This is laughable to most, but real

No matter where we are or what we do.... All that any of us need are some good waves. That will help everything make sense again.

 

Kahuna Kai has some good points, surf with some other people for another perspective.....surf with a jaded bitter douche and then think; 'man, stoked I'm not THAT GUY'

also try some new equipment (trade with friends to save money), and realistically, go surf other waves be they close or far

I have gone through phases of being amped and then over it..... and then just one magic session, maybe it was the fold of the wave, the way that one turn really was tight in the pocket, that little tube section opened just enough, the glimmer of the sun, the way some chic's bikini came loose, so many little things that can bring the spark back without being able to pinpoint WHY it feels better.

just get out as much as possible and the moments will hit you and make you stoked.

 

i know ur pain.eastcoast surfing sucks wthout taking surf trips.i should be way better with the years I put in,but when u only surf "real good" waves a few times a year,and crappy waves for the rest,u don't progress as much as an aussie or Hawaiian will.

 

go try on cancer or a brain tumor

see if your outlook improves

 

this. sometimes you just need to walk away. sounds like you've been taking surfing pretty seriously for the last few years. mix it up a little...ride the log or bodysurf when it's head high. you'd be amazed at how forcing a shift in your perspective can liven things up.

 

Think your testosterone is low bud call the doc, or wetsuit aids.

 

I did pick up a skim board a couple months ago. Havent used it yet, but when the surf is really small, I take it with me along with my longboard thinking that if the waves are just too small or too bad, I would mess around on the skim board... So far, the waves have been decent enough that I havent resorted to that. But I am thinking if I mess around with the skim board long enough, it could make flat days at the beach more interesting. I did spent the most time actually on the beach ever since I moved here. The warm water and weather here is WAAAAY better to me than San Diego believe it or not. Nice trunkable water for 7-8 months with actually hot days. It was weird in CA how the weather was always so mild that it was never really hot, making you have to go for a dip and the water was always cold out there... Just cold enough to make it crappy to trunk it most times. Here, I am far more motivated to hang out on the beach, where in CA for 10 years, the beach was just the place I would run across for 15 seconds before and after paddling out. Its crazy how when you surf so much, it makes hanging at the beach not as fun. Also, I would annoy my lady because i dont care if i surfed for 4 hours that morning, if I was hanging, drinking on the beach with her and waves were still happening. I would not pay attention and ultimately paddle back out, thus making matters worse.

 

metards posts are the most bitter on point gold I have ever seen

 

Take a break and learn/do something different.
If you're riding the same board all the time and it's getting stale, switch to a different board(s).

 

It happens.... I usually take the trip to Belmar, nj when I feel that....

Just wait and plan to paddle out on the good days... Which might be 3x a month... Then you'll get thirsty again...

 

In my opinion theres a few phases to your surfing stoke. Just as you progress as a surfer your stoke level and ways to trigger it evolve as well.

When your just beginning all it takes is a dip in that ocean to make you the happiest grom (even as an adult beginner this should set you to "grom" levels of stoke). Then comes your first open face. Now theres no going back to just being happy on whitewater, or just making the drop. You gotta get that open face down the line wave to stoke you out.

And so on and so on.

Its natural to not be as excited on the beginning steps as your abilities improve. So as with everything in life you gotta just change it up. Shape your own board, make friends with a shaper so he can shape you a board. Ride it in everything big and small, so you know every little nuance of that board, then get a brand new one. Or change the fins out (it really will alter the boards entire ride once you have it wired with one set of fins) Like others have said, trying new things will help you stay stoked.

 

Oh and most of all TRAVEL! To 3rd world countries.

That way you can gain some perspective on life and not be so jaded when you get back to our kush world here in the good ol us of a.

 

Great post LM. Your phases are right on and I've gone through all those in the last year. What's difficult as you progress and move through those stoke phases is that the further you go, the better conditions are needed for you to get your fix. I remember paddling in oversized Nemo crap and choppy OH+ moguls of the early March storm a year ago and being happy as hell. Now, I need that open face to get stoked and that is ever-fleeting here on the EC.

At least we are in the midst of as consistent swell as we ever get in the NE right now. That's giving me a ton of stoke lately - to know there's a likelihood of having something to ride most days for a while now and where days are getting both longer and warmer. That, and the nostalgia of where it all began for me which was late winter/early spring.

You guys are right on with suggestions of trying out new things to rekindle the stoke. I've used the 7'6 for my last three sessions since getting back from OR just to maximize my wave count. Kind of going back to what you all were telling me at the start which was to go to a LB and just get up as much as I can. My riding is so much better now than a year ago, though still it's certainly within a realm where more time on more waves riding a mid-length will definitely make me better once back on a SB.

For me, the "new things" have been going longer on the foam, hitting more front side drop-ins than I have until now, taking a wave and (like zach619 said) focusing on doing a certain thing each time like pumping as fast down the line and prolonging the longest ride possible or making as many turns as I can on one wave etc., hitting new breaks and at different tides and conditions, continuing trips to new lands and new breaks, and pushing limits daily on the Carver.

Anyone know where we can get 100% pure stoke that's not cut and diluted 10x over by those seedy stoke dealers?

 

Yeah emass its quite the double edged sword. But oh so worth it!

 

Absolutely. Not gonna say that even though a whitewater wave once upon a time was all it took, that it even comes close to the stoke and satisfaction of starting to ride a wave like it's meant to be ridden. The stoke of the powerful feeling that you are now making some of the decisions of what happens on that wave rather than fully surrendering to what it's doing to you and/or letting you do as you ride it straight to the beach is the chronic. Starting to get those rides where I feel it all click and the fact that's happening while I'm expending much less effort is a big rush.

This forum is a support group for stoke-aholics. 23-step program.

 

Teach someone else to surf and get them hooked. This will ensure a future partner and they will keep you stoked.

 

Well brahs, your homie successfully bailed on trabajar today, and every time I do I feel like somehow I'm keeping the human spirit alive, well, my own at least. As Bill would say, I'm Hyundai 2500.

 

Now thats some serious wisdom. I needed that, having a newborn has eliminated many sessions for me of late.

 

buying a new or different board is a great way to re-up your stoke factor.

 

Tried running into the water for the first time in a while today to express stoke and bring on more. I'll be doing this more often since on the wave caught next, I busted a power snap to cutback finished with layback. Never done any of the three on a wave but debuted all three on the same wave. My exact movement patterns from Carver riding and all I had to do was think about snapping my head where I wanted to go. The rest just happened. So stoked. Try running into the water braddahs. It works.