Why do you surf? How did you start?

[surfer9joe]

Don'y know why I thought of this, but:

For me: in 6th grade, (living in miami) my friend moved to Israel, learned to surf, and came back. He had a surfboard, and towed me out holding onto his leash. I can still remember the first wave I caught laying on my stomach.

After that I just wanted to surf, and the bigger the better it seemed in miami. Became addicted and ended up here.

[Puerto_Rico_Surfer]

Cant remember my age exactly, but it had to be between 8 or 9 cause my brother was a sophmore or junior in high school and that would have been my age. Anyway my brother was forced to babysit me that day and he was going to the beach to surf with some buddies while their girls took sun. I was left on the sand with the girls, anyway when the guys came back in to sit with the honeys I grabbed the board and played in the white water--I was hooked. I then got a morey boogie for christmas and the rest was history. Spent the next few years BB'ing then switched when to shortboard when I was about 13. But got back into BB'ing when I was about 27 after an accident then moved back to surfing on a longboard (paddling a short board caused me too much pain), grew to really love it got better than I ever surfed short board and its now what I ride 90%, but I still ride BB when I dont have time to go home get the board or the conditions suck for surfboard (pounding shorebreak, chop etc)--plus very easy to travel with on the plane

I will be honest I miss riding a shortboard, but I tried riding one the last few months and shit I was a kook, I could barely stand up; danm shortboard felt like a little skateboard underfoot and paddling lol I could barely catch a wave (longboard has spoiled me).

Now my dream is to get Joe's reality

[HMARK]

Musta been about 1973 or so. We used to ride our sting ray bikes to Sandys, and bodysurf 'till or ankles bled. Gram bought a old log from the Hemmings family, and later a NEW STICK for $75 shimoolians.

I keep surfing because there is nothing that feels as close to God as it.

Merry merries, everybody.

Aloha, & peace.

[red]

When I was around eight I used to go to the beach on Cape Cod with my Dad and my little sister when there was a bit of windswell and we would get pounded in the shorebreak and 'bodysurf' the little waves, getting all scratched up on the pebbles and lots of water up the nose.

When we came home I would get in the tub and take off my trunks and there would be a pound of sand in the liner. Grandma used to freak out because the stuff would be all over the bathroom and she would make me clean it up.

[Haoleboy]

At about 9 years old my Pop pushed me into my 1st wave at Waikik and I was totally hooked...but 6 years passed before I tried it again. At 15 my Dad had moved to Rhode Island, and I went to visit him for the summers. He bought me this board that a local hooligan sold him. The guy had taken some old longboard, chopped it at 6'. It had no rocker at all and rails so hard they cut ya. Sold it to my pop for $60. Musta been laughing his a$$ off...
Somehow I learned over the next summer and when I came home my mom took me to Rich Parr for my 16th b-day and I got my 1st real board. A 6' Swallow Tail. Started surfing Town and haven't left.

Still at it 'cause after 30+ years, I still feel like that 16 year old...stoked to the teets.

[Rocky Rockbottom]

Why do I surf? I always wanted to when I was growing up in Chicago.

How did I start? I moved out here to attend college at HPU right after high school. I bought a 7'6 pintail singlefin from planet surf and learned on that. Went to a shortboard after that. Now I'm trying everything I can get my greedy little hands on.

[uncle]

Parents used to drop me and my cousin off at walls from when we were 9 with those old canvas inflatable rafts. They had a rope on one end, so you could hang on when you caught a wave. Our hero was this guy in a wheelchair who used to come down with those white foam boards you could buy in Long's. He'd throw it over the wall and have someone throw him off the wall. He'd catch waves on that thing and ride all the way to the beach. When I was 11, I read 2 books. Duke Kahanamoku's World of Surfing and Phil Edward's You should have been here and hour ago. Next day, I was at the board rentals at 6am. Still remember my first wave on a blue and yellow rental #32. I became one of the beach rats down there for years. Later stopped when I went to school in Colorado. When I came back, my office wondow looked right out on Queen's and Canoes. I paddled out and it was like I never left. HM is right on the money for me as well as HB. It's as close as I can get to God and makes me feel like I'm 14 all over again.

[Bud]

G&S fibreflex, bennetts & bubblegumsoft 70mm krpytonics & 2 story plywood ramps .... living in Guam in from 1974-1978, natural progression from hardcore skate rat to certified kook

13 years old, about a year beofre my dad's tranfer to Hawaii in early 1978, I was given an aqua colored snapped Robert August; musta been an 8 footer when whole. I hacksawed the 'tail' into a massive rail to rail 'swallow' then hacksawed a piece of 1/2" plywood into a crude 'fin' - then used that gnarly green marine resin and some kind of fiberglass cloth to finish it up. Front end was pristine but I just did the ugliest repair job known to man. Anyway it was something like 4 feet, and 3 inches thick. Fumbled around with the other clueless at Talofofo Bay, wasn't too many tries before I was trimming the waist high peelers. Hooked. Moved to the Mecca, teenager growing up, walking - biking distance to surf west side spots & makaha. I must have surfed every day, all day that first year in Hawaii. My skin was almost black and my hair was bleached completely white by sun & salt! I could rub my head and the hair would break off like sanded fiberglass

A bit older now but the story continues.......

[Kelly7873]

I got transferred to Hawaii from Dallas while I was in the Marine Corps back in '86. I was pissed I wanted to go to the west coast, I was into rock climbing back then. My first day at Pyramid Rock I tried body surfing but wasn't very successful. I decided I needed a surfboard so I went to the PX to buy one but they only had bodyboards. I don't remember if I even knew what a bodyboard was but I bought one and figured I'd get a surfboard after I learned how to ride it. I'm still learning.

[surfingislife]

i started in 6th grade my dad introduced me to it and was pushin' me into my first couple. i can't forget the first time i caught a wave stood up and almost hurled but pushed back by luck and it just hopped down the wave was so great