Mounting a GoPro SurfHero camera on a bodyboard is easy. The famous fisheye surf gadget can be installed in all bodyboards, with no exceptions. The best place to mount the GoPro camera in a bodyboard is the nose.

You should center it as close to the edge as possible, with the mounting pad that is sold by GoPro. The further back you go with the mounting pad, the more of your board is going to appear in the photo or video.

Before applying the mounting pad to the bodyboard, it's important that you customize it. That is why you should make two leash plug holes with a portable drill and screw. It's very easy and quick.

Then, cut the remaining upper plastic part that close to the nose. You don't need a large ammount of mounting pad to safely attach the GoPro HD camera. Watch a video on how to mount a GoPro camera on a bodyboard.

With a pen, mark where you want the leash plugs to go in. Pick your favourite screwdriver or drill and make the two holes. Pop the plugs, thread it through and you're done.

Although your board is going to have two leach plug holes, it is definitely worth it because you're about to get the most incredibles rides of your lifetime on tape.


Buy the GoPro HD Hero3+.
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Photo : adventure.howstuffworks.com

photo : indosurflife.com

Sometimes I'm surprised I wasn't born with gills.

My life in the water started when I was 13 and joined my high school's water polo team. I sucked, but fell in love. I got better and ended up playing competitively through college.

When I graduated, I wasn't ready to give up the water yet and joined a masters swim team. I swam regularly through medical school, even setting a couple of records in competitions.

So when I discovered surfing... well, needless to say, I was in awe. Yes, it was fun to play around in a pool, but to be in the ocean? To feel the rhythm of the waves underneath me? To splash around with dolphins and seals (and luckily for me, no sharks so far)? You can't beat it.

Surfing is not just a sport, it's a perspective. It's a way of life. Yes, that sounds dramatic, but hear me out. Surfing can teach you life lessons you won't learn anywhere else. Let me share a few with you.

1. There's plenty of room at the top.
Los Angeles is crowded. There are almost 10 million people within its county limits. On your typical sunny weekend day when the waves are decent, the water is congested with hundreds of little black dots, each trying to carve out his or her own little corner of the ocean.

For months, the crowds intimidated me so much that I wouldn't even go out. I felt insecure about my own abilities. I didn't think I belonged out there. I'd wait until it was rainy or the water was choppy and go out when no other decent surfer would bother. If the waves looked good? Forget it. I'd be at home.

But then, as I spent more time in the water, I realized that of all those hundreds of bodies out there, only a small handful were actually going for the waves. The rest were just sitting around, hanging out. I had spent all this time being intimidated by "competition" that didn't even exist.

Now when I go out, I don't care if I see a thousand bodies out there. I know there are enough waves for all of us who really want them.

Do you feel a burning desire to write? To create art? To build a business? Do you feel held back all the other people you see who you think are so much better at it than you? Do you worry that the marketplace is too crowded?
Please, don't be. There are not as many people at the top as you think. There is room for you up there, too, if you're willing to do the work it takes to get there.

2. It's not about any one huge effort -- it's about focused, consistent work over time.
Have you ever heard the expression that to be a writer, you need "butt-in-chair" time? Well the same is true for surfing. You need "body-in-water" time.

My friend James Clear calls this your average daily speed. It's not so important how much you do in a burst of inspiration. It's about how much you do day after day, when you just want to give up and go home.

For the entire first six months I surfed, I didn't catch a single wave. The next six months, I caught a few.

Most of the hours and hours I spent in the ocean were passed paddling around, falling, getting beaten up and jealously watching all the other surfers who seemed to know what they were doing a lot better than I did. Then I'd go home, tired and frustrated.

But this was not time wasted. This was when I learned how waves worked, where to look, where to sit on my board, how to position myself, when I should move in because the tide was changing, when I should move out because a big set was coming from outside.

One day, all of the sudden, I started catching waves. I didn't even know what I was doing differently. I was just moving on instinct.

Put in your time. The results will come.

3. Bide your time, and strike when the iron is hot.
First, a little background on wave science.
Waves don't just roll into the shore one after the other. They come in clusters, or sets. Depending on the weather conditions, the ocean will typically be silent for a while, and then a set of three or four waves will roll in a few seconds apart.

I can always tell the less experienced surfers because they go for the first wave in the set. Believe me, I understand the impulse. We've all been out there, sitting around, waiting for something exciting to happen. So when that first wave comes... bam! Everyone runs after it in a mad dash.

Not me. I watch and wait. I watch as everyone else rushes for the wave. A few catch it, but most don't. And all of those who didn't are now out of position when the second and third waves roll in, which are typically bigger and better formed than the first. That's when I make my move, and get the wave all to myself.
So be patient. Don't get caught in the mad dash. If everyone's running one way, check out to see what's in the other direction.

