It’s not just in the water where the Stab ethos of world firsts reigns supreme. On the page, we publish these awesome culture-shaping stories that other magazines seem to miss.
For instance, we’d been searching for years for a gay pro surfer willing to out himself in our mag. So when Matt Branson, a punk ex-pro surfer who happened to be a poof turned up glassing sleds at JS surfboards on the Gold Coast, one of our aces, Fred Pawle, was on a plane and putting a story together that would later be acknowledged as one of the finest pieces of magazine writing in 2006. The King of Queens was nominated for a Walkey Aw ard, the most prestigious prize in Australian journalism. It eventually lost to a story on the rehabilitation of deaf and blind dogs.
Clint Kimmins is a pro surfer who glassed a man at a party, was convicted of unlawful wounding, and ended up doing six months in jail. Again, Fred Pawle was our holding ace and he was quickly on a jet to Brisbane to see Clipper in jail. The first journalist Clipper spoke to upon his release was Fred (who spent a night, platonically, with his subject). Later, Clipper would say the story was the best thing ever written about him.
Finally, the Ice Storm created a shit storm, including attention from the Australian Press Council. We figured we’d put the moralising aside and write what we saw. We did, publishing a story apparently glorifying everything about the use and sale of methamphetamine. Most readers got it; some didn’t and these mad fuckers went shit crazy on various blogs.
As an interesting appendage to each story, the writer has gone back and called his subject to gather his thoughts on the story and the reaction they received when it came out.
Convicted ice dealer Anthony Ruffo was sanguine, telling writer Charlie Smith: “Your writing style was hard for people to grasp so when they read the first paragraphs they actually believed I was getting 14-year-old girls strung out. The local paper blew the story up during the Cold Water Classic, which caused more haters to jump on board and misread…I’m not trying to be a little bitch. Thanks.”
Even if you’ve read em before, each story forms a significant part of our sport’s mosaic, shaping the game like few stories before or since.
King of Queens
Stab makes history with the first ever interview of an openly gay pro surfer, who just happens to also be the original surf punk.
Full story here.
Phone conversation, December 23, 2007
Hey Branno, we’re revisiting the King of Queens story for the Best Of Stab issue, and wanted a little follow-up interview.
Ah, you know, I only did it to help other gay people come out. So for me the story’s been told. I’ve had lots of people email me saying they loved it, but I don’t want any more publicity out of it. If you guys want to run it again, good on ya, but for me it’s a story that’s been told. I just did it to help others, that’s the main thing I wanna say. I hope I helped somebody out with it.
Did you?
Dunno. I’m just here in my own little world.
Dude, you raised the bar for coming out stories. It’s a pretty intense yarn.
Yeah, but you know what, it’s been news for a while. Fair enough I hadn’t come out in the media, but I’ve been out for a long time. So now I’ve told it… what else is there to say?
I was thinking maybe your life had changed in some way over the past year, but, shit, you’re still the same dude you were 20 years ago.
Hopefully we all are! You know what I call it? Good stock. I’ve got a beautiful mum and dad, they’re from good stock, and I’ve been brought up the right way.
How’s work at JS?
I love it, mate. I’m making the best boards in the world. I’ll say that any time, they’re the best boards. I’m making boards for Parko, and boards for Andy Irons – how cool is that? That’s fucking great. I’m happy to glass boards for people of that calibre.
How’s the band, Up The Anti?
Shithouse!. Nah, I’m in two other bands now. Me and Beaver (from Up The Anti) left and joined this other band called Drunken Spine. Travis (an old mate from Branno’s first ever band in Perth 20 years ago) is playing bass, Beaver’s singing and on guitar and I’m on the drums. And I’m in another band called the Ferry Road Disaster. Fuck, we’re rocking.
Any plans?
Nah, no plans. We do it because we love it. Put it this way, there’ll be no tapes fucken sent off to Idol.
Bummer. I can just see you playing a punk version of I Will Always Love You at the Opera House.
You know what? That would be the best thing ever because finally people would hear the real shit. Let’s burn the whole Opera House down.Ha ha! Cause a riot!
Onya Branno.
Yeah bro, take it easy.
Free Clipper
Fred Pawle visits Clint Kimmins in the slammer, hooks up for a surf upon his release, then calls him a year later to see how the time out affected his career.
Phone Conversation, December 10, 2007
What happened to the WQS campaign in 07?
I did all the Aussie leg, and the early France and Scotland leg, and the Maldives. Did pretty much did half a year before the money ran out. Everything was going to plan, I was making main rounds and above. For my first year back, without a seed, that was pretty much all I was after. I finished around 250-270th. I was hovering around 100 when the money ran out. I was hoping to make it to Europe then Hawaii and make the top 50, but ran out of money.
Sponsors?
