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The mission of iSurfedThere.com is to create an association of like minded people who enjoy surfing and the surfing lifestyle. The purpose of the website is to become a place for the association's members to share their real life surfing experiences with others, to explore new possibilities for future surfing travels, and to reach out to others who are searching for or offering surf gear, accommodations, or services in the global marketplace.
The website is expressly not a place to expose "secret spots"; therefor everyone should post new surf breaks at their own discretion - use your best judgement in this regard.
Eventually the website will also become the online hub for the association's future real world events, including parties, expression sessions, contests, beach cleanups, movie showings, surf swap meets, and whatever else our members come up with.
Please join us in this vision by registering on the site, creating your profile, and making connections with fellow members. We look forward to having you on board!
More on the site's history, directly from Glen:
It all started when I was driving up to doheny one day 8 or so years ago. Driving up the coast and saw one of those vintage canned ham trailers that had that sticker of the USA outlined states. The ones that you put a sticker in the states you've traveled in. Later that day I saw a plumbing truck that had a chalkboard painted on the back that showed the days surf forecast temp etc. The wheels started turning. I started thinking about all the places I've surfed, and how it would be cool to have a place where I could go and see other places I wanted to surf. Talk with people who have surfed there and get info in that break.
There were lots of surf websites, but nothing that was a community, no one place you could you could go to check the surf, see pictures and videos, create an event etc... I decided it needed to be created.
I turned to my close friend Vince, who is a technical genius and surfing buddy to collaborate on the project.
We tried many platforms, but nothing could really do everything we wanted. Finally we decided on a platform and there was lots of tweaking, refining and outsourcing.
We now have a working model, but still needs some work that is beyond us. We want to share our love and passion for all things surf (history, awareness, travel, art, music) with the world. Create a place where everyone can go, to talk story and meet like minded surfers. A place where you can swap sofa surfing accommodations, ie find someone in Hawaii who wants to surf where you live and make arrangements to have them come stay with you and you stay with them.
Please help us make this dream a reality for us, for you, and for everyone.
Glen
Vince's take:
Even though I'm a fourth generation San Diegan and I had messed around on my uncle's surfboards when I was young, it wasn't until my mid 30's when my buddy Glen dragged me down to Tourmaline Surf Park that I really got the bug, and I boy got it BAD. When I realized how much fun I had missed out on over the years, I knew I had a lot of catching up to do! When Glen told me about his idea for IST, the first word out of my mouth was "brilliant!" - sort of a mashup of Facebook, Meetup, Expedia, and CouchSurfing.org, only tailored specifically to our fellow surfers.
This was several years ago, and in that time our ideas for the site have continued to evolve. If you read our mission statement, you'll discover that we envision IST to be more than just a website (in fact I think people should generally spend a lot more time surfing and less time online!), but more imporantly a web portal to allow surf communities to coordinate for all kinds of real world surf activities, from expression sessions to beach cleanups, movie nights to swap meets, and so on.
Glen and I have had a blast spinning vintage vinyl at surf contests and other functions the past few years as the BusBrothersDJs, and in the near future we will begin hosting IST events. We even want to open an IST "clubhouse" here in San Diego where people can hang out, talk surfing, hold impromptu art exhibitions, organize events, drink lots of coffee, and do pretty much anything that is lawful, fun, and related to surfing in some way or another - and we want to see that idea spread everywhere people ride waves.
Right now we're at the point where the site is functional and doing most of what we want it to. We're really stoked on the classified ads section, which we envision as a hub of activity for surf travelers everywhere. There are still some features to add and technical hurdles to overcome, including adding live member chat, making the site template user customizable, making it easier for people to add breaks to their profile, making a more comprehensive FAQ/How To section, and most importantly making mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Anyhow, we're super stoked to get this project into high gear, and we'd be honored if you join us!
Aloha,
Vince
Not quite sure how to navigate the site? This will get you up to speed in no time.
To fully enjoy the site, you have to be registered. The general public can see most of the content on IST, but to create your own profile page, map the breaks you have surfed, and post content (including classified ads), you must create an account. If you've already registered, just Drop In on the home page.
"How do I add the breaks I have surfed to my map?" is a question we sometimes get. It's pretty simple really - start by going to the All Breaks page and use the map to find all of the breaks currently listed on IST. Just zoom in on the map, click the red marker, and an info bubble will pop up. Just click the "I Surfed Here!" button:
That break will now be added to your map on your profile page, and you will be redirected to the break's page so that you can see what's going on there, post comments, photos, and videos, and start discussions related to that break. You earn karma points for adding breaks, but please don't spam breaks you haven't surfed at - that's a surefire way to get dropped in on, or even blackballed.
There are other ways to locate breaks on the site, such as going to "Breaks" in the main menu or clicking on a break's icon anywhere it's listed in a comment stream, sidebar module, etc. Click around and check it for yourself.
So now you've added existing breaks to your profile, but there are other breaks you've surfed that are not yet listed on IST. Here's how you can add these breaks yourself. Just use the link "Post a New Break on IST".