4. You can tell a professional not by his talent but by his attitude. The same is true of an amateur.
Everyone starts somewhere. Everyone was a beginner once.

Territoriality is for amateurs. Arrogance is for amateurs. Grandiosity is for amateurs. I don't mean "amateur" in the professional sports sense, I mean in the Steven Pressfield Turning Pro sense. You can be the best surfer out there and still be an amateur. You can have a professional contract and still be an amateur.

I once saw a guy surfing who was pretty good, but was a total asshole. He had a longboard, which means you can catch waves earlier than other people can, and was stealing all the waves without respecting the lineup. He was yelling at anyone who he thought was getting in his way. He was grabbing people's leashes to pull them out of the waves so he could cut in.

You know what? That guy had some skills, but in five years he's still going to be putting around, stealing waves and pulling leashes. He's never going to get any better than he is now.
So in whatever you're trying to do, be a pro. Show up. Do your work. Help others who don't know as much as you. Be helped by people know know more. If you find yourself getting arrogant, check it.

5. Most people are rooting for you, not trying to compete with you.
Yes, every once in a while you come across a surfer with a stick up his ass (see above), but more often than not, I'm blown away by the generosity of the surfing community.

I've paddled out to the ocean alone and swam back with new friends. I've had total strangers take me under their wing and show me the ropes for the few hours we found ourselves in the same waves, for no other reason than they had the expertise and saw I could use it.

Those of us who love this sport -- we root for each other. We congratulate each other for good rides. We take turns. We see a good wave coming and say, "You go right, I'll go left." We share. We want each other to succeed.

Too many people operate under the delusion of competition, when the most helpful stance is collaboration. Don't make the mistake of getting competitive when other people just want to help you. Don't be the jerk who's pushing others out of the way when those people would freely give the way to you.

6. There's no point fighting forces of nature.
The ocean doesn't care about you. It is a force of nature that existed long before you were born and that will be around long after you turn to dust.

It doesn't care if you have a good day surfing or a bad day. It doesn't care if it scares you. It doesn't care if it kills you.

When a big wave knocks me over and holds me underwater, it wouldn't make much sense for me to get mad at it, right? But really, we operate that way all the time, fighting forces of life that are as unavoidable as the strength and immensity of the ocean.

We fight that we have pain, get sick, get old, die. We fight that relationships end. We fight to string happy moment after happy moment, as if we could prevent anything bad from happening in between.

Why do we do this to ourselves? It's a waste of time, and a waste of energy. We operate under the illusion of control when so many of the most important things in life aren't even close to the realm of our control. But this doesn't have to be a terrifying concept.

When you release yourself from the illusion of control, you can relax. You can put in your best effort but let things turn out how they'll turn out. You can find moments of joy in the most simple things.
So don't fight forces of nature. Ride them.

SOURCE 

So you want to be a pro surfer? Join the club. Who wouldn’t want to travel to a different exotic destination every month and get paid to hang out on the beach until it’s your turn to paddle out? The girls are in bikinis and the dudes have no shirts. The wine flows in Europe. The beer is plentiful in Australia, and Hawaii is green with tropical goodness. Okay, so there’s a bit more to being a professional surfer than partying and traveling.
 
For one, the travel is relentless if you are on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) or are good enough to make the elite World Championship Tour (WCT), you will find yourself grappling with passports, baggage claims, and taxis all the while trying to get quickly ensconced into the local wave in a few days before the competition begins. The lineup is crowed and the greed for waves, photos, and the like can be draining and pull you away from the reason you started surfing in the first place. Add to that the fact that your sponsors are pressuring you to win under threat of termination, and your place on tour depends on your point total at the end of the season; therefore, the pressure can be oppressive.

But let’s be real. To a guy who wakes up at 6 in the morning every day and slouches in to his menial day job three hundred days a year, this sounds great. The only real problem is that there really isn’t any money in pro surfing. Sure, there are a precious smidgen of surfers at the top of the WCT who are making cash in the high six seven figures. But these guys (and I say guys in this case because there is a disproportionate pay difference between male and female surfers) are the exception. Kelly Slater might be the only surfer who is making a million on sponsorship alone, while a few others like Joel Parkinson or Taj Burrow who rely on a combination of endorsements, and prize money. Most of the top 34 surfers on the ASP are making upwards of $300,000 annually, but everything depends on how well you perform and careers can be short with very little room for long term employment in the industry for those lacking skills.

Still sounds like good cash right? However, think about how many millions and millions of surfers are out there, and only a couple dozen of them are making real money. The bottom line: the mid-level guys and girls making their way to and from WQS events are not putting much in the bank after they factor in travel and related expenses. In fact, many surfers report ending the season in the red, owing money.