Oakley have been helping me out paying for trips, but apart from that I put everything on my credit card. I got some money back on tax because I slipped a couple of tax brackets while I wasn’t making money in jail. That was about the only thing that went my way. Sold my GSXR600, that went straight on the credit card.
What’ll happen this year?
I don’t know what next year’s gonna bring. To be honest, I don’t know where my life is going. I dunno if I’m going to be working for the rest of my life or if the new year’s gonna bring some money my way so I can keep pursuing the surfing career.
Wheels said his advice to you was to have something that makes you stand out…
Yeah, exactly, and my way of doing that was to go to Hawaii. Throughout jail I was training my arse off every day to get as strong as I possibly could so then when I got to Hawaii I’d be noticeably bigger, then charge my arse off, pull into close-outs all day at Backdoor or Off the Wall, and go mad as I could on big Waimea days so people would think, wow, last time he was here he was just a little grom, but now look at him, he’s really serious about it. But my visa got denied because of my conviction. So the year I’ve been training for just got slammed in my face.
Is that a permanent ban?
Once again it comes down to money. I’m trying to get an immigration solicitor to sort things out for me, to see if there is a window for me. I’m sure there is, because it’s my livelihood.
Fuck, you must be over lawyers by now.
Oh yeah, I still need them to help me out, but it’s the financial situation…
That’s two Hawaiian season in a row you’ve missed, after eight in a row since you were 14. That must hurt.
Yeah, that’s right. I never used to just go there for just two or three weeks. I went over for two months, sometimes longer. If there was one place I could choose to go for the rest of my life and no other country, it would be Hawaii, without doubt. That really got me down, not being there. Especially hearing the news about your mates succeeding and getting through heats, it still hurts now. Everyone’s home now and I think, oh, what could have happened if I’d been there for a month or two?
Dru Baggeley, the guy you stabbed, whose evidence put you in jail, is now behind bars himself, refused bail while he and his brother Nathan await trial on an ecstasy-dealing rap. How does that make you feel?
I’ve had a lot of people ringing me up and saying, “did you hear? Karma’s kicked in”, and so on, but to be honest I don’t care if they spend the rest of their lives in there, and I don’t care if they get out tomorrow. If I think about them, then I’m living in the past, I’m doing it with them, I’m with them in jail. In a way it’s satisfying to see that they get to go through the process, but at the same time I don’t like to see any young Australians go to jail. I wish them all the best and hope they can get out.
Well, I was going to ask you if the heaviness of the past couple of years has stayed with you, but I think you just answered that question.
Yeah, well a lot of people say I must be stoked (to see the tables turned), but to be honest I don’t care. My incident has been dealt with. I’ve done my time, and that’s that. I want to leave it in the past. I’ve got too much shit to look forward to, and too many things to get done in my life to worry about what’s happening to them.
You’re labouring for Carly’s dad. You paid him the 100K you owe him for your defence lawyers?
Yeah, I’m doing six days a week, sometimes 11 hours a day. All my fingers have got blisters all over them. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night and it feels like arthritis I my fingers. I’ve been running them under hot water so I can bend them. I’m making pretty decent money. I give myself $200 a week to live on, and everything else goes to Carly’s dad. Right now, the money I’m earning, I could go out and buy a good car. I don’t have a car, I don’t have a bike, I don’t have anything for transport. I’m making good money but still going backwards.
How’s your surfing?
That’s the frustrating thing. My surfing feels unreal. My surfing is better than it ever has been. That’s what makes it worse because I feel I’m doing my best surfing and I’m gong backwards in my career. I’m waiting for a break but it doesn’t seem to happen. I don’t wanna be a dream-chaser, but I really feel I’ve got something to offer. I’ll be pissed off for the rest of my life if I never really get to give it a shot.
Did you propose to Carly yet?
Nah, there’s a lot I need to get done in my life before I can do the right thing by somebody else, take their worries into my life. My worry bank can’t fit any more.
The Ice Storm
This piece about convicted ice dealer and former top pro Anthony Ruffo caused more than a few folks to spend their wads…
Story here
Phone Conversation, January 27, 2008
I called a convicted meth dealer “Buddha” and everyone got all bent out of shape. Wah wah weee booo hooo. “Meth sucks, the people that sell it are evil.” “There’s nothin’ right about this piece of shit article, or Ruffo. “How on earth can you even print such a disgusting article?” Well I’ll be, Holy Union of Secular Humanist Surfers. Thanks for reading!
I am officially tired of moralising fiends. The sort who finish whacking off to internet porn right before posting sermonic diatribes against all sorts of vice. Quite frankly, I’m tired of the entire cyber opinion phenomenon. I mean, fuck, is there no shame left?
