If someone had told me, as recently as six months ago, that there would be a point in time when I’d be riding a skateboard as much as I ride my surfboard, I would have laughed and used some pointed words—words that Spongebob and Patrick humorously refer to as “sentence enhancers”. But I digress. My [...]

I came up with this title because it looks probable, at least with the U.S. economy barely improving and the job situation seemingly worsening, that I will never make a surf trip. Ever. California and Hawaii share an ocean. They are separated by a plane ride of only a few hours. The plane ticket, while [...]

A friend recently sent me a self-produced zine entitled Small Wave Hellman. I loved the title because, if nothing else, it acknowledges that not every surfer goes through his or her life in pursuit of waves that would have made Greg Noll soil his patented jailhouse shorts. Some of us—many, in fact—are content to spend [...]

This is a question that gets bandied about every so often in the surf world. I believe, however, that it’s a question that leads to a more important question: why would anyone want surfing to be an Olympic sport? I suppose that those who have an interest in making (even more) money off of surfing [...]

If you don’t have a friendly neighborhood shaper in your life, it’s time to get acquainted with one. In fact, I’ve gotten friendly with quite a few shapers in Southern California and my quiver is a testament to my belief buying a custom board is akin to buying a piece of art. Some of my [...]

I don’t follow professional surfing. There are times when I wonder if that means I should be banished from the tribe because I refuse to worship at the altar of the ASP. Spot any advertising? A hater I’m not. My problem with professional surfing probably stems from the fact that I don’t surf a shortboard, [...]