6'6" fat boy wave killa

Several occurrences have collided to give me the chance to plug a gap in my current quiver of two. I have been working on a project called Phoresia.org with my friend D$. Through this outlet I’ve had the opportunity to do my first paid writing job.

I know, I can hear you now… “how in the hell did this guy get someone to pay him for his dribbled scribble?” You got me. I don’t know either.

Anyway, being that things are as they are, I’ve decided to reinvest these “earnings” into a project, in the form of a new surfboard, for Phoresia.org. It’s sort of a Walden’esque idea of living the life –if you know what I mean. I don’t want to spoil the plot because I won’t have anything left for the project.

But I can say that my next board, currently under the planer, will be a 6’6” high performance thruster (yes I said thruster) with a single concave and squash tail. Originally I’d wanted to get a retro styled 5-fin Bonzer. After talking to my shaper he suggested that I get something in between my 6’4” fish type board and my 6’8” mini-gun – something which would be easy to transition from board to board and not have to surf differently on each one.

D$ has divulged some science that seems to make a lot of sense. You got your quiver right? You got a small wave board which is short and chubby and loose. Then you got your board for waist to overhead surf which is longer and a bit more foiled. Finally, you have a board for solid overhead waves which has a narrow outline and pin tail to hold a line. The key is to get the same volume on all the boards. This way they all feel similar as far as paddling and catching waves but their respective plan shapes allow them to work best in the right conditions. All of my boards will have a thruster set-up allowing me to get comparable reactions from each one.

Ideally I should be able to switch boards depending on wave height and not struggle with getting used to the feel of each board each time. My boards should also last a bit longer since I won’t be using the same one all the time. At this stage in my surfing I feel that I still need some fundamental skills like generating speed and turning without loosing speed. It’s important then to have boards that will work well and float me properly. Once I feel like I have my fundamentals a little more wired I can start experimenting more with alternate designs.

Arguably the most relevant element affecting your performance level in just about any activity is physical fitness. I’m working on that too. Been running and doing a lot of high repetition muscle exercises –mostly with my own body weight or free weights. I am also trying to practice yoga on my own at least once a week but that doesn’t always pan out. I’d surf more but we’ve entered a period of little swell possibilities.

Man I just realized how serious this whole post sounds. But the truth is that out all of the things I’ve done in life, surfing is probably the one that’s brought the best out of me. It has consistently been an activity which I give my all to. So although I don’t take myself seriously in the line-up and I’m not competitive (I’ll hoot anyone on a nice wave), I do want to become better at it all the time. Surfing, a lot like skateboarding, demands that you continue to progress in your skills and style, always rewarding you with the feeling of self propulsion and self reliance which we often miss in our modern daily lives.