Determined

Go to College in shore community . Surfer had a article about best surf colleges to go to . Its a good read. Get your buisness degree and open your own surf shop.

Its nice to dream about being pro surfer but in all reality its nto gonna happen , Most pro's have been surfing in contest since they were little . It takes years to get the the level of a pro surfer

 

hopefully, you're competing in ESA & NSSA contests & every other contest you can & getting good results. hopefully you're already on a shop team or something similar. hopefully you're traveling & experiencing a lot of different wave types & learning how to surf them well.
hopefully you realize that only 1 surfer from nj has made the 'CT-dean randazzo & the likelihood of another any time soon is slim.

most stoked, dedicated surfers would like to surf full-time & get paid for it & get paid to travel around the world & surf great waves all the time. that's not the reality, tho. the reality is that most of us either organize our lives around getting as much water time as possible, or we organize our water time around our lives & slowly drift away from surfing.
personally, going to college inland for 5 years was the best thing i could've done for my surfing...i'd taken it for granted up to that point & i came home a more stoked & committed surfer.

 

How many esa comps have you won? If the answer is none, then you can forget the pro surf route. college isn't for everybody but you are going to have to make ends meet once your parents boot you out. try a trade school. most trades people have very flexible hours, and are always needed in beach communities.

 

I know this FO SHO!

I will never do a ESA event to much politics and drama. I am content doing the 5 contest I do a year . I think is show more if you do memorial contest that points contest for a shop

 

Wanting it isn't enough, brother. We're not trying to dash your dreams, but there's much, much more to it. I wish you luck, and hope you give yourself the chance to make it happen, but just like every kid in the hood that wants to be in the NBA or NFL, know that out of the millions of surfers in the world, there's only 40 guys that "make it" to any significant degree.

I say, separate your worlds. There's what you do for a living, and what you do that makes you whole. Find out what you'd be content doing for the rest of your life that can leave enough room for surfing. I'm happy making it my lifestyle, and not my livelihood.

 

man, i would love to be in your shoes right now....you have so much opportunity to make surfing a huge part of your life, but pro ain't gonna happen.
go to a coastal college, bust your ass for 4 years in school and esp the first 5 or so out of college and just live the dream...

 

my best friends dad always says to people in a half joking/half serious tone when asked if he has been golfing his whole life replies ''i've started golfing when i was 45. had i been golfing since i was a kid i would be the best damn golfer in the world''. this is how i feel about surfing. if i had started surfing when i was 12 or better yet if i had started surfing when i did at 16, but only actually grew up in a beach town i would be maybe not the best, but a lot better. if i at almost 40 was able to do what i do now when i was 25 my craft would be more seasoned. i ride motocross too. i had a dirtbike from the time i was 10 and stopped at 13, and then got a street bike at 18, and didn't get a dirtbike again until i was 26. same could be said for that.


it takes a lot of skill. a lot of hours down at the beach. i know a couple pros around here. they aren't exactly world renowned, nor are they breaking any records, but they have made good lives for themselves, and get all expenses paid trips to surf all over the world, and compete. that in itself sounds just too incredible. i know a guy i graduated high school with. he started surfing before me, and went down the shore whenever he could despite us living 45 miles from the ocean. we actually never surfed together, but after high school he moved to california for a few years, and then went to maui where he has been ever since. he shapes boards, and works in a surf shop, and lives right on the beach. also for 3 or 4 months out of the year he gets to travel to indonesia, puerto rico, australia, new zealand, africa, barbados, anywhere you name it. he isn't a pro, but he does hang with some semi pros. he was sponsored as well which doesn't make one a pro, but if you are sponsored some nice perks come.

unfortunately you have to work. especially if you wanna live in jersey or at the beach anywhere. it's too expensive not to. i see prices of things going up every year despite the government telling you inflation is stalled. that, and this wonderful president, and administration we have who wants to tax the **** out of you, and i. it's tough especially in jersey where someone who makes $40 grand a year may as well be in the poverty level. luckily i have already made over $100 grand this year which still doesn't seem like a lot to me. it's comfortable, but i have to pay the self employment tax, and all the costs to a run a business. no college education either. learn a trade if you are open to it. a lot of trades are in the toilet right now. not many houses being built or construction of any kind because of the economy. there is some though.auto mechanic, electrician, plumber, hvac, any kind of service trade is usually in some kind of demand right now aside from carpentry. any service job though is good, because people are always going to need their cars, hvac, plumbing or in my field garage doors fixed. even though some are reluctant to do so in these times. good luck though, and keep the spirit alive!

