Some of you may have seen that I had the opportunity to go to from East to West, touching down in Southern California on official Wheels N Waves business. I was given a tour of the Body Glove facilities in Redondo Beach, California, which you should definitely check out here. Wheels N Waves has carried Body Glove wetsuits for a while now, and we can honestly say that they’re top tier. Overall, doing the tour and meeting some of their crew was an amazing experience.
In addition to this, I also had the opportunity to go surfing at the Venice Pier. Surfing in California is legendary, and I totally understand why. The sport originally gained a lot of traction on the West Coast, and much of that energy still remains. Honestly, we still get great waves out East, so people reading this shouldn’t be too jealous. What I will say though, is that having the opportunity to surf in such a special place opened my eyes to a few important points.
One of the things I noticed immediately about Venice surfers was how chill they are. It could be because being in such a beautiful place just eliminates stress and fills them with gratitude. I’m honestly not sure. What I can say was that I witnessed people criss-crossing and accidentally stealing waves in the line up, and people were insanely forgiving. Back East, those people would have gotten screamed at or at the very least given nasty looks. In addition, people were constantly chattering, and their words were all encouraging. People would cheer if someone caught a wave, and everyone was so engaged with what was happening in the moment. In Southern California, surfers have a true passion for the sport and a genuine desire to spread the stoke with others.
Surf culture is becoming more and more prevalent on the East Coast, and we have the power to make sure it develops the right way. So for those who are paddling out, I offer the following sentiments : treat other surfers with kindness & compassion, look to spread the stoke, and most importantly – understand what a privilege it is to be doing the greatest sport in the world.
