The quote: "The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun." I believe is from Phil Edwards.
I think the more skill set you have, you have a chance of leaving the water not as stoked due to conditions or your own performance...I have left the water aggravated and po'ed...winds switch on shore or I just plain sucked that day. Beginners really have no idea (just happy to be out there) and seem to always be stoked, especially as they progress. I remember talking to a kid new to surfing one day, who was pumped about his day of surfing. I was like "you went out today???" The surf was slop and knee high at best...he was completely stoked.
Look who we have here zagayfer and ms13. Damn one rich boy in cali and one rich boy in Hawaii team up. They'll probably throw down on a Roy Stuart. I know you say you charge Hawaii but I bet you don't paddle out on a 5 foot day out of fear. I bet your (that guy) hey man it's not big enough has to atleast do triple over head. Dumbpot smoking, vw bus driving, ice heads. Btw I have no feelings besides hate. Come to cape romaine and surf with me if you dare.
rich boy, lol I work for a living homes *you're blasters you type funnier sh!t than that, I am offended thats all you got your sister still sore?
I definitely find it much harder to be stoked. Everyone else summed it up. It's way more frustrating now to me than it once was, after a session where it looked better than it was. Or I show up with my SB and LB and have to go with the LB... It urkes me now, when it once didn't.... But I think surfing is a direct extension of your own life... When you work more, have less time, more responsibilities, your eggs end up going in one big basket sometimes, and when that one or two times per weeks that you have an opportunity to go out, don't pan out... The stoke meter takes a huge hit... Yes, it takes a lot more to get me stoked, but with that being said, I felt the need to post a whole thread last week because I caught a barrel on a 2-3 foot wave. It obviously wasn't my best barrel, or even close, but sometimes, when it's been so small, and something great happens, the stoke meter just sky rockets... I was giggling like a little kid after that one... I got out of the water completely content just thinking, thanks mother ocean, you and I have always been such good friends. You could sense my angst and my heavy heart, and you threw me a bone. You said, f-it, ive been pitching ankle high slappers all day, this poor guys has been putting up with it for month. He is the only guy out, I am just going to give him a perfect, 3 foot sheet glass wave with a nice little hollow pit to slide into, and then, I will dissapear again.... Thank you mother ocean, your little sick sense of humor boosted my stoke up pretty high. If something like that happened to me 5 years ago, I would have thought nothing of it, probably forgotten about the fun little barrel by the time I made it back out to the lineup, thirsty for more, while basically disregarding the past... More More More....
I think once you are established as a decent surfer it just takes knowing the conditions and what to expect from them and you can still be just as stoked as that beginner hittin whitewater. Like Zach was saying how stoked he was on his lil barrel, conditions prob didnt lend themselves well to gettin anything of the sort so he was stoked on that lil bit of glory. Its all relative. If i can side track a bit i personally hold STYLE above skill. I hate it when you see a dude stink buggin, hittin turns and what not, so he thinks hes a shredder but looks like a monkey f#*kin a football the whole time. Hone that flow, then work on other stuff.
Yeah at first I was stoked grinning from ear to ear giggling like the first time I touched my girlfriend's boobs in Jr. High any time I managed to drop down a wave-face... then I only got stoked when I managed to get a shoulder or make a bottom turn.. now I need to get some real speed going on the shoulder or catch a really long ride / big wave before I get anywhere near that stoke level.
I really don't see too much correlation between the two. The can exist together or separately so there really isn't and "vs" about it IMO. Nevertheless, surfing stokeless, gutless waves is like batting practice to me. A good fun opportunity to stay loose and relatively sharp. When you finally do get some stoke inducing waves you'll be ready for them. (This advice is for east coast specifically, I've never had the opportunity to continually surf quality waves and lose the stoke)
umm dragging ur pecker through salt water on a pink sponge from kmart.kps bout to tittyphuk this wave
I completely agree with you. I'm more pumped now then I ever was. One of you guys said you come out of the water aggravated because the winds switch onshore. I paddled out the last two days knowing the winds were and were staying onshore. I came out of the water like Pat O'Connell in the endless summer 2 "that was the best wave of my life!". You just got to be realistic about what to expect to get out of the conditions. And seriously, go out when it's onshore. Well atleast check it. It dosn't always have to be offshore to be good. Sure you won't get barreled, but theres plenty of room to do a bunch of turns.
I've been surfing for ever. I got it chest high and choppy with 4 second rides today for an hour. I had a blast. "He was a mongoloid, he was a mongoloid, he was happier than you or me".
Good discussion. I think the more skilled I get the more addicted I am to getting more waves and the more waves I get the more stoked I get. In theory, my skill level fuels my stoke level, but when I sucked and couldn't surf for jack, I was stoked as ever then too. I try to have fun no matter how good or bad I do, but when I have one of those sessions where it's just clicking and i'm in "the zone" I am on a real life natural high which overrides anything I already had in my system from earlier for sure. The after surf buzz has an intoxicating feeling that lasts days sometimes weeks if it's a special session. Just some thoughts on the two topics
I do check it, it takes me a minute to get to the beach, but the wind is often the issue, especially by mid day...the scenario, I work at dawn, know the surf is good with off shore...get off early, hit the surf only to realize the impending doom...sea breeze, strong sea breeze...yep, I am really aggravated..."you should of been here a few hours ago."
That does suck. I'm the opposite, I go in around 11. I have so much time to surf in the morning. So many times when the winds supposed to be crappy all day, I score for a few hours early while the winds light. I can see how that would be frustrating though.