Surf kooks are a cultural subgroup of beach life. Their style, their behavior and their gear leave us, many times, speechless, dazed and amazed. Let's discover their best kookiness moments.
Kooks. We know them, and we were one them. Not now, of course. Surf kooks are everywhere, from Snapper Rocks and the North Shore of Oahu, to Biarritz and Malibu.
Whether they're surfing beginners, exotic locals, inexperienced grandmothers or eccentric lunatics, you are always going to meet a few good ones, in your wave riding career.
These personalities can be found in any type of surf conditions. Although you can easily spot them in one-foot waves, they can also drop-in professional surfers in popular reef breaks during occasional close-out days.
"The Encyclopedia of Surfing" tells us that the word "kook" is "a play on the Hawaiian word 'kukae', which means 's--t'".
Surf kooks are always cool and relaxed. They're "the surfers". More than a question of surf etiquette, kookiness can really be a way of life.
Kook surfers have been immortalized in three fundamental works. The books "The Kook's Guide to Surfing" and "Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love", and the short surf film "Kook Paradise".
What makes the perfect surf cook? Well, he's never embarrassed about the number of surf stickers glued to the deck of his surfboard, the clothes he wears at the beach, his wetsuit style, ridiculous wipeouts, and destroying the wave of our lives. Surf culture can be so oppressive...
Have we missed a classic "Absolute Kookiness" moment? Send us your kooky tip to editor [at] surfertoday.com.