poor Rob Machado.

Why the Hate? Dude absolutely kills it! Definitely my favorite surfer. He has such a sweet style to em. Like he isnt even surfing a wave. Almost like he is just gliding on air. Maybe I'm not interpreting what your trying to say.... But WTF is the second post!? LOL

P.S. I would definitely like to check out his band. They sound pretty dope.

 

I saw the same show in Asbury Park a few years ago with some friends. I enjoyed it... nice evening to just chill and listen to music and watch surf videos. Reminded me of home surf movies and a mellow garage band. But I have a lot of respect for Machado. His surfing is very stylish and creative... he rides anything and makes it look easy... he does what he wants to do and is who he wants to be, and if the corporate types want to exploit that, and he can make a living through it... well... how cool is that?

He's a contest caliber surfer with a free surfing attitude. Remember the high five that cost him a world title?

 

"the drifter" was such an emo cry fest. I was worried he was going to slit his wrists on camera or something.

They released another disc of the actual surfing footage called "drifter sessions" which is much better.

 

I wish he never made the Drifter. Crying about everything. Waah...life of a pro surfer is so hard. Wahh my phone rings too much. I lost alot of respect for him after that...even though he kills it.
Meanwhile he was surfing Nihiwatu at the end of the film, an exclusive resort wave that you have to pay $800 a night to stay at to surf. Waahh

 

The Mayhem vids are so much better than the modern emo surf films.

Hurley (NIKE) film crew: "Ok Rob, we want to get a shot of you looking out at the sunset here while crying and writing poetry...."
Lost Film crew: "OK, so who is going to set this goat on fire?"

 

Always thought Machado was a little turd. This movie confirms it. Doesn't mean I don't like the way he surfs, but someone needs to pick him up and put him down hard. Agree with Lee above. Emo cry fest for sure.

 

I bet your heading to the gym in a few mins too, huh. who buys people like this a surfboard?

 

was at the same show. thought it was pretty cool. what made it even better was the surf before hand. what an amazing day of surf that was!!!!

 

Watching now...
I feel like it was made with the idea of being very honest and true to Rob, but it comes off feeling a bit disingenuous to me. Or maybe that is the real Rob?

 

I can tell you that Rob is a straight up guy. He comes to Galveston every summer with the Hurley Rip my Shred Stick Tour and hangs out and surfs with all the groms. He has done this for the past several years in a row and comes across as just a normal guy hanging on the beach. The story behind this is that he Made a Wish Come True by inviting one of our local kids, Johnny Romano, who was battling cancer to Pipe because Rob was his hero. Unfortunately Johnny lost his battle but out of respect Rob voluntarily comes to Galveston Tx of all places to show his appreciation. He could easily blow this off but it obviously means something to him. Watching what he can do on any kind of board on the worst conditions is absolutely mid boggling. Sooo fluid and natural it makes you wonder.

As far as the movie goes it is a little weird but I watch it when I want to just chill and think about what it would be like to just leave it all behind. Puts me back in a good place for some odd reason. The bonus footage on the disc is some pretty good stuff. One of the longest perfect lefts I have ever seen on a movie....check it out but you need the actual dvd, not on line.

 

I think y'all are just jealous of his fro

 

I was always under the impression that they made this film based off his solo travels... Rob left the lime light and did his thing, then the film crew went back with him and gathered footage.

As far as a cry baby or emo film? I'd have to disagree. Many modern surf films are all about the glamor of surfing brand name boards with a bunch of stickers on it, doing airs and chicks, wearing expensive sunglasses and clothing and surfing exclusive spots...living the dream so to speak. But that ain't what surfing is all about.. and that's what the "drifter" was trying to hint at..

Sure at the end of the day its still a film and the big dogs are making $$$ off it, but at least the message is getting out there to people. Maybe those guys who are caught up in the materialistic aspect of surfing will watch the film and realize they don't need to spend $60 on a pair of pants by some surf company..or $30 on a flannel... maybe they will realize it's just about going out in the water and appreciating what you've got and spreading the love..

 

K so Drifter is a lil off the guy has soul. You can't make that sh*t you have to be born with it. AND don't forget his other charities:

http://robmachadofoundation.org/

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/rob-machado#related-news

 

What he said

 

The hairy free-surfer look is Rob's schtick, just like Dave Rastovich. Both guys rip, but they also have to make a living trying to sell that image (well, their sponsors are the ones who sell the image). Nothing wrong with that, it's not hurting anybody.

It could be worse, they could make a living promoting motorized surfboards.

 

I think eveyone assumes that having that laid back persona is a put on and that it can't be for real. And everyone likes to think that the perfect life would be to have nothing to do but to chase and surf perfect waves for the rest of their lives. The problem with that idea is that it's not possible unless you have a change of attitude. You could never sustain a gung ho attitude everyday, year after year without killing yourself either literally or figuratively. So when faced with the endless travel and surfing like some of these guys are, you either run yourself out and move on or you learn to calm and slow yourself down so you don't burn out. When I went to El Salvador last year I was excited beyond belief on day one but by day eight I was pretty worn down and tired and although I surfed the chest to head high waves on the morning of our final day I was content to sit really wide and just take a few pictures. I think I caught 2 waves that morning. That was after 8 days, if you left me down there for a year you would have found me with a long beard, bare feet, and tattered clothes sitting on the cliff waiting for just the perfect tide while I wrote poetry or played the flute.

 

LOl. We had surf everyday in El Salvador and although I loved the trip by the end I was going out for one session a day as opposed to the first few days when we would do 2 or 3 go outs. Once you get the goods for a few days you just want to hang back a bit. It didnt help that our room was on the top of a cliff with 190 steps to the beach and another 190 on the way up sometimes, boiling hot with scorpions, lol.

 

I'm getting to the point I'd walk thru some scorpions to get some waves!