Most pro surfers piece their incomes together from several sources. First, competing in contests can result in solid prize money. Total prize money for an average professional surf contest on the ASP Tour ranges from $425,000 to $500,000, a win at one of those events is usually around $40,000. The pay-outs decline precipitously the farther down the ladder you finish. Another source of revenue for pro surfers is through sponsorships. Usually, top-tier surfers sign multi-year contracts upwards of a million dollars but they often depend on a surfer’s professional ranking. In addition to sponsorships, pro surfers can also endorse surfboard models and signature lines of shoes or clothes. Most notably, Dane Reynolds’ Dumpster Diver surfboard model made up a significant share of 2010’s total surfboard sales, so he presumably made a lot of money outside of the competitive scene.

So, as a top-tier successful professional surfer on the WCT, you may make upwards of a $500,000, but that is all contingent upon competition results, travel expenses, product and endorsements. Factor in that one injury could throw you into financial free fall while the career of a professional surfer is notoriously short. So in summation, it seems that unless you are Kanoa Igarashi or Jack Robinson, the idea of making enough cash to live out your days comfortably on surf money is a crap shoot. There are guys and girls out there who are pulling off the experience of a lifetime: getting paid enough to fund trips to exotic locales getting their shots in the mag, but the chances are that money is very tight and that jet-setting life is rife with hustling sponsors for cash, sleeping on couches, and hoping your next injury isn’t too bad (because you don’t have health insurance). If that still sounds good, go for it, but maybe take a few college classes along the way.

Have a bunch of old plastic fins lying around? Buy a board off the rack recently that had a set of these cheapies plugged in? Then you’ve got yourself some fin canvases. Just because you paint them doesn’t mean that they’ll work as well as a set of $120 carbon-fiber superfins (then again, maybe they will). But they’ll be personalized, and that’s almost as good. Freehand some pictures on your fins if you can; I went with an abstract design because it’s a whole lot easier. The paint will last for plenty of surf sessions. Here’s how to be a fin picasso, in five easy steps.

YOU WILL NEED:
Fins — This tutorial uses plastic fins, but it works with fiberglass too.
Paint pens — I like the DecoColor paint markers. Posca pens work great too.
Masking tape — For taping off your badass abstract design.
Sandpaper — Any grit will work, but fine is better. You’re just scoring the fin’s surface a little.
Clear lacquer spray — This will protect the paint from seawater. I use Testors Glosscote, but any clear lacquer spray works.
Beer (optional)

STEP ONE:
Just look at that plastic fin. Sad. Boring. Make sure it’s clean and free of wax, then take your sandpaper and rough up the area you want to work on. This will help the paint stick to the surface.

STEP TWO:
If you’re going for an abstract design with straight lines, you’ll have a better result if you use masking tape to make a stencil. Tape off all your lines and angles, and paint inside the spaces left by the tape.

STEP THREE:
Get in there and paint. Contrasting colors, matching colors, whatever your heart desires. Using a color wheel helps. So does that beer. Let the paint dry, then retape as needed to fill the whole fin in with color. In this example, I left straight line gaps between the colors to fill in with black. It also works great if you set those black lines down first, then fill in the colors after. Either way is fine.

STEP FOUR: 
Peel off all the tape and admire. Open another beer as necessary.

STEP FIVE:
Once the paint is dry, take the fin outside and spray it with the clear coat. Let the first coat dry, then hit it again. Three coats wouldn’t hurt. The more lacquer, the more protection. Don’t breathe in the clear coat, for the love of God. Once the lacquer has dried, that fin’s done. Then repeat with the rest of your fin set. Now screw in your fins and go for surf. Or frame ‘em, display ‘em on a shelf, or sell ‘em on Etsy.

Traction pads are a key part of the surfers' quiver. Installing a new surfboard grip requires attention to details, so that you don't blow your investment.

Surfboard traction pads can only be applied once. If your surf deck comes with a quality stick - traditionally 3M self-adhesive - it will stay in your board forever. You do not want it to peel off in the first surf session.
When you've finally decided to install a brand new traction pad, make sure to follow a few cautious steps.
First of all, let's forget a couple of myths: you don't need to sand the board before applying the pad, and you don't need to wait 24 hours before you get to the waves.

Now, let's do it. You will need tissue paper, glass and hard-surface cleaner or wax remover, and a knife.
First of all, remove all dirt, dust and wax by cleaning the tail of your board with glass cleaner and paper towels. The surface will be ready to receive the traction pad's glue.

Now, cut the plastic around your new surf deck if you want to keep the manufacturer's original shape. Some surfers like to spread the pads a bit. That's ok, too.
Line up the pad before attaching it to the surfboard. You want to put the grip just a little bit above the leash plug.

