When one of the most famous surf brands kicked off the "I Surf Because" movement, I asked myself what happened when I started surfing in 1990.

Twenty one years ago, I was a simple student beginning high school. I hadn't a favourite sport. I used to play soccer, tennis and basketball. My one and only contact with water was through swimming.

One day, one of my best friend brought a surf magazine to the classes. During a 10-minute break, Nuno showed me a Brazilian colour mag. It was the famous "Fluir".

In the cover of the magazine, there was one of the biggest stars of South American surfing. Teco Padaratz, Fábio Gouveia, Piu Pereira or Picuruta Salazar, I just cannot remember. It was late 1989, I suppose.

In that precise moment, me and Nuno started dreaming of having a surfboard. A few months later, on 9th April 1990, I bought my first surfboard. It was an incredible sunset coloured "Mike Davis", with retractable fins, that forever changed my life.

Having thought why do I surf, the answer must be as simple as the unique and simple moment when I first saw a surfer riding a wave, in the cover of a magazine.

I surf because I had to surf.

Cheers,

Luis MP
Executive Editor

editor[at]surfertoday.com