Careers In Surfing

[Hazy_daze]

Hey Everyone, I was just wondering if anyone here has an actual career in surfing? Also does anyone know of and job paths you could take and what you need to get there?
I was just curious because I would love to bring my greatest hobby into my work, and ive considered things like surf-photo-journalism, tuition, judging and things like that.
Im really keen to go into the industry, but theres always the saying 'dont mix pleasure with work' so im a bit hesitant about it.

Any info would be good!
Cheers

[Phil]

shaping maybe i wouldnt mind geting into this teaching would be cool but you would be limited to the summer

[jonny]

I've been in the industry for a little while now - about 18 months actually. Before that I had senior marketing jobs at both Black & Decker UK and Volkswagen UK but working for myself in the surfing world is the nuts. I love it.

Just have to remember why I did it in the first place and get out there ad surf a bit more sometimes! It's too easy to get bogged down with the business side of it all.

I say if you fancy a career in the industry then just go for it - it will be tough as there's lots of people with similar ideas but someone has to do it!

Also remember to look at your ideas with a balanced view - for instance becoming a surf instructor sounds quite glamorous but I should imagine that getting back into your cold wetsuit for the 40th time that week to stand in waist high mush trying to get spoilt obnoxios little fat brats to stay on their Swell boards can get a bit soul destroying

[CheeZee]

hey all

Also remember to look at your ideas with a balanced view - for instance becoming a surf instructor sounds quite glamorous but I should imagine that getting back into your cold wetsuit for the 40th time that week to stand in waist high mush trying to get spoilt obnoxios little fat brats to stay on their Swell boards can get a bit soul destroying

" i think thats the most important advice anyone could give you chillee'

my surf buds cousin has trained to be as qualified as poss' for lifeguarding on the south coast beaches . She is also a very good surfer but unfortunately the reality of putting up with those Brats' and all other forms of idiot on the beach has eventually got to her ...now she hardly ever gets in the liquid

[Hazy_daze]

Ah, cheers for the replies guys.
That is a really useful piece of advice there Jonny, and what Phil said tyes into it aswell, as really you could only be a surfing instructor in the summer time as of the lack of buisness in the winter, and plus the 'obnoxios brats' would prove a problem, as would my phobia of swell boards!! (Its the way they squeak when theyre wet!)
Gawd, CheeZee, thats a real shame for your cousin, she must be pretty disapointed

Its really difficult, because i've always liked being outside rather than inside, so an office job, even if it was surfing based, seems a bit out of character for me, but then again most jobs are academic now and you need to be in offices more, so its just a case of sorting out my owm priorities i guess?

What does your job entail Jonny? Is it a lot of office work due to you being the owner? Any regrets?
Cheers!

[babyboarder89]

well i want to be the person that sprays the cool designs onto your surfboard for you. im aking crystallight man for work experience next year but my school are going to hate me if i get it because its 200 miles away and none of the teachers are going to want to come and o the visit thing
im sure theres plenty of jobs out there for you, how about doing a surf rental thing on the beach? you get to be by the surf everyday and can go in early and late with your pick oif the boards. (and you can give the spoilt brats horrible boards) allways seemed pretty cool to me.

[Brent]

Good advice above; like anything you love if it becomes your employment you risk the chance of losing the stoke. I have a good example. A friend of mine was a passionate photographer, he lived for his darkroom, working in B&W mostly and was a productive "arty" soul. He showed in galleries & was on his way basically.
But!!! Then he decided to work full-time in the field, quit his day job and then moving into doing weddings, portraits etc to "pay the bills" to support himself. Nowdays, guess what he does all the time....just pay the bills, he is so busy making a living he's lost the stoke & it's now just a job.

I have another friend who owns a shaping/glassing business, employing two shapers...he spends so much time at the shop himself working selling & marketing to new customers (to keep the wage bill managable) he surfs less now than he ever has. Works all day Saturdays (busiest day of the week for a surf-shop here). He sometimes regrets his choice.....

I guess these are cautionary tales; if you make your passion your employment..you can lose the stoke. Remember our love of surfing is because it's our escape from the rest of our normal lives...it is for me anyway.

