'What Would Jesus Do?' Brad Gerlach on Surf Etiquette in 2026

"The surf etiquette thing, I think it's like, are you polite? Are you polite when you drive or do you just cut people off?" he ponders. "When you stand in a line do you take cuts?"

Always the solution-minded gentleman in the water -- or at least most of the time -- the former world number two turned surf guru notes that sometimes when he's in the water and someone's being a donkey he'll "try and send that person some stoke."

"I try to keep it genuine," he continues, "but it is sometimes hard to be like, 'Oh, it's you again! KILLER!!! You got another one."

Besides his impeccable technique and timeless style, Gerr's genius lies in his ability to make people laugh, as well as think, with well-placed, often sarcastic quips.

"Just try and keep your sense of humor. I haven't always kept mine, I've definitely sounded people," he surmises. "You just kind of have to think, what would Jesus do?"

Or what would Tom do?

Thanks, Gerr, next set wave's all yours ... even if someone back-paddles you.