Updated
Surfers are travellers and thrill seekers, and so am I. Searching for perfect waves has taken me to the most exotic corners of our planet. No matter where I am, whether at home in Famara or somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean, I am constantly surrounded by a random mix of happiness and frustration. How can something as beautiful and amazing as surfing evoke such a controversial mix of feelings? I often ask myself this question and will try to get to the bottom of it. Hopefully, I can gain a few valuable insights from my thoughts.
A narrow path
I’ll never forget when I pushed a good old friend into his first wave. It was a clean, waist-high open wave. When he pulled out and looked back at me, the fire in his eyes changed my life forever. For the first time, I felt that I could make people happy, that I could improve their lives and in doing so, maybe even make the entire world a better place. I realised that I had to give up my office job and that I wanted to teach surfing for the rest of my life. It has been 15 years since I made this decision and I have never regretted it. Thousands of happy faces, five-star reviews and the success of the surf school, which I founded in 2010 confirm that I have done the right thing. Most of the time I am surrounded by happiness, and I am very grateful for that, but it was not always like that. Occasionally I was faced with tears and frustration, sometimes even anger and aggression. I’ve learnt to deal with it because it seems to be an inevitable part of every surfer’s journey.
Ups and downs
Another friend of mine struggled for a long time to surf high-performance boards, while his level was good, but not good enough to surf these skinny pieces. It’s very hard to improve your style and wave count when the volume of the board doesn’t allow you to take off easily and have time to think about your body position, weight distribution, arms, hips, vision, etc. After many years of frustration, he finally gave up and listened to my advice, which had been the same for years, to get a bigger board. This magic board was the turning point. He got better with every session because suddenly all my surfing tips made sense, and he was able to put them into practice. Every session became a blessing and no longer a torture. Every time we returned to shore, the constant smile on his face made me feel his stoke and energised me at least as much as him.
I could come up with thousands of examples of similar stories, but it could be enough material for an entire book. Therefore, I will limit this story to one more example, of myself. After years of constant improvement, since I started surfing, I got stuck on a certain level and was not able to improve. Every time I would check my footage after a surf session, I just wanted to destroy the camera, blame the camera guy, and stop surfing forever. I watched dozens of surfing tutorials, read surfing books, and kept trying everything, without much success. Anger and frustration have been following me, and there seemed to be no way out. It was not easy to overcome my ego and to agree that I needed someone’s help. I started to take surfing lessons, and slowly but surely, step by step, a new era started. I reckon there is always a way out, of any situation, and the key is not to give up.
A never-ending story
Whether you’ve just started surfing and managed to stand up in white water, made your first turn or got out of your first barrel — at all stages of surfing, there are unforgettable moments that can change your life. The reason for this is that the path of a surfer is never easy — most of the time you have to overcome yourself and fight hard. Of course, there are exceptions. Some natural talents get there faster than others, but the reality is different for most of us. The longer and harder the road to your destination, the stronger the emotions during and at the end of your journey. And once you’ve reached your goal, you most likely won’t stop. You will set new targets and fight for them again. This pattern tends to repeat itself at every stage of a surfer’s development.
The journey is the reward
In my experience, frustration and happiness are like day and night, love and hate, yin and yang — one is impossible without the other. I hope that these concluding thoughts will help you on your journey.
- High expectations are like wild horses that need to be tamed. If you give them free rein, you may reach your goal incredibly quickly. But they can also hurt or even kill you.
- If you want to minimise frustration, you should first be in control of your situation and keep your expectations low. Try to set yourself as small intermediate goals as possible. The fewer you set, the more likely it is that you will ever achieve them.
- Never turn away from help. If you think you already know everything, then you are probably much further away from your goal than you think.
And probably the most important message has already been given by Confucius: ‘The journey is the reward’ — enjoy every moment, because the experiences you gather along the way will make you the person you will become one day.
Love & Peace
If this sounds familiar and you would like to start — or start again — the first step is the same for everyone: a beginner lesson in the whitewater at Famara, a good take-off, and enough paddling fitness to enjoy the second hour as much as the first. The frustration comes free; we teach the happiness part.
Written by Andrey, general manager of Red Star Surf, Famara.