Peel back your sticker off the back and line the center of your traction pad with the stringer. Don't push it down too much, in case you need to make a jew adjustments. Once you've stick it down, it's tough to the pad up.

If you've got a three-piece traction pad, leave a little gap between all pads. Once you've finished, and if you're happy with the final result, push everything down firmly to get that glue working between the deck and the surfboard.


Finally, leave your magic gun resting for two-to-four hours, and hit the surf. Discover the best traction pads in the world.

The ability to make steep drops is perhaps the most underrated skill in surfing. When you get good at it, you drastically increase the range of waves you can catch. And unless you’re pro level, chances are you could be taking off way later than you think.


Keys To Success
-Whether you’re paddling back out, or scratching out for a set, you’re going to be paddling out hard, and then have to do an ultra fast momentum change the other direction. Sometimes guys will sit on their boards, tilt it vertical and underwater, spin around, and let the board shoot back up flat, which will give you a little squirt of speed. This all happens in a split second.

-It sounds obvious, but the key is to do a short burst of intense paddling, reach those arms out far and pull hard! Look for the edge or seam of the lip, and do your paddle burst just underneath it. You’re trying to get in under that edge, so you’ll be leaning forward harder and trying to push down the face.

-When you stand up, chances are your board is going to be dropping out from under you, so instead of getting to your feet and pushing your body up, you need to extend your legs down to keep your feet attached to (and in control of) your board.

-The lip is going be hovering over your head—you need to get out of its path. If it’s a smaller wave (head high) you might be able to side-slip mid-face straight into the barrel. If it’s bigger than that (like in the sequence), you’ll want to get to the bottom, do a quick bottom turn to set your line, and pull in.

Notes
-You’ve got to commit and believe you’re going to make it. If you hesitate for a split second you’ll get pitched.
-Even if it’s not a down-the-line barrel, you don’t want to go straight down to the bottom, the lip will beat you there every time. Turn laterally as soon as you can to avoid taking the lip on the head and getting eviscerated.

Airs have been all the rage lately. Wanna land a sponsor? Do some airs. Wanna land a chick? Do some airs. But if you really want to grab the attention of your surfing peers in the know, pull off a deep rail gouge like this one by Seabass.—Casey Koteen

Step 1. Start off by surfing a wave that has enough power to rocket you into a decent section. For maneuvers like this, you’re going to need power and speed or you’ll lose momentum halfway through the turn.

Step 2. Guide your board down the line, gathering maximum speed. When you start to run out of useable wave space, pick a spot on the lip that’s starting to feather and get in a quick bottom turn. Get up to the lip and get your board on its heelside rail.

Step 3. Push into your back leg and begin to fall back with your body. You are trying to push your tail through an arc while you keep the nose buried, so use your back arm as a brake for your upper body as your lower body pushes the board out. As you keep pushing, you’ll probably have to use both arms because you’ll be falling back onto the wave.

Step 4. Once you feel like you’ve lost almost all of your speed, use the wave to push you forward and get your board above water again. If you’re going to grab your rail, this would be a good time, as it will help get your body back over your board.

Step 5. Bend your knees and pull yourself up while getting your board to plane on the surface of the water. The more often you pull yourself up from being buried in the whitewater, the more comfortable you’ll become with the subtle body shifts you need to do to get yourself back up. Oftentimes, you’ll start to fight your way back only to fall as you’re almost successful, but your persistence will eventually pay off.
Notes


-A really deep bottom turn will force you to get through a lot more water and will make the turn a lot harder to pull off because you’ll burn off some of your speed on the way up the face. Your bottom turn for rail gouges should be done with the goal of preserving as much speed as possible.

-Try to keep your fins in the wave face as you start your turn. Seabass strikes a perfect balance by keeping two fins in the wave face at the start of his turn and then allowing for their release as he gets his rail buried in the face.

-As your turn progresses, you want to keep your body and board really connected so that it can move with the wave. It’s easy to get passed up by the wave, but as long as you keep your body being pushed forward by the wave, and you keep pushing your board with your legs, then you’ll be able to pull it off.


Homework
A few surfers come to mind when it comes to big rail gouges. There are some good web clips of Peter Mendia, Dane Reynolds, and Conner Coffin on transworldsurf.com that illustrate deep rail gouges perfectly, check the Conner clip below…

How To: Spray Paint A Board


So you got yourself a new board (you can do this on used ones, too) but didn’t have the foresight or cash to get it airbrushed. Fret not my bland friends, here’s how you can turn your plain Jane shred sled into a ripping work of art…

 What you’ll need:
-Masking tape
-Razorblade
-Spray paint
-A well-ventilated area
-Clear acrylic sealant
-Paper to prevent overspray

Step 1
Clean the board thoroughly. Scrape any old wax off and use a rag with a bit of acetone on it to clean the surface up. Even if a board is brand new there’s still foam dust on it so make sure it’s clean! It doesn’t hurt to lightly hit the area with a piece of sandpaper that’s in the 180-220 grit zone.

