When you think of pro surfing, someone like Tyler Wright or Kelly comes to mind. A straight A student of the game who possesses – besides obvious talent – the grit, dedication and professionalism to make it through the regional ranks onto the Qualifying Series, en route to the Dream Tour.
We’re talking about the YouTubers and Influencers. The surf coaches and surf fitness guys, or basically anyone who somehow, somewhere is making a living from surfing (or its content in some shape or form), is by definition a pro surfer – right?!
Now, given the (relatively) low barrier of entry, the quality and professionalism of the latest class of pros mostly varies from rock bottom to what did I just watch?!, with a very selected few worth your attention span and/or your money. One person who consistently tops this list is Kale Brock – a surfer and filmmaker who, yes, you guessed it, makes a living from surfing in the nonconformal sense.
As intellectually sexy as they come, Kale tapped into the social media popularity contest early, carving out a niche in a gap in the market that was yet to be discovered. The savvy business journo turned surf vlogger realised that credibility isn’t so much about what someone does above the lip or in a jersey and more about the digital pull one has.
The statement above applies to almost everything. Insert any job, mission or opinion with an influencer culture into the www, and you’ll realise that it comes down to a digital gladiator pit where people sans the desired (this only rings true for some) accolades battle each other for like counts, followers, views, ass, personality and all that other BS – most of it shady AF. Talent only matters to a degree as long as the intangibles are there. This is why the influencer culture works. It’s why this third crop of pro surfers exists.
Surfing is no longer core, opening up a new world of opportunities to cash in on that trend. Blame the German surfer with his 1k+ custom everything Firewire who surfs twice a year. Blame the wave pools or Bali surf camps. Heck, blame Jamie O’Brien or the WSL, or just accept it for what it is instead.
The time is now – a claim only solidified after chatting with Kale about the art of vlogging, relatability, future endeavours and the road that got him here in the first place…
Hey Kale, what’s happening? Where are you at the moment?
Hey fella! I’m pretty fresh in Portugal at the minute, making the most of the end of summer and looking forward to the start of autumn as I head to the Basque region until December. I just surfed the smallest waves I’ve been out in for a while, but I’m still frothing.
For a kid growing up in Adelaide, being a surf coach and one of the most successful surf influencers online is an unusual career choice. How did it all start for you?
Adelaide as a surfing destination is really weird. It’s probably the best state in Australia for surfing, and yet the Adelaide region is probably one of the worst in Australia, haha. Adelaide produces desperate surfers, people who will froth when it’s one foot and onshore and be thanking the gods when it’s over two.
Growing up, I didn’t get to surf very much until I got my license at 16 – you have to drive a lot in South Australia, and if you don’t have waves at your doorstep, you’re kinda effed without a license. So until about 15, I was more likely to make a career out of Aussie Rules Football, but I was much more excited about going surfing than playing footy.
I tried to compete a bit but always struggled with the short time limits and never really had the talent to ‘make it – so I ended up going into journalism at a TV Network after school instead. And that’s where I learned the basics of piecing a story together. When you can communicate in a powerful/meaningful way, you can do anything with your life regardless of how talented you are.
Vloggers, influencers, and coaches in any industry get a lot of shit. Why do you think that is?
Regarding influencers and vloggers, I think there’s a stigma around not providing any actual real-life value, and it’s a stigma I support to a large extent, haha! The social media world is yucky, icky, and cringe-worthy when you look at it generally, but there are some diamonds in the rough.
There’s a big cohort of creators who left traditional platforms like TV, Radio and other traditional communication platforms to build their own brands on social media. I identify with, and respect those people in this space — Creators like Matt D’avella, Russel Brand etc. Trust me, the cringe stuff is equally offensive to me as it is to you.
Coaches for me, though, have been super helpful in my surfing evolution and life, so I don’t think there’s a negative attitude there. But then you have all these social media instructors, and I think many of them deserve the shit they are getting because many don’t walk the talk. If we’re talking about surfing, then some of the instructional stuff I see on social media is pretty awful in terms of communication and execution.
What about you? Why do you think you are different?
It’s my communication background that separates me from the rest, I guess. There are better coaches out there. There are better surfers than me, and there are better communicators than me, but I don’t know many people who can do all three at a high level, and that’s where I can start standing out a bit. I would also add that because my communication experience is quite vast; documentaries, tv segments, books, speaking on stage, I have a lot to draw on when I’m telling a story.
What’s more important, relatability or entertainment?
Both are important in the story-telling matrix. I would add credibility in there also. People digest content for different purposes – that’s the reality of it. Sometimes we just want to escape, watch some sick surfing and get amped without being talked to, so we’ll go on Chapter 11 and watch Dane rip to jazz music for a while, for example. Other times we wanna go long form and learn about the guys on the world tour, so we’ll tune in there. There’s no perfect formula. But I think what’s important is finding your unique voice and being authentic so that you can be relatable.
