“Surf culture is weird. When I was surfing it felt
angry and moody. After a few months I stopped altogether and never
really did it again.”
Around seven years ago, a filmmaker pal who had skills that
filled me with jealousy and sadness, the ability to go above the lip and weightlessly conquer
deep-water sections, one of surfing’s most valuable citizens in
a sea of VALS, holstered his five-six for good.
Luke Farquhar, whom you’ll remember from such BeachGrit classics
as the Filipe Toledo film Candid and the
Chips Wilson soft board tester
Twenty, got turned onto bikes after making a
campaign for a pal who owned a bike apparel company.
“After I was exposed to their cult-like Saturday rides The
stereotypes I had in my head were immediately gone and I found
myself looking at onshore Sydney shite and becoming angry that my
whole weekend was now ruined because of this,” says Farquhar, who
just turned forty and is now chasing bike dreams in Mallorca,
Spain, with his gorgeous Jewess wife. “Then seeing those same guys
at a park drinking long necks having the time of their lives after
riding 100km. It had a certain skate hang feel when you see a group
of friends hanging out around a rail or stairs with beers in the
sun.”
Farquhar qualifies the skate thing.
“I can’t skate and don’t think anyone should over 25, so thought
this would be the next best thing.”
Which isn’t quite true. He learned the art of mid-face airs from
ollying curbs in Brisbane.
I ask if there is one specific moment that made you wanna ride
more than surf.
“I surfed for 20 years and would always plan holidays around
coastlines. When I realised there was a whole world out there to
see that doesn’t have waves and to experience it by bike was when I
realised it was better than surf for me. Better in the sense of
travel, socialising and being able to be on ground in different
cities. I rode with my friend (designer Rama McCabe)
from Berlin to Copenhagen in 2019 (first film below) and that was
definitely the experience that put the final nail in my surfing
coffin. After that trip I rode Melbourne to Sydney, Madrid to Ibiza
(second film below) and all these trips outweighed any fun I’ve had
surfing.”
The last time Farquhar surfed was three years at the tank in
Melbourne.
“I couldn’t last the full hour because my arms are useless now.
But my legs are strong and I felt way more power in my turns.”
Do you miss anything specific about surfing?
“Pits.”
How do you view surfing, and surf culture, before and
after?
“Surf culture is a weird one. When I was surfing it felt quite
angry and moody especially in Sydney. I loved watching the WSL, but
now I can’t tell you anything about it. I still watch some Italo
clips, but even that doesn’t do much for me these days.”
What are the parallels between the two sports? You see any similarities or synergies as
they might call ’em in an office?
“Like surfing, cycling is also a super selfish sport which you
generally find out by people being quite cunty towards
materialistic things. Whether it’s the brand of bike or what logo
you’re rolling in, the colour of your shoes and height of your
socks. Both offer so much fun and social aspects. Surfing is
definitely more fun in the moment, cycling is more fun when it’s
done.
“Both are weather dependent with tan lines and leave little
imagination to the outline of your cock. There are also the content
branding and clothes design similarities. Half of the most successful cycling
brands (in Australia at least) are from the surf industry or work
in the surf biz but are weapons on the bike. Both
sports share an overload of shit content of user-generated videos
with little substance or any reason for one to stop the endless
scroll. For me borrowing…copying… concepts from surfing
and using it for cycling has been great. It still seems fresh in a
sport where there are still so many rules and traditionalism and
feels a bit “controversial”. It’s hard to come up with ideas for
something so repetitive. With surfing at least every time someone
catches a wave the narrative is sort of reset. But getting them to
stay engaged is the hard part. Whereas cycling, if you
approach the off-bike parts as important as the on-bike you can
keep a journey going in your story telling.”
What’s the diff between biking, surfing?
“Cyclists seem to have a way of connecting with strangers which
I don’t think surfing has as much. A cyclist can DM a complete
stranger on the other side of the world, meet up, have beers and
ride. Maybe surfing has changed but there is no way I would just
text another surfer and ask to have a beer and go for a surf
without knowing them, just ’causes we both surf. Feels creepy. For
some reason, it’s completely normal in cycling.”
Why do so many surfers get turned onto bikes?
“The longevity in cycling might be greater than in surfing,
perhaps that’s related to age. I’d feel pretty stupid at 40
flip-flopping around a shorebreak now. So it still creates a
sub-culture and hobby of mind cleansing, like surfing without
feeling a little too old to do so.”
What happens to your body when there ain’t no paddling only
kicking your stilts up and down? No arms, beautiful
legs?
“Yeah, my pectorals and arms are now super weak. I wouldn’t say
they are completely gone but they may as well be. My legs though,
hairless and magnificent. It’s like being circumcised. No real need
for it, but aesthetically way more pleasing.”
Is biking getting cool, like, with your lil movies, prettier
outfits etc?
“It’s definitely become cooler. A lot of brands are
contributing a lot to this, similar to running now.
Outfits are getting very nice to
wear and have become a massive trend worldwide. They make you look
and feel good on the bike or even after the ride down the boozer.
It’s a real moment ordering your first pint in Lycra.
My cycling films have mixed reviews. Anyone from a surf or skate
background seems to enjoy ’em. the more traditional cyclist, not so
much.”
Where you think is bike culture on a timeline, same as surfing
in the eighties, say?
“The Tour (UCI not WSL) seems to be as crazy as ever especially
seeing races here in Europe. It feels like a WSL event in Brazil
but at every single stage. Fans are crazy, cities shut down, people
drinking from sunrise screaming, the passion is like nothing I’ve
ever seen.”
Culturally?
“Culturally, it’s somewhere between, The Bruce Movie and
Dion’s peak.”
