How do you explain or describe surfing to your friends?

[BaNZ]

Picked up surfing last year, now all my non surfing friends just thinks I'm nuts and being antisocial. The subject always comes up when they do see me. Asking why I always leave my gf alone on the weekends and never plan anything in advance. Always check forecast first thing in the morning on weekends.

My gf explains to them that its just a hobby. But I always say it's not a hobby or sport, it's a way of life. It's so frustrating that they keep comparing it to cycling, jogging, skiing or playing sports. They can't see why it is so addictive. For me it's like drugs, it's more addictive than drugs. They asks whether it's the adrenaline rush you get, but I don't think so.

I guess you can't describe surfing with words. You just need to try it and then you will understand? Or maybe there is something wrong with me... maybe it is just a hobby / sport....

[oldmansurfer]

LOL well sorry if you are serious but I laughed at that. Ok ok here let me try to be serious. It is a sport and a hobby and addictive and a way of life. There is so much to it .....adrenaline yes but not necessary however once in a while yeah adrenaline. The real big thing for me is that meditative state where the world disappears as you sit out there on your board and the next waves is all you are focused on. There is that camaraderie between surfers and it is great exercise. However I don't need to explain it to anyone here in Hawaii.

[jaffa1949]

As the advertisement says, "only a surfer knows the feeling".

[BaNZ]

I'm being dead serious... They just think I'm crazy driving 180 miles round trip to do a "sport" over the weekend. Friends look at me like I'm some kind of idiot now.

Then I have the "other" type of surfer friends who claims that they love surfing. Then when I take them there. They are frightened by the 2 feet waves. Can't even sit on the board or constantly get swept away by the rip and I have to save them.

Oh God, I really need to move.. Why am I living so far from the coast.

[jaffa1949]

There is loving the idea of surfing, something I want to do!
Then there is doing surfing and loving it even on the "bad days" which are better than most other days.
If you are as hooked and stoked as I believe you might be, save you and your friends the suffering, start engineering your life to give you as much surf time as possible

No matter how you put it to them they will not understand your obsession!
My mother thought I'd outgrow it, she's dead twenty years and I'm still surfing Sorry mum
BTW I achieved Uni Degrees had successful businesses and the all were hinged around my surfing, it can be done!

[BaNZ]

冲浪爷爷, I'm trying. I have a degree but it doesn't help me to start my own business. I've thought about it and was going to PM you since you have traveled all over the world on surfing trips. You have been to Kenting so I'm interested in what you have to say. Whether you think there are any opportunities. KT is saturated with hostels and surf hostels too. Perhaps opening another hostel and targeting foreigners. There must be something that KT is missing.

I'm brilliant in IT and that is what I get paid to do here. But it isn't something I can put to use over there...

It's only been around 100 days since I moved inland. lol! I thought I could last longer than this.

[oldmansurfer]

Sorry for laughing but I guess here in Hawaii even people who don't surf understand surfers. What a bummer to be so far away from the surf

[drowningbitbybit]

You just need new friends, that's all

I'm brilliant in IT and that is what I get paid to do here. But it isn't something I can put to use over there...

Is it something you can do remotely? Or do you need to be on site? Get paid in US$ but live somewhere cheap (with surf obviously) and you're sorted
You would need to get new friends (and possibly a new girlfriend...) too, but it would all work out in the end

[jaffa1949]

NAH, you are thoroughly hooked.

As for Taiwan and Kenting and that area! There are a lot of surf hostels but like about 95% of Taiwanese surfers they are very clueless about what it means.
It will probably become very competitive in marketing when they figure it out.
The country is also filled with highly skilled IT guys.
The secret that will achieve your aims is to use the degree to cash you up for the first set of changes you might plan.

One thing about IT is it is possibly portable enough to work it near many beaches.

Your dream can be done on the poverty scale ( Plenty have done it) others do it with smarts .

[BaNZ]

I'm intrigued, what so clueless about them? I've not been to any surf hostels or camps so I got nothing to compare it to. Saying that, there are no surf camps around that area. So that might be a good place to start.

I'm not a programmer or web developer. Am a hardware guy so I can't be as remote as I want to be. You're also right about the huge abundance of IT workforce in that country. It's a no go... unless I pickup some programming. But it would be crazy to abandon my fairly well paid job.

My mom just called and ask if I want to go for a weekend trip in London all paid for. I said I'm surfing and she screamed, "AGAIN?"" I said what do you mean again, it's been a week since I got in the water!

[waikikikichan]

Like the stickers say " Surfing SUCKS, don't try it ". The best thing to say to your friends is how bad surfing is. When you tell kids to eat their vegetables because "it's good for them", the more they don't want to eat them.

On a another note, Surfing has affected my life so much it affects my personal relationships. I wouldn't have a girlfriend that was a Goofy footer ( my wife is a regular foot ). And when/If I have a daughter, and she brings home her boyfriend, if I find out he is a surfer, BOOM ! " get the hell off my property and don't ever come back !! "

[BaNZ]

Like the stickers say " Surfing SUCKS, don't try it ". The best thing to say to your friends is how bad surfing is. When you tell kids to eat their vegetables because "it's good for them", the more they don't want to eat them.

On a another note, Surfing has affected my life so much it affects my personal relationships. I wouldn't have a girlfriend that was a Goofy footer ( my wife is a regular foot ). And when/If I have a daughter, and she brings home her boyfriend, if I find out he is a surfer, BOOM ! " get the hell off my property and don't ever come back !! "

lol I never understand the debate between goofy and regular. For me I just see it as left or right handed. It doesn't matter at all since our left stance is symmetrical to our right stance.

[oldmansurfer]

I think the only thing that surfers have in common is surfing. Other than that surfers come in all varieties goofy, regular, switch both ways, rich, poor, fat, skinny, muscular, smart, dumb, male, female, transexual, gay, straight, bi, honest, liar, pants on fire you don't know anything by knowing a person is a surfer other than they surf.

[waikikikichan]

you don't know anything by knowing a person is a surfer other than they surf.

I know that if my co-worker is a surfer, if there's a big South swell, he's probably calling in sick for work tomorrow.

[waikikikichan]

lol I never understand the debate between goofy and regular. For me I just see it as left or right handed. It doesn't matter at all since our left stance is symmetrical to our right stance.

After you develop your backside surfing more, your understanding of goofy/regular will be better. Watch videos of the last ASP pro at Tahiti or the last Pipeline Masters. See how the surfers who are riding backside or frontside approach the wave differently. Thus my choice in companion is purely for "stress" reasons. It's difficult to teach someone when they see a mirror image of you. Also when I go tandem with my wife, it easier if I don't need to counter her leaning the other way. Try learning a surfing move from magazine photos where the surfer is opposite foot of you, it's takes your brain a little more time to reverse the hand and feet positions

When a child at school writes notes at his desk, is his chair/knees facing forward ? Imagine a right handed person sitting at a desk with his chair/legs facing to the right. It would be much easier to sit with his legs facing left.

[oldmansurfer]

I work I surf I don't call in sick.