Surfing's Biggest Beefs of 2025

“Surfers, skaters, snowboarders. They don’t wanna be associated with so much corporate pop culture.” Matt Biolos said after suing Lady Gaga for $100 million in a trademark infringement lawsuit. “So, if all these little Gaga people are running around wearing a Mayhem shirt, with my name on it in mainstream life, it makes our stuff not as cool, not as renegade.” The suit details that the popstar has been selling clothing and headwear bearing an “identical or strikingly similar” stylization to their iconic MAYHEM® logo.” And to be fair, it looks like a direct rip-off. 

Gaga’s people, inevitably, came back hard. “It’s disappointing — but hardly surprising — that someone is now attempting to capitalize on her success with a baseless lawsuit over the name ‘Mayhem.’ This is nothing more than an opportunistic and meritless abuse of the legal system.” 

As of November 2025, after a Lady Gaga “Mayhem” summer tour where the merch was sold, no trial date has been set, and the lawsuit was continuing, with the judge delaying ruling on the injunction. This ain’t over.

Update: In the latest update, Gaga's team scored a win in the courts. The battle isn't over yet, but it appears the judge is siding with the popstar and her team.

Nic Cage vs Surfing

Hollywood tends to make three types of surfing film; A tiny fraction that are so good they are good (Big Wednesday, Blue Juice, Surf’s Up and, well, that’s about it), the 98% that are so bad they are just bad, and the unicorns that are so bad they are good, ala In God’s Hands, Surf Nazis Must Die and North Shore.

This year with The Surfer Nic Cage, in his 118th movie, finally had a crack at surfing. In the low-budget thriller, Cage plays an office drone suffering the machismo of an Australian coastal town as he tries to head off a midlife crisis by becoming a big wave rider. I mean, we’ve all been there, right?. But where does it fit in the Hollywood surf pantheon? You tell us. 

Tudor vs The World 

“I’ve flown with Hawaiian for at least 35 years, and I’ve never in my life had a problem taking my longboards,” broadsided Joel Tudor as he took on Hawaiian Airlines after having his boards refused entry. “If you’re a longboarder, which is a majority of surfers, don’t fly Hawaiian!”  After the post raised plenty of traction, the airline updated its surfboard policy. A win for Tudor!

A few months later, in a classic passive-aggressive post, he congratulated new World Champ, Kai Ellice Flint, whilst dissing Basque surfer Eduardo Delperro. “Not Only Did He Beat That Frickin’ Temper-Tantrum-Throwing Goober, Thank God, But He Did It On A Board He Crafted Himself” posted Joel. 

Next in his sights was the WSL and the competitors in the World Longboard Classic in Abu Dhabi. He was angry that the pool had been set at the beginner level for the event, and also that the surfers had failed to complain about it. “The majority of the competitors are afraid of surf above head high and can’t ride the tube to save their life,” said Tudor. 

US Ski vs Surfing USA

“The dweebs at US Ski are acting just like the clowns that run Vail Resorts–greedy to the core and blind to the fact that they’re killing the soul of the sports they claim to steward.” Surfer’s Chris Dodds didn’t hold back in his assessment after U.S. Ski & Snowboard, under CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, applied to represent surfing at the Olympics, in place of US Surfing. It was a bold and brazen land grab, and didn’t go down well with any of the stakeholders, including the athlete, coaches and International Surfing Association (ISA). However, in November, US Ski tapped out, though not without a parting barb. “USA Surfing chose public attacks and uninformed legal threats instead of constructive dialogue and engagement… and we have concluded that our energy and expertise are best used in service to our winter athletes.”

Free Surfers vs UK  Surfers

The GB Cup, held in pumping waves at Thurso, Scotland, was postponed in October after claims that female competitors were verbally abused and disrupted by five male free surfers who paddled out during the semifinal. Most of the ire was directed at one surfer, Ian Battrick, who later apologized for paddling out in the area during the event, admitting his actions were "selfish and thoughtless,” but denied any claims of physical or verbal assault. An online shitstorm erupted, Police Scotland investigated the allegations, though they later found no case of assault.