[d3ad1y]

Best career in surfing --> proffesional surfer of course! Mwahahaha!!



but thats pretty.... impossible (for me at least)
I did work exp at a surf shop as a customer service person. Pretty laid back, good relation with the customers (they are all surfers), and you go for a surf before and after work... even on lunch break!
and you get free wax

[Broosta]

Working in surf shops- I have done a few times but this sucks as you are in the shop instead of the water, even on bank holidays and stuff as that is good retail time. Also wages suck unless you own it.

Pro surfer - sort of had a look at the windsurfing pro side of things which is similar-ish to surfing. Extremely difficult to get into as you have to have a natural talent for it but also alot of luck and maybe equally importantly you have to know the right people. But probs the ideal job if you are one of the few elegible people on the planet!

Surf instructor - I used to work at a couple of windsurf/surf centres. Island Airtime in Fueteventura, Canary Islands, and Outdoor Adventure in Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, England. At Outdoor Adventure I used to do a bit of eveything - make beds, wait tables, do the bar, teach surfing, kayaking, windsurfing. My surfing/windsurfing did improve alot due to hours on the water although most the time is spent not freesurfing but actually teaching altho any sort of water time is beneficial.
In the canaries I ran a hire centre/school on Flag Beach which was better as the school side of things was pretty slow allowing me to spend loads of time on the water just making sure people using our hire gear were safe . This was great but the down side was I had to stay at the same bit of the same beach so if it was going off big time elswhere on the island then I missed it. And even when Flag Beach was going off I still had to keep an eye out to check up on things and longed for a proper sesh without other obligations. Mind you this was all deffo loads better than working in an office - wages aside of course.

[Hazy_daze]

Cheers guys, real good info right here.
So Broosta, what are you up to career wise now?
Thanks so much for all your posts, i really appreciate it! Keep it coming please!

[Phil]

surfing photography would be amazing to get into though but i bet geting your foot through the door and finding a job in that would be very difficult

try chating to the guy who runs extreamboardshots.com

journalism would be cool as well get to travel and write about surfing dont think either of thse could destroy your passion for surfing but are proably the most hardest to get into

but were theres a will theres a way

best of luck with what you decide

[deathfrog]

I wanted to be a surf school teacher when I was younger.

[Broosta]

Chilee - am paramedic atm. Works out quite well cos of shift work so often get time off during daytime which means more water time in winter and I can afford to buy boards and wettys and petrol and stuff .

[Hazy_daze]

Cheers for the luck Phil, what career are you looking at in the long run? Your so right, journalism/photography would be so good, but like you said it is naturally real popular with the ever-expanding surfing industry, so getting into it wouldnt be an easy job.
Im not sure about destroying the passion by working in surfing, I can see both sides of the arguement Like Brent said, its a risk to take, but like you said Phil, where theres a will, theres a way!

BabyBoarder, That is such a good idea, but what would happen in the winter?? Im intrigued by your future plans!

DeathFrog, what made you change your mind? The same sort of thing that Jonny mentioned before?

d3ad1y, yeah silly me! Heres me trying to figure out the best way to make up my future in surfing, when Im missing the most obvious one! Pro Surfing...here I come!

Thanks for your input too Brent, as always your talking a lot of sense.

Broosta, wow, thats sounding very inviting actually! More water time equals more good time How is it? Enjoying your job, or have you had better?

Sorry about how this topic is dragging on a bit guys

[Phil]

im looking at working in marine conservation i love the sea i hate to sit here watch fish stocks drop to dangeriously low levels and see nothing being done about it, i want to work with the sea one way or another and helping preserve it would be so rewarding for me

[deathfrog]

, what made you change your mind? The same sort of thing that Jonny mentioned before?"

too much school allready. I figure it still could be fun, but I just get agravated trying to teach anything so I don't the job would suit me well.

[Broosta]

Yeah its cool. I enjoy the job loads more than any other office type thing I've done. I feel the ballance is just about right between wages and effort involved, and you do get quite alot of freedom to drive around places in between calls. Its a job that is going to take me a long time to get bored of and probs one my favourite things about it is the variety of stuff that can happen during the shift.
You get good and bad days like any other job and it is still a job, and of course I'd always rather be surfing .