da hulk's genuine super ultra condensed Surfing Autobiography...

I have been involved in surfing for a long time. It is a vital part of who I am and how I got here. Don't ask me to prioritize it's role in my life. If you ask me whether I am a surfing parent or a parenting surfer, I will tell you "it depends...", and when I'm in the water I may forget everything else entirely. I'm no professional surfer, I'm not even a local legend, in fact I doubt that there is anything particularly remarkable about my involvement in surfing except that I have been persistent. I'm just a typical lifetime surfer who has taken the time to collect a few thoughts about the surfing lifestyle...

Well...maybe I'm a pretty good longboarder under the right conditions and it's not too crowded...and maybe I know more about surfing than most grommets ever will...and maybe I'm semi-connected locally...and if you consistently take off in front of me maybe I turn green, pluck you off your board, fold you up and stash you in my wax pocket until I decide to go in...and...

When I was about 12 I picked up a Life Magazine that featured surfers in Hawaii. I don't know why it had such a lasting impression on me, I was born in Kansas and was living in Alaska at the time, but it did! When my family moved to Santa Cruz in 1963 I immediately jumped at the chance to learn how to surf. I was a KOOK in every sense of the term. After learning the basics, I joined a young crew of surfers at my homebeach and the initiation was begun. I surfed my way through the sixties, made the transition to short boards, and even successfully competed locally as an amateur for a couple of years. In the summer of 1968 I went to Maui and lived and worked at the Honolua Bay Pineapple Company plantation. That was an eye-opener.

Then I got married, finished school, got a regular job, had kids, and joined the ranks of the occasional weekend warriors. I did manage to write my thesis on the Surfing Subculture in Santa Cruz while in graduate school, but even that process seemed to further distance me from my passion for surfing. When an opportunity to advance professionally presented itself, I moved to Southern California and "the valley". This was new, I was a "val" instead of a "local" and I gained a lot of respect for those dedicated few who commute regularly to the beach. My sessions were very far and few between at this point, and when I went it wasn't much fun since I was out of shape, my equipment was oudated, I didn't know the local breaks, and I had no local surfing friends to speak of.

Three things occurred that truly revitalized my involvement. First, my oldest son took an interest in bodyboarding and we could "bond" together at the beach. We grew very close. Second, most of my old crew began holding a reunion longboard contest every year and I started looking forward to this event with great enthusiasm. I bought a longboard and even began training for it. Finally, I agreed to advise/coach a university surf club/team which connected me to local surfers, and Southern California surf spots. It was during this period that I realized just how very much of an influence surfing has had on my life.

Well...I'm back home in Santa Cruz. Still juggling a very complex life/family/career, but surfing now has a proud and respected place in my life...

da hulk

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Last modified on 10/2/2001