HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Aug. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Surfline/Wavetrak Inc., the company behind surf forecasting and media powerhouse Surfline, released its ' Legends Roundtable ' sneak preview on Surfline.com this week, featuring legends of the sport Tom Curren, Mark Occhilupo, Tom Carroll and Sunny Garcia. Surfline Premium members will get exclusive access to the full premiere on Wednesday, Aug. 27, while all Surfline users can view the content on Sunday, Aug. 31.
The release follows on the success of Surfline's original World Champ Round Table , featuring the surfing world champions of the past decade – Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson and CJ Hobgood weighing in on life on the world tour, modern professional surfing and the psychology of winning in a round table format.
"After the success of last year's World Champ Roundtable featuring Kelly, Joel, Mick and CJ -- and with the growth of the ASP and pro surfing in general -- we thought it'd be great to corner some earlier world champs from the eighties and nineties, which was essentially the birth of modern pro surfing," explains Surfline Editor-in-Chief Marcus Sanders.
From beating the odds to talking about how surfing –and competing – has shaped their lives, each World Champion reflects on his relationship to surfing, offering surprising insights into a bygone era of professional surfing – and where professional surfing is today.
The Legends Roundtable follows the success of the ASP's Heritage Series featuring legends of the sport facing off in rematches of past heats. Most recently, Round Table participants Curren and Occhilupo battled for bragging rights in near-perfect waves at Jeffrey's Bay during the 2014 ASP Jeffrey's Bay Open.
"The goal of the Legends Round table was to have these guys discuss some of the differences between pro surfing in the eighties and nineties and pro surfing now, as well as have them open up about various stories of their own," said Sanders, adding, "And after listening to these guys talk amongst themselves for a couple hours around a table in a dark room in Fountain Valley during the US Open madness, one thing became abundantly clear: the surf froth burns as bright now as it did a couple decades ago; a good sign not just for the growing older sect of surfers, but also kids just coming up. Surfing isn't a childhood pastime any more, it's something you can carry with you well into the Golden Years. (Just don't draw any one of these guys in a heat.)"
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
SUNNY GARCIA:
I don't think that competitiveness ever leaves. I don't know about you guys. I don't like losing in anything. Even driving home from work, I'm racing against my wife to get back to the house first. Everything seems to be a contest with me.
TOM CARROLL:
If I didn't have surfing, I don't know what I'd be doing. Just the ocean and being in the water. I didn't stop surfing throughout my ups and downs -- I stayed in the water no matter what. And I knew that was kind of like a place where I could get myself back. It was like a place where I'd go home to.
TOM CURREN
I think we're all still competitive. But it just seemed like it was so important when we were doing it. And I think when you get older you realize it isn't the most important thing. But you still [compete], because it means something...
MARK OCCHILUPO
For me, winning the world title was like sanctifying. That's probably the biggest word I'll ever use, but that's how it felt for me. I had my break, and then just the comeback and winning felt sanctifying. It felt really good.
-About Surfline/Wavetrak, Inc.-
Surfline/Wavetrak, Inc. specializes in providing live and predicted ocean weather information, editorial content, and consulting services to consumers, businesses, and government agencies worldwide.
Headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, Surfline/Wavetrak Inc. is focused on enabling its customers to pursue peak surfing, marine, and fishing experiences through the Surfline.com, Buoyweather.com , and Fishtrack.com brands on web and mobile platforms.
Since 1985, Surfline.com has built the largest streaming coastal HD cam network and merged premier surf forecasts and editorial talent with industry-leading technology to produce content of quality aimed at active participants in the sports of surfing primarily, with other ocean enthusiasts such as stand-up paddle boarding, windsurfing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding and kitesurfing utilizing the services as well.
The company's online properties were visited by an average of 175,000 unique people per day and an average of 2,000,000 per month.
The Company offers paid premium subscription services on both web and mobile platforms. In addition to paid subscriptions, the Company also offers advertising and provides a range of marketing services designed to reach and connect with users of Surfline, Buoyweather, and Fishtrack.
For more information on Surfline, please visit http://www.surfline.com and check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/surfline . You can follow us on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/surfline and Instagram: @surfline.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=27251
Gretchen Wegrich,