How about a point of difference? In your Vlogs, you talk and refer a lot to living in a van. How much do you think this has shaped your brand and credibility as a surfer, surf thought leader and surf coach?
It hasn’t, really. Initially, we decided to do the van thing as an additional character / narrative to the channel, but quickly I realised that I didn’t want to share much of my private life, my location or my family with my audience – I needed to keep a large chunk of my life private and it turned out that I fricken loved living in the van anyway so we did it for two years* right up until this Euro trip. I love it because I’m so mobile and independent with it, and life has to be simple in the van – it forces me to work less and surf more – honestly, if I didn’t want kids, someday, I’d stay in it forever, haha.
I never share which beaches I film at unless it’s super obvious and on the map (ie, Snapper, Supertubos etc.), and if I post a wave or a surf from somewhere else, normally it’s weeks later. I never thought I would have to be careful about this sort of stuff, but I take it pretty seriously now to protect myself and people’s surf spots.
Are you a Pro Surfer?
I’ll take it but I’m not attached to it.
But what are you then? How would you describe your role and what you provide to your audience and the industry itself?
I’m becoming more comfortable with calling myself a surfer now. The channel has had some significant impacts on the industry over the last few years, so I’ve let that settle in a bit. I would describe myself as a surfer, surf coach and storyteller. I’m also a businessman. A filmmaker. Writer. I do some consulting now. Fark. I do so many different things – this is the weirdest job on the planet, haha.
Let’s talk about peers, competition and inspiration. How do you feel about the quality and professionalism in your space?
I think it’s pretty obvious which surfers I’m ‘competing’ against, but to be honest, I feel like I’m swimming in my own lane. At the end of the day, I feel confident that nobody can be better at what I’m doing than me, so I’m definitely not checking metrics of other channels regularly. Obviously, there is the occasional stalk or comparison, but it’s all part of the fun, haha.
When you’re doing commercial things, which we sometimes do, you often have to start gauging your brand’s position in the market. I often have those conversations with my manager, Rupert, and he’s pretty good at reminding me of my progress, where I came from vs. where my competitors came from – sometimes I do need that perspective when I start comparing. But confidence in my abilities to produce valuable, meaningful, impactful content doesn’t ever waiver. I’ve seen too many amazing results in my surfers to doubt what I’m doing.
Like I said before, there is content out there for everyone, and I would never say that my content is ‘better’ than someone else’s – it might just fit a different audience.
Is there such a thing as trying too hard?
Yes. In surfing. Certainly in social media. For me, as a ‘performer’ of sorts and especially in this metric-driven world, I am on a life-long journey of questioning myself on each and every decision. Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for? Is this a negative learned behavioural pattern? Where did this come from? How can I make choices from a more authentic position?
Those questions can be applied to an edit, an Instagram post, a conversation. Heck, Everything! I think life becomes more effortless and meaningful when you’re just happy with being yourself. I’m still working on it.
What would you tell people wanting to tap into the surf vlogging / surf influencer world?
Give us something new, and then be prepared for everyone to copy it.
Do you feel comfortable with your brand online and how you are perceived, or are you trying to diversify any time soon?
This ties into just trying to be as authentic as possible. If I start worrying about what other people think of me, I lose at this game. But at the same time, of course, you are impacted by what people say or write about you.
I just hope that I’m portraying who I am honestly on camera, and that I’m having a meaningful impact on people’s lives. It might sound a bit esoteric, but I feel a lot of responsibility in my role. I want to help people develop one of the biggest relationships they’ll have in life (with surfing) and cultivate it into a healthy obsession (sometimes unhealthy, lol). I’ve realized that over the years, it’s bigger than the surfing itself. It’s giving people access to flow state, to a meditative practice, a stress reduction activity, an exercise routine, ca onnection with nature and others – it’s a BIG deal to me.
What’s next?
I’m working on some more programs for The Surfer’s Roadmap. I’m running some experiences in The Maldives this year and more wave pool stuff next year. I’ve partnered up with Surf Travel operator LUEX on some really cool projects, but honestly, some days, I literally sit there and read the emails I’m getting and just go, “how the hell did I end up here?” I’m incredibly grateful, which means I’m just gunna’ keep evolving and keep delivering. And I’m going to continue to surf my brains out every day – obviously!
What’s next after what’s next?
I will have my own wave pool surf academy one day. The most high-tech and effective surf training facilities on the planet. That’s the plan.
It’s just about go-time for a Euro afternoon surf, no?!
Hell yeah, I’m frothing!
