Surfing is a beautiful outdoor activity and an exciting water sport, but it also hides insincerity, falsity, and duplicity. Discover why we, as surfers, behave like hypocrites.
Surfers are profoundly surrounded by superlatives, catchphrases, and utopian marketing slogans that depict them as a tribe in sync with Nature - the lifestyle, the coolness, the healthy food habits, and the tanned skins are synonyms of well-being.
We're constantly being told that "life's better in boardshorts" and that "only a surfer knows the feeling," but the truth is not as vivid and transparent as it is sold through media.
And it all starts with a classic phrase: "You should've been here yesterday."
The comment tells us that we weren't lucky; we will not taste the real deal because the best part is gone.
As with anything in life, surfing and surfers have their dark sides.
It's not all about endless summers, unforgettable surf trips, perfect waves, and romantic secret spot adventures.
The hang-loose concept, the carefree attitude, and the aloha spirit are not intrinsic characteristics of surfers - they could embrace them and live them or not.
Salt life often hides false appearances of virtue, unpleasant truths, and other unpleasant issues that are kept underwater by the surf industry and its players.
Like drugs (weed, amphetamines, cocaine, and LSD), alcohol abuse, and the absence of black surfers in professional circuits.
While it is important to keep faith in the core values of surfing and what made it such a rewarding and fulfilling life experience, it is also important to highlight the hypocritical side of surfers.
Ready? Take a deep breath and reflect on the following examples:
1. Surfers Fight for Waves
It's happening all the time. Depending on the crowd level, surfers will try to catch as many waves as they can, even if it means stealing waves.
Make no mistake - surfers are greedy and selfish individuals;
2. Surfers Rarely Share Their Waves
When was the last time you saw a surfer inviting a fellow rider into small summer waves?
How often do you let people ride your wave? Instead, we whistle and yell to demand priority.
3. Surfers Rarely Appreciate Each Other's Waves
How many times have you looked away without noticing a fellow surfer's ride while paddling out the back?
4. Surfers Drop In on Other Surfers' Waves
Because they're only really worried about their wave count, it's no surprise that surfers are constantly dropping in on their fellow wave riders.
5. Surfers Disdain Beginners and First-Timers
Intermediate and advanced surfers tend to forget their humble beginnings and consider novice wave riders an inferior group that shouldn't be allowed in the lineup.
6. Surfers Overestimate Their Wave Rides
Surfers believe that the wave they've just ridden was bigger and better surfed than it actually was. They think their surfing is superior to others.
7. Surfers Can't Resist Localism
Sooner or later, especially when their home breaks get crowded, surfers end up imposing territorial claims over visiting surfers.
But when they go on surf trips around the world, they complain about aggressive behaviors in tropical destinations.
Localism is always a terrible thing when we're the victims, isn't it?
8. Surfers Hardly Care About Foreign Cultures
When surfers travel, their primary goal is to score waves. Exploring and understanding local cultures is often secondary.
9. Surfers Rarely Care About the Beach They Surf In
When was the last time you picked up a piece of plastic from the water or an old fishing net from the sand?
Surfers say they love the ocean and the beach, but the truth is that they almost never do anything to protect them.
10. Surfers Have Little Respect for Bodyboarders, SUPers, Kiteboarders, and Windsurfers
Because it just isn't surfing, people on boogie boards, XXL paddleboards, and sailing craft are not of their league.
Surfers have been dropping in on bodyboarders for ages, and no one ever cared about it.
11. The Surf Industry Is Worried About Revenues
If you still think that surf companies put out dreamy slogans and flashy ads with perfect peeling barrels because they breathe the holy spirit of surfing, you're probably living in a distant galaxy.
It's all about the profit; it's all about the margins. And they don't care about surf gear because money is in apparel.
12. Surfing Is Not an Environmentally-Friendly Sport
Surfers love the ocean and appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature.
Right. And they also buy and use some of the worst products for the environment - wetsuits, wax, and surfboards.
13. Professional Surfing is Sponsored by Alcohol and Energy Drink Companies
We're pure and healthy. And we all endorse a healthy lifestyle. However, we let alcohol and sweetened beverages pay the prize money.
14. Female Surfers Are Underrepresented and Underpaid
Surfers are at the forefront of civilization, and they stand united to save the world from global pollutants and despotic leaders.
But we still pay more to male surfers than female surfers. Is there a rational reason behind this?
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com