Step 2
Sketch your design on a piece of paper or look on the web for some ideas.

Step 3
Tape off desired design. While you may wanna get all nuts and create the next great work of art, unless you’re name is Rick Griffin, keep it simple stupid. Fill in bigger gaps with paper or cardboard. If you have thin enough tape, go ahead and tape off the stringer for a more professional look.

Step 4
Spray it! After your design is taped off, shake your can of paint vigorously for a few minutes, then shake it some more—you really want the paint mixed well. As you spray, keep the tip at least 6” from the surface of the board taking care not to flood an area with paint. Your hand should always be moving so as to create an even coat.

Step 5
Slowly and carefully remove the tape. If you do it too fast or haphazardly you’ll make a mess of your new design.

Step 6
Let the paint dry for at least five minutes, longer if it’s cool out.


Step 7
Apply a clear coat to seal the design. I’ve found that the best sealant is “Krylon UV Resistant Clear Acrylic Coating”. Spray in nice even strokes so as not to create puddles. Let it dry for ten minutes or more and go rip!

Three Quick Surfing Tips From Pro Surf Coach Chris Gallagher

Surfing better today is as easy as one, two, three

A few years ago I had the fortune of going to the Gold Coast of Australia to cover the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro events. With what seemed like the entire surfing world hunkered down and ripping in the tiny little town of Coolangatta, the inspiration to surf better was all around. But just what to do? I’ve been surfing for more than 25 years, and while I may think I surf good, there’s always room for improvement no matter who you are. And besides, surfing better makes surfing more fun.

Anyway, I was just about to paddle out at Duranbah when I saw former pro surfer turned coach Chris Gallagher filming two of his clients, C.J. and Damien Hobgood. “What’s up Gally? Dude, gimme the quick course, what can I do right now to surf better?” He immediately threw out three really good tips, which just about everyone one of us can benefit from… ——Justin Coté

Stand On Your Tail
Today’s surfboards aren’t designed for you to place your back foot anywhere but on the tail. With all the intricate vees and contours shapers are putting from the fins back, you’re doing yourself and your high-performance board a disservice by having your back foot not over that part of the board. Basically, that last eight inches of your board—directly over your cluster of fins—is the sweet spot.

Surf Through Your Hips
Use your core to rip. You shouldn’t be leading your turns with your arms; it looks ugly and has no substance behind it, meaning you’ll be surfing weak. Instead, focus on using your hips as a swivel point; the spray you’ll be chucking will speak volumes.

Be Patient
Take only what the wave offers you and wait for a proper section to bash. Tap into the flow of the wave and look down the line to see what it’s going to do. You’ll see a lot of guys try to force maneuvers into a section or spot that it doesn’t fit into. Don’t force things—let them come to you.

With these three little tips in mind, I paddled out and had a hell time and honestly surfed better than if I hadn’t spoken with Gally for three minutes. The trick is to keep repeating the steps in your head while you’re surfing; stand up, put your back foot over your fins, and let ‘er rip.

Bede abandons ship. Photo: Childs

When surfing tubes, just like in other fun activities, entry is easier than exit. Pulling in is easier than pulling out, and pulling out at the wrong time can have consequences. So, you’re goin on surfari, you’re gonna get tubed, you’re determined, you’re ready, GoPro is primed. But herein lies the snag: Reefbreak sections, just like beachbreak sections, section. And when they do, you need an out.

1. Pull through the back (forehand).

Faced with the shut down, the surfer pumps and digs inside rail into the bottom of the face, hoping to pop straight through the back (perhaps vigorously swimming) and avoid the dreaded over the falls. Works great when done right, yet a bit like delaying and worsening the inevitable, when done wrong.

2. Fall back off the tail.

Tricky to execute for mainly mental reasons. The theory is that, rather than leap forwards where the momentum is taking you (shortly followed by your sharp-ass surfboard, pinged the direction of your bum) you let yourself gently lean back onto the foamball (a bit like those team bonding trust exercises). Here, the anger of the wave has already expressed itself, thus you receive less pounding. A bit like communism, the theory is great, but…

3. Leap forwards over the nose.

Your most common exit for intermediate tunnelers. You’re racing, you’re in a hurry, you want out… so you dive for the exit. The problem is the urethane bungee that fires your fins and nose at you, plus the shallow trajectory of your dive inhibits penetration, and thus making a trip over the dreaded falls more likely.

