what the hell it is much less is going to crowd it out. Putting the name on a local spot if you're local is a bit more of an issue. Might be a good idea to leave it off in that case, plus it'd be cool to see who recognizes it just from the drawing.
Funny thing is that we've gotten a ton of feedback from that post. It's actually surprisingly simple to make you own t-shirts. You can get professional results quite easily by investing about $50 in a silkscreen and printing supplies. By using photo-emulsion instead of stencils you can print anything that you can put onto a transparency.
Any local art supply store should have screenprinting supplies:
http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?group_id=1531&store=001
You could just scan you pencil drawings into Photoshop and adjust the levels to drop out the background and just leave the line drawing. Then print that to a transparency and burn it into a screen. You can even fit 2 or 3 designs to a screen and do both front and back artwork on one screen.
Sounds way more complicated than it is.
The stencil method is quick and easy though, and if you cut it out of mylar you can re-use it infinitely.
Leave the name off. If you're a surfer here in Oregon, You'll know. If you're not a surfer here, you won't care. Plus putting the name makes them to touristy.
How about not making a tee shirt with a surf spot on it. Like we need to do any more surf promotion these days.
Respect local surfers. Why not just be happy that you have access to these amazing places? Why promote them? This blog seems to get enough traffic as it is.
I'd have to say I'm torn...
I don't place alot of credence in the idea that a t-shirt, blog or anything other than big media saturation of surfing as the cool thing to do has any impact upon the popularity of surfing or contributes to crowding even in our relatively uncrowded waters up north...
That said, the increase is real... and when you paddle out at a spot you used to be able to surf without dozens of other surfers, longboarder, SUP'ers, shortboarders, goat boarders and what ever other wave craft in the water...
there is definitely a palpable level of frustration and tension that can creep in...
With surfing there are certain secrets that must remain secrets...even if they aren't even secrets...at least that's the code, even if there isn't really a code...
I got asked to do some reviews of surf t's from a company recently and although I thought the shirts themselves were fine...even generic surfing-wise...I just can't bring myself to do so...
The other comic part of the equation is the same guys who would be pissed to see a shirt with an Oregon break on it are probably wearing a Hurley hat or a Quiksilver hoodie...companies that are far more responsible for the added bodies in the water than any one off shirt in my opinion, if I indeed even have an opinion...
damn sisy, you sparked off a serious one here. too bad all the anon comments can't identify themselves. if you're gonna call someone out you should show your face no true?surly1
Code or no code, I say let the free market reign! Anybody who says otherwise is a commie pinko.
Doods,
I appreciate the different points of view on this and am not so sure where I stand on the issue either, truth be told.
I think the "anonymous" commenter is probably more afraid of the other breaks I might have sketched in my book. The ones that aren't broadcast on the Portland news every morning, or that don't appear in the background of any interview that G. Lo does these days.
This one seems pretty harmless, to be honest, and considering the extreme limited edition I would produce these in--like one or two--I don't think it would do much damage to our community. He doesn't need to worry about my "selling out" other spots.
I've gotten so used to the angry, bitter, egg-fart expressions of surfers here who want to keep things "core" that it doesn't surprise me to get a little flak over this.
And I totally see their perspective, really. I don't like surfing with lots of other people either. But I don't think that having a blog is harmful.
This is pure journalism in that if someone wants to go out of their way to read my accounts of surfing in Oregon--actually READ, not look at people boosting sick airs in advertisments--then maybe they do deserve a chance to experience it.
Trust me, my readership isn't some heaving crowd of non-surfers who are just waiting for a killer post on ice-cream headaches to pick up a board and give it a try.
Which gets me thinking: If you have a line drawing of a break and it doesn't have a name below it, then unless you actually surf that break, how would you know where it is? I suppose you should just buy Stormrider's Guide instead of getting your information from a scrappy one-off t-shirt.
Another note on being Anonymous, it's always easier to chuck rocks at people from the bushes, isn't it?
A couple nameless t's for friends; cool, but producing them in mass would bum me out, name or not. Maybe if you just did it and had not used this medium to tell everyone about it all the childish shit tossing would be avoided? You'd be stoked on your t's and the guys opposed would be no less happy 'cuz they didn't know about it? Not to be harsh, but when you ask a large audience of surfers whether you should make t-shirts with spot names what kind of response did you expect?
LOL, nice shit-can you opened there...
Just for all of this, I'm making you a shirt that says:
"I surfed with Gerry at "spotname" and all I got was this lousy t-shirt..."
Or better yet, make the shirts but just put the wrong spot name on the break...
This is why it's fun to make your own shirts, it's easy to get people riled up with them. I'll have to post a pic of my "Church of Satan" series I did back in high school. And you thought naming spots was bad, how about having Anton LaVey on your shirt in high school in rural North Carolina. Good times...
True dat, Slim. I just reread the post and I can see how it might look like I'm exploiting the places we hold dear. But that wasn't my intent and it's not the intent of this blog.
Sometimes I forget there are more than ten of my closest chums reading this thing...
