LONG-DISTANCE CALLING
Sterling Spencer Gets Shacked While On His Cell Phone
It’s no secret; cell phone use has become an obnoxious interrupter in the most unseemly of locations: in the car, at dinner, even at church or temple or in the mosque. It seems nowhere is too holy for the almighty digital age – not even the barrel. Or so thinks Sterling Spencer.
Last week a shot of the Gulf Coaster filtered through the SURFER offices that takes cell phone usage to a new level. In it, Spencer is fully shacked in Mexico while locked into a conversation on his new waterproof cell phone. The image bore some explanation.
“I was talking to my woman at home,” said Spencer. “She didn’t believe me at first; I actually hung up on her cause it was barreling so hard I didn’t want to fall and lose the phone...All we talked about was that we couldn’t believe I’m in Mexico, on a phone, talking while surfing. Bizarre...the reception was good actually, other than crashing waves in the background.”
According to cell phone studies recently made public by the Center for Auto Safety, motorists talking on cell phones are about four times as likely to crash as other drivers. We can only expect the trend to crossover into surfing…
Said Spencer, “Everyone is gonna have their cell phones out surfing soon…Wait, hold on...Sorry dude, I was texting.”
Look Mom! I'm filming myself surfing, with a camera phone... from jarrod Tallman on Vimeo.
RELATED STORIES
|
READER COMMENTS
Thu Aug 6, 2009, 4:09 AM
I suspect more people will be getting run over because they'll be yacking away. Grrreat, more dings and broken fins for me :(
Thu Aug 6, 2009, 12:29 PM
Yes, boss it's me! where are you? I'm at a board meeting.
Thu Aug 6, 2009, 2:43 PM
That's dumb. Hang up the phone and go surfing. If I had the opportunity to get barrelled, or even better, get tubed in exotic places the last thing I'd want in the water w/me is a cell phone.
Thu Aug 6, 2009, 6:21 PM
Been there and done that, sent pics back to my babes in Aussie last year or so........... nice to see the adventure moving ahead! The dog
Fri Aug 7, 2009, 8:29 AM
Whatever floats there boat. Makes me wanna vomit though. I suspect I would feel the same way if I heard someone yammering away about work in the lineup. Hard enough to hear those solo comversations in a coffee shop.
Mon Aug10, 2009, 12:16 AM
WTF. Are you guys kidding me? I hope i see someone talking on there phone while there dropping in on the same wave! I am historically not a hater...But in this case, i would have to close the book!
Mon Aug10, 2009, 10:33 AM
thats a lame move in my opppinion. get off the phone and surf you kook!
Tue Aug11, 2009, 6:24 AM
probably an advertisement shoot for the waterproof phone
Tue Aug11, 2009, 6:19 AM
I love it!!!
Tue Aug11, 2009, 6:55 AM
WOw, that is truly amazing! RT www.anon-web-tools.net.tc
Tue Aug11, 2009, 7:40 AM
U okes gotta chill out abit hey.....toke a doob or something! I wouldn't use a phone during a surf (i surf to get away from everything), but if the oke wants to then so be it...not a big deal. live you life
Tue Aug11, 2009, 11:09 AM
Great. I can't wait until someone films their own shark attack!
Mon Aug10, 2009, 8:02 PM
I said that he was surfing his butt tube. What's wrong with that? Have you gone Puritan? (Actually what I said was that "having your head up your a** is kinda like getting tubed". Are you screening for humorous content or maturity or something? Aren't you going to be left with just a few innocuous comments (no direspect to the innocuous comment writers out there)?
Tue Aug11, 2009, 1:16 PM
I've always wandered how that statistic, about how drivers on cell phones are 4 x more likely to crash than regular drivers, is broken down. Meaning, what about those of use from Generation Y, the tech savvy generation, who have grown up around technology. Talking on a cell phone for me personally is only about as distracting as talking to another person in the car. I can say, I've gone to a huge high school (~3,000 students) and a 47,000 student university, and with all the friends I have ever made, I think only 1 has ever crashed a car, being their fault, while on a cell phone. I really think it's all the older folks who don't have the concentration to be doing something in reality (driving) as well as something semi-abstract (like talking to a person via a cell phone) all at the same time. I'd say for us younger folk, it's become second nature.
Thu Aug13, 2009, 8:08 PM
You might be right Gen Y and I hope you are since you are betting my life on it. The alternative is that you too have your head up your wazoo. All kidding aside, there are studies that support your view. Younger people can multitask better than older folks. The trouble is they still perform worse than if they are not talking on a cell phone so that just means that statistically your generation will run over fewer people than my generation will. That's not a lot of consoltation to the person who's run over.
Thu Oct22, 2009, 9:28 AM
I think that is awesome. I'm on call during office hours, but not office bound. I could feel my phone vibrate, paddle in, and tend to my business on the beach without losing customers. WHERE CAN I BUY ONE?