4. Crowd-pleaser jump down (pictured).

When in a really rather roomy pit, sensations – and consequences – increase exponentially. The natural entertainer in you might look down from the high line, see air below and think ‘Canonball!’. Done right, you penetrate deep, macking tube rushes over and you resurface out the back. Done wrong, you land on dry reef, cut your feet, break your ankles… and then the wipeout starts. Yikes!

5. Straighten out/Doggy door.

At certain Indo spots, like Greenbush for example, the shape of the reef on the nasty end section means that sometimes it’s preferable to get away from it landward, rather than fling yourself into the death chew. Thus you’ll see surfers escape down, yes onto a shallow shelf, but hopefully after the worst of the explosion out in front. Dangers associated with the doggy door is the door shutting, and compression/guillotine issues, and then the ghastly beating.

6. The bitter end.

The best advice for some is do nothing. Don’t eject, don’t run, don’t hide, don’t escape. Just stand there until she takes you down. The benefits of this technique are in lengthening your tube time, and the fact that it looks fucken cool. Like the fall back of the tail technique, it can be counter-instinctive, despite your very best intentions.

p.s. The withdrawal technique is a terrible form of contraception. Just ask Bob Marley, he sired 14 kids.

Ian Walsh, always a standout in the lineup at Jaws. Photo: Noyle

To be a great surfer, you have to be ready to handle whatever the ocean throws at you. There are few people more capable of handling every type of condition than Ian Walsh, so we asked him for advice on how to be versatile in the water.

Good surfers are well-rounded. The days of being a specialist in a certain field have gone the way of Nose Guards and the Bud Tour. The best surfers of today are truly jacks of all trades, equally adept at manhandling a 12-foot reef pass and getting technical at 2-foot beachbreaks. “I feel like all the best surfers in the world today, whether they are on the Tour or not, are amazing surfers in every type of surf,” says Ian. “A good chunk of the leaders of the next generation are standouts when it comes to airs and big barrels, and are really capable in massive surf. The days of just being one or the other are quickly fading away.”

Doing it all takes training. If you’re hell bent on expanding your surfing, you can’t approach it lightly. For Ian, making the transition from fun-sized to terrifying conditions almost cost him his life. “When I was younger, I didn’t even think about it, I just surfed and treated a huge day like any other day. But after two bad situations, I started doing more to get my body and mind ready for the worst-case scenarios,” says Ian. “I haven’t really told many people this, but I used to not be able to hold my breath very long or swim deeper than 25 feet. So to get myself ready for the bigger stuff, I started doing free-dive training to learn how to use my lungs for all they’re worth. It’s also given me the know-how to control what my what my body is going through. Mix that with a lot more time in the gym, and that’s how I train for big waves. I went from being able to hold my breath for 45 seconds to being able to do a four-minute static in the pool. Free-dive training transfers to smaller waves and heats as well. I think knowing how to relax and lower your heart rate really quickly is useful in any type of surf.”

Be a grom. To keep his small-wave game razor sharp, Ian hasn’t grown jaded over the years and remains just as pumped to surf when conditions are less than stellar, as he did when he was barely a teenager. There will inherently be mediocre days, but if you paddle out anyway, your small-wave game will only benefit. “When you’re having fun, you’re surfing better,” says Ian. “If it’s small and still looks fun, I’ll be frothing like I was 14 again, dying to drop in and get the fins out the back. That never gets old.”

Put in the time and don’t be afraid to fail. They say if you’re not making any mistakes, you’re not improving. For Ian, becoming a well-rounded surfer didn’t come easy. But through plenty of time in the lineup, he was able to slowly improve his game to eventually become the surfer he is today. “You can’t be afraid to fail,” says Ian. “There isn’t a specific trick you can do to be a better all-around surfer. It takes work and you have to surf a lot of different waves in a variety of conditions. If you’re uncomfortable in big waves, start training your body and start surfing them more. If you don’t feel like you’re surfing well in small waves, surf them more. You have to put in the time and be okay with making mistakes. The more you do anything, the more comfortable it becomes.”

Feet position on a surfboard is critical. From the moment you pop-up until you reach the white water, your feet will be constantly working and shifting. How do you stand up on the board?

In surfing, feet mean balance, control and speed. With the help of your hips and arms, your feet will swing you through the optimal surf line. That is why feet positioning on a surfboard is a must-have lesson.

Fortunately, there's a golden rule. Your front foot should always be in the middle of the plank - lengthwise and widthwise - regardless of what size your board is. That is the classic, general position.

Your front foot is controlling the board and should always be placed over the stringer, except when you're maneuvering in the waves, no matter if you're a regular, goofy-foot or switch-foot surfer.

