Why is everyone mad at Kolohe Andino? This week on Pinch My Salt, Sterling Spencer and Cousin Ryan break down the Kolohe Andino drama, the backlash inside surf culture, his comments about the modern surf industry, and why some surfers are questioning the former Target and Nike-sponsored pro surfer’s new direction. We get into Kolohe Andino’s surf film, the criticism that it was heavily inspired by an older Joe G. surf movie, the “core lord” complaints Sterling says started coming in, and the bigger question: can a surfer who benefited from huge mainstream sponsorships now criticize what surfing has become?From Kolohe Andino, Target, Nike and surf industry politics to Tom Curren, Kelly Slater, Jamie O’Brien, John John Florence, Dane Reynolds, surf brands, pro surfer sponsorships, surf films, surf media, vlogging and the loss of mystery in surfing, this episode gets into what “core” even means anymore. Sterling and Ryan debate whether Kolohe is being hypocritical, whether the surf world is being too hard on him, and whether he’s actually one of the few surfers trying to bring creativity, style and real surf culture back.The boys also get into Tom Curren’s legendary surf aura, why so many modern pro surfers feel overly branded, the rise (and possible death) of the term “core lord,” Gen Z surf culture, social media algorithms, surfing vlog content, and whether pro surfers should control their own careers instead of relying completely on surf brands.Then things go completely off the rails.Sterling discovers he may be becoming the Tony Hawk of surfing, the guys talk Kelly Slater, Jack Johnson, Reddit, John John Florence, Florence, Former, Outerknown, starting their own surf brand, and why the modern surf industry looks completely different from the Billabong-era surf world they grew up in.Later, Sterling gets surprisingly deep about growing up as a traveling pro surfer, spending years chasing waves around the world, the brutal Gulf Coast summer flat spell, and watching surfers constantly chase swell from Hawaii to Indonesia, Tahiti and Fiji. The conversation turns toward Nathan Florence, surf travel, getting older as a surfer, Sterling’s brain injury, fatherhood, grief, forgiveness and learning how to actually slow down.Basically: Kolohe Andino drama, surf industry politics, core lords, surf brands, pro surfing, surf culture, questionable life advice and two cousins trying to figure out if surfing has completely lost the plot.Subscribe to Pinch My Salt for weekly surf news, surf culture, surfing stories, pro surfer interviews, comedy and the important conversations nobody else in surfing is brave—or dumb—enough to have.#KoloheAndino #Surfing #SurfCulture #SurfPodcast #PinchMySalt

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