 

Go to college. i know way to many people who did this and now there no where in life. im in college right now, 4 hrs away from a beach, but persevering and transferring to uncw or college of charleston. If your grades are somewhat ok you could probably get into flagler college down in st. augstine fl. killer place. go to college.

 

Didn't want to be a pro... or a teacher for that matter but became the latter and it has worked out well for my surfing. Sure there were a few years were I didn't get to surf much... working inland trying to pad my references and resume'... but I stuck it out and now live the dream in the world's largest ocean. Go to school and make it work for you!!! Pick something that will give you plenty of water time (I work 190 days a year and can catch the 4+ hour afternoon session when its on). While the pay isn't always great (26 K right now but made 40K in the states almost right out of college)...my profession is always needed and unless you are a total **** up you can't get fired. The longer you hang around and more continuing education classes you take the more you get paid the ...more trips and boards you can buy or just sign up to teach in one of the many out of the way places and tiny islands owned by the US (they especially need teachers and have good surf). DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF! Pursue your dream but have a back up plan

 

my 2 cents

...but don't neglect your education. I listen to a lot of pro's talk, guys on the WCT that I don't want to name for fear of touching someone's nerves, and it's almost embarrassing that they have gone so far and never learned how to articulate themselves. I'm not saying give up your dreams, but take care of yourself. Read, learn about life, and take a few CC classes if that's the most you can handle. No matter how well the surfing career goes, it'll end eventually, and it'd be sad to realize you haven't prepared for anything else.

 

going pro= FAAAHHHHGGGGEEETTTT AAABBBBOOOUUUTTTTT ITTTTT.

I went to college 30 minutes from the beach and surfed every swell. Now I work and have the means to take my dream surf trips and I have an insulting quiver. Take life in stride, bro, we can't all be the irons brothers. Find something that you like- and along the way you get to do things you love. Make your priority to travel and see it all. IF your SERIOUS about surfing, move somewhere with serious waves. Its not all about going pro. ...And your sure as hell not getting there from jersey.

"The world is like a book, and those who dont travel read from only one page"

 

if you're a senior in hs and not sponsored or winning competitions yet, you have a very, very difficult climb ahead of you

 

sounds like you're just not ready for college. Work at a restaurant or something, save up about 10k, then go extended surf travel for 8 mos-year. No real difference going to college as a freshman at age 18 or age 20-21.

 

probably a good idea. take some time and surf, then when you realize you're not going to go pro, the economy will likely be recovering and there will be more jobs available than if you jump in now. win/win

 

I would never tell someone that they can't accomplish a goal they set for themselves, but you should definitely consider what would happen if for whatever reason you didn't become a well paid professional surfer. I mean, there are only a handful of people who will survive for their lifetime as a surfer. What happens in your 40's when this potential career is over?

The great thing about college is that outside the actual classes, there is a great deal of flexibility in your time as far as when you study. It is quite practical to surf and go to school at the same time.

If you want to be pro, move to Southern California, where the biggest scene is and enter every competition you can. Look into taking classes out there, and maybe you will find something you are passionate about besides surfing.

I don't know anyone who surfs 40 hours per week.

 

Yeah, the pro thing is a tough one... But the only thing I can tell you is that if you TRULY are that telented at surfing, you can certainly do both... But you have to re-locate to a place where you will actually been seen in the proper arenas, on a regular basis. You cant just make sponsor me videos and take 18 hour drives to comps... You have to go where all the aspiring pros are... Either HI, or somewhere in Socal. You have to get out in the lineups with the other 300 kids that are all ripping and trying to get on the CT....

There are schools in both places... TONS of aspiring pros in CA go to college. College really doesnt interfere too bad with the local circuit competitions... But if you can come out here, place in some comps, then immediately you will get heavier sponsorship. But my point is that the squeky wheel gets the grease. So, unless you are willing to lineup at lowers everyday with 100 of the most talented kids on earth right now, and actually dominate them, then the pro surfing thing probably isnt for you. It isnt for most.

Although I have entered a few comps, just for fun, the idea of pro surfing was never really on the radar... For me and most, the idea is to stay by the beach... Surf VERY often and make sure that the career and life choices that you do make keep you in the water... Its not about stickers and comps... THat sh** will run you down...

But you know your own talent... If your that good, and you are truly a jem, then you should go to every local shop you know in NJ and get that sh** rolling. Go big or go home... But the .000008% of successful pros if maybe not the thing..

Get your education... Do it by the beach... Surf. Surf Surf.... You can always drop out of college when you get that call from the ASP... ya heard?