Still Stoked
Recently I have come to accept that I am not as young as I was and when I stop to think about it, I am very comfortable with that.
I am describing this break through moment in the context of surfing, but I suppose I can also apply the experience to other aspects of my life too. For an awful long time I was completely at odds with the world of modern surfing. I felt that it went against pretty much everything that I held dear and associated with the surf lifestyle, the commercialism, the involvement of big corporate business and the 'look at me' generation Y traits as displayed by many of the top pros, as well as by the local guys from the beaches where I surf became tiresome. In short, I came to dislike the whole scene. I know that at the age of 41 I am not supposed to fit into the same age bracket as the younger generation, but I had never considered that the age gap would become as apparent as it did. After all, we are all surfers and age is just a concept, and I certainly don't feel any different to how I did when I was much younger. And yet, I couldn't help but feel annoyed at so many things within surfing, how it had changed so much, sold out, the lack of respect that these days...and that is when it dawned on me, I had become an old(er) guy!
So instead of trying to make sense of the aspects of modern surfing that I simply found irritating, to put it mildly, I began to explore the alternatives. Having done so for quite some time now, I am happy to say that there are some really good things going on, locally and in a more global context. Plus, there is absolutely nothing wrong with looking to the past for inspiration, learning about the heritage of surfing and surf culture has been an enlightening experience. One of the most significant factors which led to my surfing renaissance, was to look away from the mainstream, the professional goings on and the more commercial elements of surfing and to seek out the things that I could really relate to and really enjoy. Likewise, I have opted to head for the lesser surfed breaks, whenever possible, or to take a longboard out on the smaller days, thus avoiding the hoards and having a great time as a result. In changing my approach, I quickly discovered a whole new world of surfing, which brought the stoke back in a big way.
I still love surfing, but there was a time when I was so disillusioned with it all that I could have simply walked away. Thankfully, my acceptance of the fact that I am not a grom, and haven't been for a year or two, was instrumental in me discovering a different view point from where I could seek exactly what I wanted from surfing. All in all, being in ones forties is not as bad as I had first thought, for me it was all about making a subtle but significant change to my perspective.
I am describing this break through moment in the context of surfing, but I suppose I can also apply the experience to other aspects of my life too. For an awful long time I was completely at odds with the world of modern surfing. I felt that it went against pretty much everything that I held dear and associated with the surf lifestyle, the commercialism, the involvement of big corporate business and the 'look at me' generation Y traits as displayed by many of the top pros, as well as by the local guys from the beaches where I surf became tiresome. In short, I came to dislike the whole scene. I know that at the age of 41 I am not supposed to fit into the same age bracket as the younger generation, but I had never considered that the age gap would become as apparent as it did. After all, we are all surfers and age is just a concept, and I certainly don't feel any different to how I did when I was much younger. And yet, I couldn't help but feel annoyed at so many things within surfing, how it had changed so much, sold out, the lack of respect that these days...and that is when it dawned on me, I had become an old(er) guy!
So instead of trying to make sense of the aspects of modern surfing that I simply found irritating, to put it mildly, I began to explore the alternatives. Having done so for quite some time now, I am happy to say that there are some really good things going on, locally and in a more global context. Plus, there is absolutely nothing wrong with looking to the past for inspiration, learning about the heritage of surfing and surf culture has been an enlightening experience. One of the most significant factors which led to my surfing renaissance, was to look away from the mainstream, the professional goings on and the more commercial elements of surfing and to seek out the things that I could really relate to and really enjoy. Likewise, I have opted to head for the lesser surfed breaks, whenever possible, or to take a longboard out on the smaller days, thus avoiding the hoards and having a great time as a result. In changing my approach, I quickly discovered a whole new world of surfing, which brought the stoke back in a big way.
I still love surfing, but there was a time when I was so disillusioned with it all that I could have simply walked away. Thankfully, my acceptance of the fact that I am not a grom, and haven't been for a year or two, was instrumental in me discovering a different view point from where I could seek exactly what I wanted from surfing. All in all, being in ones forties is not as bad as I had first thought, for me it was all about making a subtle but significant change to my perspective.
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