Quit Surfing

i sort of had to quit for 6 weeks due to recovery from a nose surgery to put my nose in place and it wasnt that bad as you would think as most of the time it was flat. but thursday when i was allowed to go back out i took the log and i felt fine with paddling now if the oil comes then were screwed as that could take years.

 

im just going to move out of the country to south or central america, pacific coast of mexico sounds nice....right?

 

Ive been surfing a long time and have come close to quiting several times. Mostly because after surfing for so long, I am still not a great surfer. The second biggest reason is the crowds. Keep in mind I was surfing in the 70's in NJ where by todays standards there were no surfers. Sure I know there were surfers but you would rarely have to deal with a crowd unless the swell was huge and everyone ran up to Sandy Hook to find something ridable. Otherwise I spent endless summer days with knowone in sight but my buddies. I did actually have to stop for a while when my son was born. The outcome was that I got fat, slow, and more sucky than I was before the break. I went to a longboard on my return and slowly tired of it until I downsized over several years and I am now back on a shortboard. Most of my surfing friends from childhood are fat and don't surf anymore. Thankfully I am less fat and still surf.

 

I'm a Benny. It's brutal all 10 months I'm not near the ocean. But I always make the most of the 2 months and a few odd weekends. I'd drive to the beach on the weekends but I'm 15. I'm in drivers ed and the only thing in my mind is surf trips.

 

I stoped for about 3 years. I had some family issues that needed my time as well as work did too . I hated having to do it but It wasnt like i was quiting I just didnt have time to go surf

 

i used to poop my wetsuit all the time on bigger days. it got to the point where all my friends wouldn't surf near me. it was cool at first, but i got an infection and now pee through a tube in my leg. needless to say, i can't surf much anymore. i haven't quit, but the pain is unbearable on larger days with the tube and all.

 

You can tell with your old avatar pic that you're a benny. You can't even stand up on the board, lol. Just kidding. Some day you will be able to make a bottom turn.

 

i told you guys we was a kook. hes from pa and likes to try to be a local but hes not and his parents tell him what to do all the time. his mom is in the forties and is a total freak and he lives in a relatively new house in stone harbor, and rides used 6'2s even thought hes probably around 5'6. he loves to surf but he really knows nothing about it. he doesn't know who occy is, or julian, or dorian. he gets stoked when its thigh high....then again, so am i when were in a spell like this... he is probably going to put a "Ron Jons" or Pete Smiths" or billabong sticker on his car...hell he probably has small billabong stickers on his bored when he got them for free at a surf shop.

 

I'm going to have to say that this is one of the lamest threads I've seen in awhile. I hate to write negative stuff on this forum because I hate when others do it, but seriously, how do you think you will feel when you have to quit something you love? It will suck. If you're out for an injury, you'll think of the good times and you won't be able to wait to get back in the water, even if its just thigh high. And if its because of the oil, you'll hate BP, but you won't do anything about it. Maybe you won't buy gas at BP, but you'll drive your SUV or truck, and so will I, despite the less than perfect gas mileage. And if/when the oil is cleaned up, we'll all be back in the water surfing, and of course it will be crowded, but it will be worth it, because surfing is our passion.

 

I saw oil in the water the other day. I burned all my surfboards and now I am going to rollerblade. I think I will main line heroin too.

 

sports quits in my life

i official retired from skateboarding when i was 23 as my body could not take the punishment anymore. i officialy quit snowboarding when i was 27 as the hill rates and boards got too damn expensive...i quit golf last september when the rates (in florida ) started to go up again for the "SEASON" i did however buy a surfboard when i quit golf .im a skateboarder tried and true and being able to use a free medium to ride on waves or concrete makes ultimate sense in my book. ill never quit surfing untill i cant do it.( note johnny still has a skateboard and golf clubs but only uses them about 5 times a yr each....) i get way stoked for thigh and waist highs and sometimes i can get down the line. ridding a 6'8 fish for my first board.....always stay in your own movie Ken Kesey........
........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SemL5JycAQ0 my first surf video needs some views

 

agreed. seeing everyone just rip on bennys or other sarcastic comments are not worth the read. i think that quitting something you love would absolutely suck especially when you cant control it, like the oil spill. i had to quit my team for and division one scholarship becuase of an injury. doesnt mean your life ends but a little part of you that you devoted a decade or more does. s*it isnt fair, although BP wont change until we do.

 

I didn't quit since I still own three boards, but moving inland I only go a few times a year. I supplement what I felt surfing on my bike, on the right singletrack you can get the same feeling you do on a nice wave. Mountain biking has made me fitter that surfing on the east coast did.

 

I say - feel privileged to have the ability to surf. You never know when life circumstances could throw chunks your way and take that ability away.

I had surgery recovery, that kept me out of the water for many months, and the way I dealt was picking up the video camera and being apart of each swell through documentation.

 

I'm from Maryland. Reletively new house, ehh 15 years, I'll give you that. I ride 1 used 6 7 and a I have a 6 6. Mark Occhilupo, Julian Wilson, Shane Dorian. Occy was before my time but I idolize Julian Wilson. Rons Jons and Pete Smiths blows. I don't have any stickers on my board. Get your facts straight.

Been surfing for 7 years. Fine, don't feel bad for me because I'm not priviledged to live on the ocean. Me and my other Benny friends will be just fine without your judgemental comments. All this negative backlash has made me want to quit surfing... NOT.

 

Absolutely true. I took a 4 foot airdrop and busted my ankle up a few weeks ago out at ocean beach, and its painful every moment of the day, and surfing on it now is not possible. Thats a minor injury too... Never take for granted the blessings in your life, including the freedom to surf

Also, was surfing perfect 4-6 foot Uluwatuu a few weeks ago, and a large floatilla of garbage took over the lineup. That was one of the more repulsive experiences of my life, and me and a bunch of guys just paddled back in through the cave and called it a day. The conditions were perfect, but it was almost unrideable due to pollution. Lets hope we get our act together, if its happening in Indo its only a matter of time before more and more breaks become unrideable do to oil/pollution/etc.

 

that's what i was doing when i fractured my elbow. it only took about a month to heal, but a week after i did it, we had chest high waves

 

When I went to grad school I moved to Michigan and surfed exactly 5 times in four years. I missed it terribly, but found other ways to cope. Mountain biking became my surfing during that time. Right before I moved back to NJ I got married, and took my honeymoon in Biarritz. I got lucky and got a solid 8ft swell for a couple of the days. I knew at that time there was no choice for me but to start my new life back where I came from. I moved back to NJ to be closer to my family, and to give my kids the same opportunities I had growing up.

No regrets.

 

happiness is buying less

I grew up living to surf and did so for 10 years. Then, I went to college and got a "real" job because that's what I thought was expected of me. I ended up chasing money and getting fat for 8 years until a series of events, including the birth of my daughter and a trip to Rincon in CA, brought me back to surfing in 2008. Don't get me wrong, there were some good times but those 8 years gave me a lot of perspective and I came away from it knowing that, going forward, surfing is going to be a part of my life until I'm toes up.