“Don’t get me wrong. I do party on weed and booze… Crank is different than all other illicit meds. It creates a dangerous tweaker that resembles a vampire.”
WHAT THE FUCK? I don’t know what’s happening anymore. Why is crank different than all other illicit meds? Weed creates a dangerous hippie; Booze creates a dangerous deadbeat. Moralising and categorising the depravity of methamphetamine above everything from eating quadruple cheeseburgers to being a coked-up pansy is retarded. Is meth worse because it’s ugly and trashy? Because you get higher? Because it causes more damage to society? If meth does the most damage to society then good for it. It deserves a diamond-encrusted heavyweight belt.
The specific reason I wrote Ruffo’s story the way I did was to highlight the queer way drug reportage is done. It’s always the same. Some poor fuck has to feel horrible for using drugs, for the trouble he’s caused, claim he’s on the straight and narrow, swear to stay clean etc. etc. It’s all horribly BORING for pity’s sake. Are these public service announcements working? Is drug addiction in decline? Nup. So why continue to churn out arid tripe?
Anyhow, while I’ve been busily standing on my soapbox foaming at the mouth, Ruffo has been up in Santa Cruz busily taking the dick-end of criticism. At this year’s Coldwater Classic, for instance, someone plastered my story all over the place. The judges read it and Ruffo lost his next heat even though he clearly dominated the competition.
C: Hey Ruffo, how’s it been? Any positive reactions to the story?
Ruffo: Mr. Smith, it’s been a while. I definitely got a few. The positives were, “You got balls to tell the truth.” “Sounds heavy.” “That’s how you got so many girls!” and “That sounds good enough to make a movie.”
C: What’s about the neggers?
Ruffo: All the hater blogs. Fellas that hide behind their computers and write hater shit. Also, your writing style was hard for people to grasp so when they read the first paragraphs they actually believed I was getting 14 year old girls strung out. The local paper blew the story up during the Cold Water Classic, which caused more haters to jump on board and misread. Shit though, not one person has ever said anything directly to me. I think they were waiting for me to disappear, but I ain’t going nowhere. I’ll be out taking your waves tomorrow… Flea didn’t appreciate you writing about his house and I didn’t appreciate the dumb comics online with the article, but people have died fighting for freedom of speech so I guess I have no argument there. I’m a surfer and I did all this drug dealing bullshit so I could keep surfing. That is the main point I want to get across, and you need to let people know, after all is said and done, I’m still the same person before and after this whole deal. I’m not trying to be a little bitch at all. As a matter of fact, I’m glad you approached me to even do the article…Maybe with this new article some of the confusion could get cleared up? I’m obviously not trippin’ too hard on the whole thing cuz haters will be haters, no matter how good you do in life. I do care what my close friends think about me and how they are perceived in the press. I guess one way to look at is that people are still talking about me. I fucking dealt fucking meth. People get fucking weird about that. Whatever…makes me feel good to talk about and good or bad, it’s all publicity. Thanks.
Anthony Ruffo is more committed to surfing than you’ll ever be. He fucking dealt a drug civilisation deems Satanic to stay in the water. Then he went to jail. Now he’s out and killing it. As a matter of fact, he was at Ghost Tree a few months ago surfing 70-foot disasters – the biggest day ever ridden off Clint Eastwood’s favorite green
You say, “He screwed up so many young victims so he never has to do an honest day’s work and just surf all his life.”
I say, what the fuck does an honest day’s work even mean and why does it matter to you if he’s never worked one? (For the record, Ruffo worked as a pastry chef before becoming sponsored Meth Buddha.)
At the end of the day, I penned a flamboyant parable that vexed the entire surf world, his community and his friends. Because of what I wrote, people think he forced crank on a 14-year-old girl. After all that, he tells me, “I’m not trying to be a little bitch.” And “Thanks.” The man is a saint, sorry, Bodhisattva.
Postscript to a postcript:
In my last conversation with Ruffo, he still hoped to let everyone know that he took the wrong path… it wasn’t right what he did. He never thought it was right even when he was doin’ it. The kiddies certainly shouldn’t follow his example and he’s in recovery etc. It’s cool that he believes that but I don’t want to type it and he shouldn’t need to say it. The whole point of the article was to steer away from that bullshit… but there it is in print. Is that what you want?
BUT this is my treatise so I get the last word!
Meth rules, bitches! It’s the greatest manmade thing ever! I am going to give gack to preschoolers and have them rob banks for me. I’m going to get Barrack Obama hooked on the stuff and have him fire nuclear missiles at Moscow! I’m going to truck all of the sand off the North Shore and replace it with purified devil dust! I’ve already fucken laced this very issue with hi-fi shizzle and it’s seeping into your brain right now!
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Posts: 4
Reply #4 on : Tue September 02, 2008, 20:51:24