How Has Surfing Changed Your Life?

It's made me late for a ton of sh!t and turned me into a liar. I've had more fake illnesses and so many loved ones have had multiple deaths over the years.

 

It's been great for my agoraphobia.

 

Very funny

 

Well said DP. Did you mean to say wife, or was that Freudian typing.

After the awesomeness of raising kids, life got dull, and Surfing rescued me from what might've been a dull existence sleepwalking through life , not even knowing I was sleepwalking through life, and not really being alive to all of its electrifying possibilities.

 

Surfing has made me hate all other surfers!!

 

I've been surfing for so long it's hard to say. As a kid it gave me a place to retreat to from a very dysfunctional upbringing. It probably ruined any hope for big monetary success as I tend to be very focused on only one thing at a time and that meant work, career and future took a back seat. In the last 5 years surfing has brought me a bit of stress as I don't like dealing with crowds in or out of the water and it has gotten much worse at my little spot lately. Last year I decided to back off and only surf when I wanted to, turns out I wanted to less than I thought and have for the first time in decades missed more sessions than I surfed. Kinda missing it now and am hoping my focus returns. Surfing used to be something that almost nobody did, it was different and weird and attracted outcasts and people who didn't fit into conventional society. I guess I'm saying I used to feel unique being a surfer, doesnt feel very unique anymore.

 

Surfing is MY time away from everything else in the world. it helps me work out my anger and just puts me in a good mental place. Even a bad day a surfing still makes me smile.

 

hasnt changed my life, tho i couldnt imagine without it. felt like zippy many years ago, but the stoke did return.

 

SURFIng brought me here, which made me realize fvckin nazis run the internet.

 

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When I first learnt, it was just for fun. I enjoyed it so I did it. Never really focused on it. Never checked forecasts. If I wanted to surf I went. Could be small and blown out or big and clean. I was young. Over the years it just became part of me. Then I sorta fell off. Got into late high school, early college. Hit a rough patch on life, mentally. Had a bunch of issues. Long story short, I went to talk to a psychiatrist. After taking about the issues, she would just ask me about what I like to do. Surfing. It got to the point where I'd just go in and only talk about surfing. Then one day I woke up and said what am I doing? I live on an island, have multiple boards, and I'm not surfing like I used to. So I dove back in and took it more seriously, yet not at the same time. Learning about forecasting and all that. My quality water time sky rocketed and my while life changed. The way I eat, the way I exercise, my goals in life. Everything lead back to surfing. And now I couldn't be happier

 

I have to agree. Surfing was a very small community with punks and outcasts. Now, lawyers, doctors, IT guys, dentists and everyone else consider themselves surfers. Makes you want to puke.

 

It made it more difficult to enjoy being at the beach unless I was surfing. That was the trade off.

 

I never could afford a Corvette, I can have a loving relationship with fiberglass through surfing.

 

True. Is there anyone that DOESN'T surf anymore??

 

I dunno about all that. People don't need to fit a particular mold, do they? I've met some nice folks while surfing. I'm amazed at the mix we have here: different ages, backgrounds, jobs, education, etc. Despite that, we share a common, at times consuming, interest. We surf because we love it.