Before you start entering information, please use the search function to ensure that you are not duplicating an existing break:
Once you're sure you are not duplicating an existing break, just enter the name of the break and a description, and choose the correct region:
Next, find the proper location on the map. There are two ways to do this - either enter the coordinates in decimal format to the 6th place, or just navigate the map by panning and zooming in to the proper location. If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, it will control zooming when you are moused over the map. Once you have honed in on the proper location, just click there and the red marker will be placed:
Now just enter as many details as you can about the break, including type of break, bottom contour, crowd level, best tides and wind, etc.:
When you've entered all of the details, hit the blue "Save" button and you're almost done! One more thing... you will be taken to the newly created page for the break you've just added, and now you can upload an avatar for the break. Just mouse over the existing generic avatar and click "Change avatar":
That's it, you're now an IST superstar! (And also the Admin for the break you've created!)
As stated in our Mission Statement, iSurfedThere.com aims to become the internet's number one place to connect with others who share a passion for riding waves. If you see someone's profile that interests you, send them a friend request and strike up a conversation. Who knows, you may make a friend for life!
Got some extra space that you want to offer to fellow surfers for free, for barter, or for cash? List it here.
Our Classified Ads section is all set for you to hook up with other like minded surfers who are offering up space for you to crash on your next trip, whether it's just up the coast or half way around the world.
IST offers many ways to communicate with your friends, including private messages, the Graffitti Wall on every member's page, and (soon to come) live chat. Make some friends and stay connected even when your'e away from the beach.
And that's just the tip of the cleanup set!
Though the site is still officially in beta mode, it is for the most part fully functional and ready for you to explore, enjoy, and add your own personal flavor to its pages. So please, create an account and jump right in! The water is nice and the waves are bitchin!
Here's a little more about what you will see when you're logged in:
Anyone who contributes valuable feedback during this "beta" launch period will receive free lifetime memberships for their efforts, so get registered and get to it! We're excited you're here!
Shakas and alohas,
Glen and Vince
p.s. - Oh and one more thing... our Terms of Service
One day I'm hanging out at my buddy Glen's house - and this is about halfway through my two month long love affair with these two boards - when over pops his friend and neighbor Denny Clark. Denny is an old timer from Orange County and has some pretty cool stories that he can back up with some amazing surfing memorabilia.
So anyhow we get to talking about surfing, and before long Glen says "Hey Denny, go grab some of your old Surfer mags and show Vince!".
Denny is back in a flash with a stack of 15-20 tattered old treasures, and Glen and I immediately start rifling through them (with reverence of course!). A little more BS ensues until at some point Denny says "Hey fellas, I gotta go. You hold onto those for a while."
"Twist our arms!" we say! Haha!
I hang out for a little longer until G has to bail, and he says "Pick out a couple and take them.", so I grab Volume Eight, Number Three from '66 and Volume Ten, Number Four from September '69. Little did I know how fortuitous those choices would be when it came to writing this aritcle...
It's amazing how much changed in three short years - in surfing, in music, in art, and in the whole of American culture. The 1966 edition looks so much older, with maybe half the number of color images of the later mag, and a conservative layout that would not have looked out of place a decade earlier in the '50s. Noticeable exceptions include the Rick UFO ad and the Harbour Surfboards ad near the back.
In contrast the 1969 edition is chock full of colorful eye candy front to back. The layout of the Hobie ad on the inside cover isn't particularly brash, but for 1969 the surfing sure is.
But it's not just the layout of the magazine and the ads that has me amazed, it's the content!
The '66 has as its featured article the pronouncement of David Nuuhiwa as the Number One Surfer in the Whole Wide World! (World Championship Contest results be damned!) - along with another lengthy article in which American surfers Corky Carroll, Nuuhiwa, and Mike Doyle retort the Aussies' assertions that there was a new paradigm in surfing, and that it was coming from Down Under. One could argue that this assertion has more basis than just contest results - McTavish's radical power surfing on vee bottom longboards was every bit as impressive as Nat's results in Ocean Beach.
Just three short years later and the '69 issue seems to have come from a whole 'nuther planet! Every ad is dripping with sexual innuendo. The page 3 ad for w.a.v.e.Set fins really sets the tone that sex sells!; a tone that will ring on almost every page thereafter! Check the Challenger ad around page 23 - "Our curves, like Benita's, are designed to get it on!" Hahahaaa! Yowza!!! Good luck getting ads like that into Surfer Magazine today! One would think that all of those trips to French shores must have had some influence on the magazine's editors... Oh yeah, and as for the surfing, the center spread article is all about Billy Hamilton, Mark Martinson, and Keith Paull surfing France on their vee bottoms, all filmed by MacGillivray and Freeman... hmmm... prescience! And Billy Hamilton's writing is superb; it's obvious how lucky Laird was to have such an amazing father figure in his life.
In short there is so much more that could be said about these wonderful old treasures, but I don't want to bore you with any more of my rambling when you could be leafing through them yourself, virtually at least. And we've got Alexis rankings to think about, right? We're gunning for top spot and we can't lose even one reader to boredom! Haha!
So I leave it up to you, dear reader, to find these nuggets for yourselves. In that spirit, here are full scans of both mags in PDF format for your viewing pleasure. Just click the thumbnails below to see them (or right click to save to your hard drive). Enjoy!
