I'm Ying, 34yo about 180lbs and 5'10 in height.
I lived in the UK for the most part of my life but I was born in Shanghai. Shanghai being a city by the Pacific had given me my first memories of the sea - and although it's a cold, flat, industry zone of a sea it still made feel kind of attached to the ocean.
Moving to Northwest UK didn't help my surfing experience much - the nearest beach is over an hour away and nearest surfable one probabaly 2, 3 hours driving. On top of that I can't swim - I can 'float' but I will probably sink given any chance.
Despite that I was always facinated by surfing for some reason - can't explain it or remember what inspired me (maybe it's the ultimate expression of freedom coming from a strict asian upbringing?).
So around 2005 I started learning swimming in the Manchester Aquatic Center. It actually took me 2 years to build up my confidence in water. Summer 2007 I booked some days off in Newquay and a couple of surfing lessons.
That was my first experience on a surfboard, it took about 2 years in preparation so you can say I'm bit of a slow starter

After returning to the north, I start to think how I get to a surfable beach. However the travel made it rather difficult, on top of that, gears in UK costs a fortune.
Amazingly, the company I work for offered me a chance to transfer to their San Diego, CA office. Would I ever! This happened pretty late in 2007, with the busy rush of getting visa and work permit sorted out I didn't dip my toe inthe ocean for nearly 8 months.
Finally, in April 2008 I relocated to sunny SoCal - it took me another 3 months before trying out surfing again for the first time.
I have to say living here you can feel the surf culture, and facility/ ease of access / weather and wave conditions are amazing compared to the UK (so more respect to the British surfers).
I surfed with a few folks from work and got given a free 9' mal for my first board. It's got quite a bit rocker and is thin for a long board with 2+1 fins. I actually found it a bit unstable for me (hopeless).
I have since had the chance to acquire a 9'9" single fin glassed nose rider and this thing is much more stable and easy to catch waves on.
Since starting again, I have surfed maybe 1 dozen times, in Tourmarine, La Jolla Shores and Del Mar. now that work is slightly less busy I'm aiming to hit the water 3, 4 times a week if I can.