Lawless, you can't even utter the names of spots without getting in trouble. It's like saying "Voldermort" or somthing.
If you really want to diffuse enthusiasm for surfing in the Pacific Northwest, the best place to start would be to blow up OSP. It's like a petri dish/pissing contest between sick brahs that "kinda sorta" dish the dirt on where they surfed every day. Not that I don't visit there every once in a while :)
Look on the bright side, when's the last time a Hurley shirt started this much discussion?
That was kind of the whole initial point of making your own shirts. You can make very pointed statements that have local or personal context very quickly, cheaply and easily.
If nothing else, getting people to react whether positively or negatively is better than getting no reaction at all...
It's a cool drawing (nobody has mentioned that yet) and I'd buy one.
I think nameless is better in that it satisfies the "either you know already or not" fact and so avoids the idea that you are "selling out" a spot. Plus there really is no need for the name, if the drawing is good enough, right?
I think it's important that you've identified that these shirts are of spots already mentioned in TONS of existing available media, whether the Stormrider guide, Oregon Surf Page or whatever - and not the less well traveled breaks.
Docs comments that there are way more impactful media sources than blogs or these (potential) shirts that are leading to the increase of surfing popularity here in Oregon and worldwide is quite true.
Are these shirts going to lead to an explosion of new surfers? Come on folks, these would be the least of the problem!
I think the t's should have the sketch of the break and underneath say "I got localized at x break and all I got was this shirt!"
Leave it to a Portland wanker to come up with this shit. Stay home.
Fuck the OSP and fuck all of those who do not respect the secrecy and privacy of those of us who actually live where we surf.
And if ya got balls, let me know what you drive, color make and model please, while your at it, what color is your surf tech?
A blog that deals with surfing, no worries.
A blog (or shirt) that names spots?
Go ahead and punch your ticket.
My vote: no name. I hit a spot on Saturday that I don't want to share with the rest of the city folks. Ill A-frames and multiple peaks to choose from.
My recommendation: Add some color to your t-shirt design and you are good as gold.
Portland wanker?! That smarts.
One thing that always seemed strange while living in oregon was the online agression when it came to surfing... since everyone is making up rules about surfing, which seems silly, I propose a new rule. You can't call a spot secret if you can drive up to check the waves or pull it up on the local weather stations weather cam.
localism and violence sucks and it's lame. it's no different than attacking another country for thier oil or stealing an old lady's purse.
we should all take ourselves a little less seriously.
I'm with Ras.
When can I get one?
"localism and violence sucks and it's lame. it's no different than attacking another country for thier oil or stealing an old lady's purse."
I have no need to attack the comment, it speaks for itself.
But I will attack you.
You are a fucking idiot for saying it.
My practicing blatant localism lets me surf our spots with my humble neighbors.
It doesnt exclude any one but picture takers.
Deal with it.
Surf the Williamette, save the Coast.
"angry, bitter, egg-fart expressions"
I want to make sure people understand why I changed the content of this blog. It wasn't because I "caved in" or anything, but because I realized that the way I phrased my entry invited comments like Writer's above.
Quite frankly, I'm bored to tears by this argument and I don't want my blog to become a venue for a tired war of words about localism. I could just imagine some bitter, alienated lurker calling in the calvary and making Sissyfish a platform for other thumb-twiddling crusties who have no other options where they live but to sit online popping their knuckles and coming up with oh-so-intimidating comments.
Then I'd have to spend my whole day sitting here deleting comments and I wouldn't have enough time to enjoy surfing up and down the Oregon Coast.
Surf coloring books for kids??? WTF Chum!? Now you've really crossed the line. Think about the thousands of babies out there who, after blithely enjoying your coloring book, will grow up wanting to be surfers without even knowing why. The line-up will become so crowded the locals will need to bring firearms into the break just to keep all these soon-to-be kooks out of the water. Don't do it dude, I know you want to bring joy to your baby but it's not worth it man. Like Writer says, "Save the Coast".
Don't do it Chum...or I'll kill you!!!!!
Cool shirt..... why do I feel like I came to the party a bit late? What's the OSP?
You aint safe south of Newport. Deal with it.
Your snarky tone sealed the deal.
And as for surfing up and down the coast, stop by and say hi.
Call me.
541 260 3320
Make your T's chum....but make'em for your baby.
The V-man's (my son) dad drew & made surf T's for him as a baby. Little onesies with waves on 'em. Original....and 7 years later I still have them.
If anybody should be repping this shirt, it'd be Gaz! And V-man!
Hey writer, what happens when you have to move to a different break because of a job, etc. Are you going to stop surfing because you're no longer "local"? There are a lot of us 20 yr surfing veterans who have moved here from elsewhere (not California) and aren't stopping because of cold sharky water. Don't think every new face in the water is a newbie. Where's the Aloha that surfing was born with. Learn your roots.
John, if I move, it starts all over again, I earn it...I doubt I would name spots if I lived in Portland.
