“I never wanna grow up,” Peter Pan once famously said. This statement, at its core, is quite depressing, really. When you truly begin to comprehend exactly what he means, it’s too late. You’re already up to bat.
Simply put, growing up can suck. It’s extremely stressful and absurdly demanding at times (on Mondays more often than not). Finding out where you fit in and what you’re good at can bring you to your wit’s end. And although you may think your heroes have everything figured out, professional surfers struggle with the same inner demons.
As a young adult, Matt Pagan grappled with life. He was losing an uphill battle to a sport that both he and his father had little faith in. He didn’t cope well with his competitive losses, and his dad only reaffirmed his own beliefs that surfing wasn’t what he was destined to do. But Matt stuck to his guns and gained something invaluable from those losses. After seeking professional help when he learned he had OCD, Matt realized that as each door closed, a new one opened. He slowly began to cope with his misfortunes and stopped seeking the approval from others. Only when he did that did things really begin to click. Now he is regarded as one of the finest free-surfers on the planet. At best, Matt’s tumultuous story of coming of age is one we can all learn from. At worst, you’ll leave having seen a few minutes of beautiful surfing.
