Edhat Staff
Photos: Blake Bronstad / Instagram
By edhat staff
Local surfers supported the Black Lives Matter movement with a paddle out in Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Hundreds of surfers and water enthusiasts took a knee at Leadbetter Beach and held a moment of silence in memory of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time a knee was held to Floyd’s neck by a police officer.
Surfers used their boards to spell a message of “Unity” on the sand before the paddle out.
Paddle outs are a common ritual in the surf community, usually to honor the life of a fallen surfer, but surf communities have adopted to custom for larger memorials and movements.
Photographer Blake Bonstad captured stunning images that are available for purchase here with all proceeds going towards Black Lives Matter Santa Barbara.
I remember when BLM was the Bureau of Land Management….
Thank you surfers and thanks for the great shots of this unifying event. I especially like the vertical one that shows a vast majority of people wearing masks as they approach the surf about a board’s length apart from one another. I might warn you, though, that some commenters here despise vertical photos as much as they can’t take in new meanings and ideas, and resist looking at things from other perspectives.
roses….seriously here…a PR grab? so you’re telling me that myself and hundreds of others, got out there and suited up and paddled out there to represent a PR photo grab? Jaded isn’t a correct word i’d use…
honestly that’s just flat out rude of you. people are joining in and protesting in the way they know how and you want to tarnish it and make assumptions? FFS would you rather we didn’t paddle out?
WOW Sbobserver….
okso you seem to be stuck in 1980s Hollywood beach area of oxnard. I surf and don’t do that, nor do ANY of the hundreds of others that surf do. Not sure what lame movie you just watched, but you’re so far off point that its comical. This isn’t TV. We don’t chase and beat kooks for surfing waves on a coast that we all own and enjoy and use. I have only seen this type of thing once and that was Pierpont back in highschool in the 80s. What you are talking about doesn’t exist. Maybe go out and try surfing yourself…it’s better than sitting in your chair critizing people and things you clearly know nothing about.
right on Alex! fully agree and kinda bent that a few of these tools like to think inside of a TV program of how surfers “act”.
Soap, that just made me totally laugh…because it’s true. 🙂
@ZEROHAWK: Preach!! I was there was emojis on here. (insert multiple hand claps). My comment supporting the paddle out and sticking up for the photographer has more downvotes than that the comment I was responding to. Same for Bigugly stick’s positive comment. SMH
Zerohawk–yep. I sort of don’t think that Santa Barbara Observer surfs. In forty years of surfing I’ve had probably four negative interactions. La Jolla, where my leash was tugged by a pro surfer whose name I won’t mention, once in Hawaii when I was yelled at by a guy, once in L.A.. and once in Santa Cruz. No one ever threatened to beat me up or even tried to run me out of the water.
That’s over forty years. And I have surfed all over California and the rest of the world and have had COUNTLESS amazing interactions and conversations with awesome people.
As to “hollow PR”–well, I will take a gesture of pretty much any kind towards kindness, listening and unity over the alternatives, which are standing by silently or putting hate out.
I think Zerohawk is saying (or suggesting, or opinion, etc.) that many of our modern-day protesters blow with the wind…..join the protest du jour…..”brag” or talk about their participation, and expect to be recognized for their “good” deed, then, for example, not pay attention while walking past the dozens of homeless starving homeless people who congregate around our waterfront.
SBOBSERVER: You clearly know very little about surfing. No one with a surfboard needs an excuse to surf especially on a Saturday or Sunday. They do however, usually need an excuse to work, the excuse is that there is no surf or enough money. FYI Leadbetter is not a word class surfing area. These folks were there for the right reason, to stand up for racial equality. What did you do?
It still is and they still manage more land in California than anyone in California.
By all means JAK, turn it over to the developers and cover it all over with asphalt and concrete. And do you think you’ll benefit from it?
Surfers are among the most insular and hyper-local people I’ve ever come across. They will beat you for trying to surf in “their” wave and if you are in their “hood” expect your car, your belongings to be stolen or trashed. They will belittle the kooks and act as if they’re for inclusion while doing everything possible to exclude others, especially newbies. Nice try but we all know that you folks just wanted an excuse to go surf.
As a lifelong surfer, I can’t say that I would argue with that statement.
I’ve surfed all over the world for many years and I’ve only been hassled a few times. “They will beat you for trying to surf their wave”.
Oh, really. How often does that happen?
In terms of being insular and local, yep, lots of truth there, but approach people with respect and humility and 99 times out of hundred you’ll have no issues. I applaud the local surfing community for paying attention to the problem of racism and police brutality.
I’m pretty jaded so although I’m certain virtually all participants had good intensions, it feels like an ultimately hollow PR grab for the photographer. Instagram activism.
Wow, ultimately hollow PR grab? Presuming you know nothing about the actual photographer and their “intentions”. Mind blowing the negativity for absolutely zero reason. I’m all for Instagram activism if it’s paired with action, like Blake has clearly done. Instagram is the primary social media tool I’ve seen being used for good to spread an abundance of helpful resources, tools, news and updates on this issue from all walks of life. I doubt he needs any additional PR, as he is a well known and successful photographer who regularly contributes his prints for nonprofit fundraisers he aligns with.
@sbobserver — Did you take time to even read the article? A paddle out memorial doesn’t actually involve surfing. In addition, Leds, where it was held is a beginner surfing spot, used by instructors to teach surfing, and where people can safely learn to surf or enjoy mellow waves. Doubt you’ll find many of the agro jerky surfers you’re speaking of. I’m not a surfer, but my partner and many friends are. Many of the people who showed up, like me, respect what a paddle out stands for and the cause itself. I find this comment also insulting to the organizer, a local black surfer, who poured his heart into organizing this event in 3 days. Unless you’ve had your head under a rock, you’ll know that dozens of paddle outs have been held in solidarity with large turnouts, including one organized by “Black Girls Surf”. A nonprofit helping bring women of color into the ocean. Maybe find groups like that to support and keep the negative energy to yourself.
What a beautiful showing of ALOHA in our community. As a lifelong surfer and Native Californian ocean lover, I applaud this beautiful peaceful protest and showing of action.
SBO, that has been my experience also, that unless you are a member of the local surf tribe, you can be the target for a lot of bad stuff by the locals. But if they are engaged in positive stuff, you gotta give them credit for that.