The same rule applies to your back foot. The standard mode tells us that your back foot should be positioned on the opposite side of the front fins. If you use a traction pad, it will be well over the grip.


If you want to turn quicker or adjust it for a maneuver, then your back foot will slide back towards the tail. This slight adjustment will loose the board in critical wave sections.


In advanced surfing, both feet will be shifting around over the surfboard. In other words, you're constantly adapting to different situations. For example: moving forward for barrels and aerials, and moving backward for lip attack.

If you're looking for speed, your feet may move forward in the nose direction. If you need to carve hard or go straight off the lip, then your feet should move backwards.

If you're riding the right surfboard for your weight/height, you'll notice that your feet will be about shoulder width apart. Get used to your feet position when taking off, in order to avoid unnecessary correction during each ride.


As a conclusion: your back foot is usually the brake and your front is the gas pedal. Keep up the momentum and get your feet on the right place, next time you paddle for a perfect wave. Small changes make miracles.

Aerial surfing has been gaining momentum in modern waves. How does a surfer pull an aerial? Learn the winning formula of airborne surfing in 10 easy steps.

Taking a surfboard into the air, well above the lip, requires technique, experimentation and a good wave ramp. Frontside punts are accessible to the average surfer.

Old school surfers were not designed for aerial surfing, so they had to learn with the young surf generation. Today, surf magazines love aerials in their covers.

The first aerial featured in the cover of surf magazine was scored by Kevin Reed, in December 1975. The door to new school surfing had been opened quietly by skateboarders and their ollies.

By the beginning of the 21st century, aerial tricks and moves are part of the surf judging criteria, at least, in small-to-medium height waves. You may not fly up to the skies, but it is important to learn how to take off from the lip of the wave.

To learn how to do an aerial in surfing you need a shortboard, a light onshore breeze over the lip of the selected wave and speed. The aerial winning formula is:
1. Take-off in a steep two-to-three foot wave.
2. Pump for speed and target a closing section or a breaking wave lip.
3. Maintain a straight oblique surf line towards the selected launch pad.
4. Widen your stance, kick the tail with 66% of your feet weight, let the surfboard leave the lip and raise your knees foot to chest level.
5. Control the excessive weight of your back foot with a slight push of the front foot over the board.
6. As your surfboard takes it to the air, smoothly drive it to the landing site.
7. Grab a rail to correct the trajectory, if needed.
8. Turn your eyes, head and body to the flats.
9. Stay low, bend your knees and torso to prepare for land impact.
10. Distribute your weight on both feet and finish the air move.

Flight technique is the most important skill when it comes to aerials in surfing. The decisive moment arrives when your surfboard is about to leave the wave face. When you pop up out of the lip, your front foot should be in the center of the board and your rear foot should be in the traction pad.

As you strike the tail, let your body fly as high as possible in the air. The front foot will control the surfboard flight towards the landing site, be it flats or white water.

Speed is critical in aerial surf maneuvers. The highest speed you get down the line, the highest aerial you will pull. Try to get airborne off the wave ramp as many times as possible until you complete. Practice will make you pull the first ever aerial of your surfing life.>

"Joel Parkinson Pro Surf Training" is a mobile phone app with 30 programs and over 150 surfing specific exercises to make you a stronger, faster, better surfer.

Joel Parkinson and Wes Berg have teamed up to produce a smartphone application which allows you to prepare your body for different wave needs.

From long point breaks to big barrels, and perfect beach breaks, the app has different programs so you can train and improve in the types of waves you want to surf.

Each exercise replicates the body movements used in surfing so what you do in the gym directly translates to the way you perform in the water.

The app focus on core strength, leg power, and balance. It is designed to give all surfers, from beginners through to experts, the tools and confidence to be the best surfer they can be.


Record workouts, track your progress and let friends know what sessions you have completed. "Joel Parkinson Pro Surf Training" is available for iOS and Android.

Improving your swim strokes means catching more and better waves. Paddle power is not a technique, rather it is the result of a quality fitness workout.

Have you ever felt out of breath in the early minutes of a normal surf session? Are your arms in pain? Don't worry, you're definitely not alone in the line-up.

Whether you're escaping from a freak set or paddling for a small, mushy, summer wave, you'll need well-trained arms and lungs. And don't forget to maintain a correct body positioning on a surfboard.

Strong strokes can be built, no matter how old you are. Have you got a standup paddle board? You should, because it will strengthen shoulders, biceps and triceps. That's endurance paddling training.

Do you live near a swimming pool? Schedule a one hour intensive training, twice a week, with short and fast sprints. With time, you'll be generating more speed per stroke.

