Editor’s Note: #SurfHacks is a new series where we’ll be providing helpful tips to improve your overall surf life.
You want to surf before work? This will help get you salty before you’re stuck wishing you were salty all day. Photo: Chelsea Mandes
If you’re lucky enough to live and work close enough to the beach, you probably sneak in an occasional (if not regular) surf before work. Here are a few tips to make the beach to office transition as seamless as possible.
1. Bring a gallon water jug.
Yes, this may be a bit of a pain, but you will be so thankful your face isn’t salty when 2 pm rolls around. A gallon is just enough to rinse the salt off your face, the sand out of your hair, and the dirt off your feet.
2. Bring two towels.
No one likes putting dirty feet into socks and then shoes, especially when you’re headed to work 9-5 right after. An extra towel to stand on while you change out of your wetsuit can keep your footsies clean and happy all day.
3. Leave a stick of deodorant in your car.
You hate being smelly, but the people you work with hate you being smelly even more. Leave a spare stick of deodorant in your car so you don’t forget it in the pre-surf before dawn shuffle. Your co-workers will thank you.
4. Bring a hanger.
If your office is a surf-friendly environment, leave a wetsuit hanger in your car. Your suit will be much happier to dry in open air, and your car will be much less smelly if you can can hang that steaming neoprene elsewhere.
5. Keep a plastic container in your vehicle.
Consider this your surfing black hole. Throw all your wet, sandy, waxy beach related things into an airtight plastic container while you’re at work. You can wash it out later, but it will at least keep the surf stench to a minimum in your car while you’re at work.
6. Keep a box of power bars on hand.
Some days you’re just going to run late. It happens: sometimes there’s a lull, sometimes the waves are just too damn good, or sometimes you get stuck in traffic. In any case, you may have to forgo a stop for breakfast to make it to a meeting on time. Have some granola bars or form of protein on hand to at least get you through until lunch time so you don’t hit the post-surf energy crash.
7. Use a hairbrush.
If you’re a girl you know this is essential, but even for guys a brush can be necessary after a long surf. Sometimes you’ll need to brush out sand, other times seaweed, but whatever the reason, it’s better to have a brush on hand than to show up to the office looking like a water-logged surf rat. Depending on how soon after you need to be at work, bringing a hairdryer might be on your list too. This article compares popular hair dryers, look to bring one that is compact and is compatible with public restroom outlets. Get in there and get your hairsytle going, people at work will never know you were just out surfing.
8. Bring extra water.
It is healthy to stay hydrated. Being in a salty environment makes you dehydrated. Having a water on hand to chug on the way to work will keep you happy and healthy all day.
9. Wear a watch.
To keep the commute as low-stress as possible, wear a watch in the water so you can keep your eye on the time. This can minimize the “oh shit I’m late” stress before you even get started on your work day. Plus, it’ll make you friends in the lineup. How many times have you needed to know the time and looked around for the nearest person wearing a watch?
10. Protect yourself with sunscreen.
Especially in the summer months, the sun can be strong even early in the morning. It’s important to protect your skin from the sun for health reasons, but also so you don’t get the office nick name “Big Red.”
And if you missed the first #SurfHacks, check it out here. This way you ACTUALLY get out of bed.
