Dryden Brown has won the NSSA National Surfer/Scholar of the Year award twice (2012, 2013. Photo: Paul Greene
During my first year of high school, I struggled to find equality in my treatment of both my love for surfing and my desire to perform academically. My worry created a dilemma: I obsessed over surfing, yet I felt the need to spend my time studying to build a strong transcript and an acceptable GPA. To fifteen-year-old me, these two endeavors were at odds. Decisions had to be made. One dream must be crushed for the other to flourish. I’ve since found this kind of compromise to be wholly unacceptable, and though compromise is a necessary evil, I want to live a full life. Setting very general goals and slightly altering my perspective on surfing has helped my water-time more than I thought possible.
1. When the waves are good, surf. This seems obvious and self-explanatory, but I’ve found that the consequences of taking a day off to surf are rarely worse than the sickening doldrums of regret after missing the best day of the year. If you’ve worked hard enough when the waves are flat, you won’t feel nearly as much guilt when you ditch your responsibilities for tubes. Of course this isn’t possible in all situations, but if yours permits it, indulge yourself occasionally.
2. Wake up early. It’s true what they say: the early bird gets the worm. In Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, he detailed a sharp, consistent, daily schedule that began with his rising at 5 am. The man strove for perfection and understood the necessity of getting a head start to the day. He was a printer, scientist, writer, politician, and I’m sure if he’d known about surfing he would’ve found time for that too. Getting up early – often before the sun even rises – is something I have struggled with, but I have found that it allows me to surf less crowded waves with better conditions. This means more waves per session, and more turns per wave. If you deal with frosty mornings and tired paddle-outs, you’ll be rewarded handsomely. Drink coffee and ignore every fiber of your being screaming at you to stay under the covers. Getting up early is good for you and your surfing.
3. Learn to live with bad surface conditions. The lion’s share of my surf sessions in 2014 have been in bumpy, but otherwise decent waves. I try to surf most afternoons, regardless of virulent winds and changing tides, and make due with what the sea offers. Non-professional surfers generally don’t have the luxury of a schedule worked around the waves, so dealing with unpleasantries is a must. Be grateful that you live near the ocean, and surf when it isn’t glassy.
