Jason’s Layback Snap (1985-2024)

It is with less sadness than I would’ve imagined that I report the passing of my dear friend, The Frontside Layback Snap. My Snap, 40ish, made a final, fateful appearance in the 1st Street lineup on Wednesday morning, punctuating a ride and sending a fair bit of spray towards the heavens. It also ended a fun session and left me walking like an 80-year-old man and popping painkillers like candy. Thus, it was determined that the maneuver would be taken behind the jetty bathroom and euthanized immediately.

In Matt Warshaw’s The Encyclopedia of Surfing, the first three words under the “layback” entry say it all – “spine-twisting maneuver.” Hailed by the mags as new & radical in 1979, it was declared silly & dead by ‘81. Luckily, I didn’t ride waves or read about doing so until the following year.

The Snap entered my wheelhouse in the mid-1980’s, when, as a young teen, I adopted it from pros Tom Curren and Richard Cram and VB legends John West and Joe Strickland. It became my go-to move in freesurfs and competition, propelling me through countless heats at both the amateur and professional levels, going so far as to pay my rent and keep my firstborn child in Pampers. While often unexpected and violent, the Snap was a decidedly safe turn, far less risky than it had us believe.

The final incantation of the Snap came an hour into my recent “personal illness” day session, inspired by a particularly filthy turn by area ripper Philip Goold, 34. After Pip’s manly gouge, the next wave served the ideal section on a platter, and the Layback seemed preordained. “Sick turn,” noted Pip afterward. Unfortunately (or fortunately, seeing as how it enjoyed a long, productive run, several years longer than Mr. Goold has been alive), the torque proved too much for my AARP-sponsored spine, which responded with an agonized shriek. Pressed for comment, the spine grunted, “Ibuprofen, now!”

Left to cherish the Snap’s memory are Semi-steezy Bottom Turns and Mid-range Slowbacks. A service will now take place on my sofa. In lieu of flowers, donations of Icy Hot or Tiger Balm are welcomed.