BTW, Aloha? Plenty of stoke for every one but the namers and ptown kooks that are namers. I tolerate any one who shows up around here as long as they adhere to the general rule of thumb-no pics, no names on the innertubes, no five guys in one car, no littering, no bullshit.
Look at Doc, low key, no names, lives in ptown but is welcome every where.
But the idea to line draw a spot and its name on a t shirt? And you live in Portland?
Excuse it if you wish but its a bad idea.
Its PC on the shirt...
For the wandering surfer types...
Turn your fucking stereo off when suiting up.
Do not bring any one with you. If you do, leave one on the beach, always. You two can take turns.
Dont assume that because there isnt a house within thirty miles that a spot doesnt have locals, if its rideable, there are locals.
Do not break out a chinese surfboard.
Do not sit inside and shoulder hop.
Do not bring your dog and let him roam while you surf.
Pack your trash. All of it. Nothing but nothing will piss us off faster than litter.
Cigarette butts are not seeds, no matter how many you throw, they wont grow more cigarettes.
Do not stop and have a look at a spot because you see rigs with racks, if you were supposed to surf there, some one would have told you to.
If there are two guys on the peak, its their peak.
If there is only one surfer out, get 'permission'.
Do not assume that because you see no locals that its safe to hide your keys, we dont like you and we will steal all of your shit and sell your rig to the guys in Seaside.
Dont have windows full of surf stickers. This isnt Cali or Hawaii. Low key may save your day.
Leave wax on the beach, we locals never buy our own and count on you to provide it for us.
And lastly...
RESPECT THOSE WHO MUST LIVE HERE. IT ISNT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS.
hey writer,
move back to california you sorry ass wannabe.
you're not from here and never will be.
"local" doesn't come as easy as you think, loser.
touched a nerve, eh mark?
Been burned ?
By a local?
What did you do?
Call'em names or rebut the points he made?
Can I scribble your break on a shirt and name it?
You have one, right?
In all of your third grade name calling,you forgot fucking prick.
Im outta here, I made my point. Its obvious this is a ptown dogpile.
Have fun getting some.
The T-man has had enough. However, if you need any advice feel free to write me.
Soooo, wow... interweb rage. while yes, a crowded break is annoying...
...I remember some Skins in DC that had the same attitude. I also remember some thugged out graffiti writers in NYC and Philly (well anywhere) that had a similar tone...
The fact is, if you don't have much, any encroachment is offensive.
I don't condone localism, but I can't say it's not without a source.
To counter it, tides change.
Wow...this is classic stuff.
Anyone else find it ironic that Writer is the only one to name the spot here?
Sorry I missed all the fun.
Great blog Chum.
I named PC because I dont surf there, its like paddling in Portland's piss.
Of course, its not like sissy doesnt mention PC in every other post here.
Matt, you are an asshole and wouldnt know irony if it started eating your ass out with a straw.
I'm not a big surfer, but by the tone of this thread, it seems to me that there's a hell of a lot of macho bullshit willy-waving involved. What I DO know is that it's not suopposed to be this way - re: John's point about surfing having the Aloha it was born with.
If surfing means having to put up with hyper-aggressive territorial pissings like 'writer' seems to display, then I don't think I'll bother to learn.
That's true. I have named PC, Shorties, and the Cove in my past posts. They really aren't "secrets" after all, since even most non-surfers in Oregon know that's where people go to surf. Or learn to surf.
But considering the opportunities that I've had to out real secrets, I'd say anyone who knows me or has spent time on this blog would know that I understand the rules and play by them.
Hey 'Writer' - you seem like a really nice guy so anytime that you want to come to Portugal and surf some warm water perfection give me a call, we can hook up and I'll show you all the local spots. Then later you can have a go on my wife and drink all the beer in my fridge...
Aloha.
What you dogpiling cocksmokers fail to see as you hitch your wagon to chum's lilly white ass...
The crowds are coming to your spots but since most of you live in Portland anyway, it doesnt matter.
So chum, how many spots were you going to draw? Just three then?
Have fun at the 'beach' this weekend..but as a "local", I will give you a heads up. When you see a sign that says Lane County, stop.
So what happens Mr Writer (regulator of all that is surfy in the known surfiverse) if you stray out of the one mile stretch of coast you call your backyard and (God forbid) do some 'wandering' overseas? You climb out of your hire car with your friends (obviously we left the realms of reality at that last marker) and meet the local version of yourself striding up the beach trying to tear you a new arsehole with his sparkling personality?
We don't do localism around here - we let the spots filter out the kooks from the surfers.
I'm not sure we do 'dog-piling' or 'cocksmoking' either but I'll try anything once - got a light...?
Nice blog btw Chum - like the words and the sketches.
Sorry to be conversing with others in your comments. Bit rude really...
Glad you like my blog!
Penfold, you have no say in this really, being a few thousand miles away, you do not understand the mentality of Oregon.
Maybe chum will explain it to you...
But I am glad to see I am taking up so much of your time...you spent 1 hour and 55 minutes at my blog...lol, see ya.
Just checking to see if you had a sense of humour. Not sure 1 hour 55 was enough...
Ding fries are done
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