I live in Redondo Beach, and grew up on the border between Torrance and Palos Verdes (which is in the South Bay about 20 miles south of Venice), and it's pretty much the same as Dogtown over here, or at least it was when I was a kid back in the 80s/90s. I quit surfing years ago because I kept getting sick from the dirty water, and developed this weird psychological aversion to the ocean (which is another story entirely), but I still skate all the time. In any case, I can't speak for what surfers are like nowadays around here, so maybe they've mellowed out a bit since then, but when I was growing up, you didn't surf where you didn't belong.
The difference between PV and Dogtown is there's actually something to fight for over here. Google "Palos Verdes" and you'll see what I mean. It's a super rich area, and looks like paradise. Dogtown, on the other hand, is a *beep* I watch those old videos of those guys surfing that hideous pier, and I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to surf there in the first place, let alone fight for it. I suppose it was a status-thing, so you could look like a tough guy when you bragged to your buddies that you surfed the Dogtown pier, but there are about 100 different places up and down the coast I would've surfed before I'd have ever considered Dogtown. Even if the locals were friendly and invited people to come, I wouldn't have surfed there (of course, the pier isn't there anymore, and they've really cleaned the place up, but back then it was as ghetto as surf spots could possibly get).
But, back to my original point, around here, if you surf a local spot where you don't belong, you could very well end up in the hospital. There are plenty of tourist-type areas you can go, but local surf spots are generally manned by crews who keep strangers out. I've known guys on both sides of it; guys who have gotten jumped, and had their ribs broken and heads kicked in, and guys who have gone to prison over a wave. There's been cases where guys have had their tires on their cars shot out and their windshields bashed in, and I even knew a guy who moved to Missouri after getting harassed so often by a surf crew (he ended up suing them in court and winning).
It's funny, because people think of California as being all peace, love and tie-dye, and it is in certain areas, like West Hollywood and Haight-Ashbury, for example, but for the most part, that's complete BS. People are super-territorial.
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chas437
11 years ago
Interesting perspective, thanks. I've spent enough time in California to know that everything is crowded, and people are pretty stressed. There are just so many people there and not enough natural resources such as great surf spots to go around.
I have a few friends who surf at international locations like S Africa, Aus, and in Hawaii. They would never go the California to surf.
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