By Mike Latronic
Freedom. If one word can reflect what all surfers experience in their watery art-form, this word will do very well. Whether you are a seasoned World Surf League rated veteran, a Vans Triple Crown contender or a weekend enthusiast simply finding solace on a fun few waves, the underlying theme is real and universal.
The dictionary lists freedom as “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement. The power to determine action without restraint – independence.”
Some would go as far as include the word “escape” when they explain their surfing time. Surrounded by the wet and wild of mother ocean, as soon as lines begin forming on the horizon from an approaching set of waves, your heart beat begins to race. If only for a few moments, there are no more rents, no bills, no politics, no social media; even the details of the last episode of your favorite Netflix series slip away.
As you start to take your first paddle into an oncoming wave, there’s absolutely nothing on your mind except the drop, the ride, the glide and the slide. Your mind, body and spirit are all in concert, creating a fulfillment said in the great words of our Pipe Masters title sponsor, Billabong: “Only a surfer knows the feeling.”
While no one escapes the challenges and rigors of living on this planet there are those that choose to find balance. For my part – and hopefully yours – for every bill, political debate, social issue, criminal injustice and other baffling item in this so called civilization – there is a wave to help you find peace.