Extend your arm, open your torso and focus on a determined, deep stroke, with full physical commitment. Fingers are decisive. Although you might initially feel that closed fingers are more effective, science has a different winning formula.

Researchers have proved that the optimal width between fingers is 20 to 40 percent. Timing is also critical. Make sure your non-paddling arm is not causing drag. As for your paddling arm, bend the elbow, lift the chest and push the body up.

You'll notice that your hip will be almost touching your hand by the end of each stroke. With your body perfectly aligned with the surfboard, you'll rapidly feel that you're paddling faster. One stroke at a time, and steadily developing muscle memory.

When the wave comes, prepare for an extra boost, maintaining balance over the board and performing a down-up chest movement in the critical pop-up moment. If you lift the chest too much, the surfboard's tail will sink in the water causing drag.


Finally, if you're surfing in small wave conditions, take an extra paddle before popping up. In large surf don't it, otherwise you'll probably be too fast for the steep drop.

Surfers will paddle faster if they spread their fingers optimally.

Paddling faster is a competitive advantage. You'll catch more and better waves. There are several paddling tips and techniques to get your surfboard moving faster.

Interestingly, the ultimate paddling/swimming secret is in the fingers of our hands. Scientists from the University of Toulouse (France), Duke University (USA), and the University of Pretoria (South Africa) have contradicted common sense.

"A larger paddle means a larger force exerted on the surrounding water body, not a higher efficiency", explains the paper published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.

Although spaced fingers create a greater force and not greater power, spaced fingers are advantageous.
"The explanation is that the greater force lifts the body higher above the water line, and this leads to greater swimming speed, which is in line with the rest of the constructal-law design for animal swimming."
In the paper "The constructal-law physics of why swimmers must spread their fingers and toes", published in 2012, we can discover that the optimal spacing was confirmed by computer simulations of water flowing frontally.

Researchers found out that the optimal spacing is in the 20%-40% range. In other words, the total force is 53% greater when the fingers are spaced optimally.

"The optimal spacing is twice the boundary layer thickness of one finger. The speed advantage comes from the greater force, which lifts more mass above water," the study concludes.
"It is a counterintuitive idea, the fact that you should paddle with a fork, not with an oar. It's like having an invisible web," adds Adrian Bejan, one of the study's contributors, and professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University.


So, next time you're paddling for a mushy wave, make sure you've slightly opened your fingers.

Words by surfer and medical professional, Dr David Baglow.

What Is it?

The eye has a layer of tissue covering it called the conjunctiva. Surfing exposes eyes to the correct conditions for the conjunctiva to get repeatedly irritated and inflamed. This regular irritation and inflammation causes the conjunctiva to lose control of its ability to repair and it starts to develop an extra layer of tissue which is essentially scar tissue. This new layer of tissue has the catchy name, Pterygium, with a silent P (in Greek Pterygium means wing). This is because the new tissue that grows on the surface of the eye is shaped like a wing. Apparently.

What causes it?

Irritation to the conjunctiva comes in many forms:
-Exposure to changing atmospheric humidity. Moving from dry air conditioning to high humidity outside doesn’t help. 
-Sunlight. This is often incorrectly described as the biggest risk factor for developing surfer’s eye. It’s the biggest acquired risk factor. Having a genetic predisposition is now thought to be the biggest risk factor. Clearly the reflection of the sunlight of the water increases the intensity of ultra-violet exposure by the conjunctiva. Interestingly it’s a lot more common on the side of the eye nearest the nose. This has been thought to be due to reflection of sunlight by the nose. More recently its been thought that it’s due to the ability of sunlight to shine through the cornea ‘sideways on’ from the side of the head and cause irritation to the conjunctiva as its travels through the cornea and is refracted towards the conjunctiva.
-Being male. Men are twice as likely to develop surfer’s eye than women.
-Sea water
-Sea spray
-Dust/dirt
-Sand exposure

What are the symptoms?

Often well tolerated, if you don’t mind looking like a Salty dog! Cosmetic is sometimes the only complaint. Some people complain of having the feeling of having tired eyes, or the feeling of having something in your eye. Other complaints include:
-More frequent episodes of eye irritation
-More frequent episodes of conjunctivitis (infection of eye).
-Very rarely effects vision. It has to grow a long way to start bothering the pupil. 

Is it dangerous?

No.

What can I do to stop it?

-Don’t go in the sun or sea.
-Wear sunglasses or goggles in the sea. 
-Wear decent glasses on land. 
-Avoid shorebreaks like the plague. 

What is the treatment?

Surgery is the only treatment. It can grow back in 20% of cases. Fake tears such as ‘lacrilube’ may help. There have been trials using preparations of ‘anti-growthfactor’ with variable results.