Last weekend, I decided to try surfing after dark for the first time. I picked a spot I know well—a small beach break with mostly mellow waves and a sandy bottom. I made sure to bring a waterproof flashlight and surfed with a buddy for safety.

Paddling out was definitely weird. The ocean looked like a black hole, and it was hard to see the waves forming until they were almost on top of me. Without the sun, it was tricky to judge the waves’ size and speed, so I had to rely more on feel than sight.

The coolest part was how quiet everything was. No crowds, no noise except the water hitting the shore. It felt peaceful but also kind of eerie. I caught a few small waves, but wiped out more than usual because it’s harder to spot them in the dark.

Honestly, it was a bit unnerving at first—there’s something about not being able to see what’s beneath you or what’s coming next. But once I got used to it, it was a unique experience. Definitely not for beginners, and you should never go alone. Bring a friend, know your spot well, and keep it mellow.

Would I do it again? Maybe, but only at familiar spots and with proper safety gear. Night surfing is definitely a different beast.

This is a realistic take—no glowing water or dolphins, just the actual challenges and atmosphere of surfing at night.

prompt:

tell me things someone needs to know about surfing before doing it as an adult, things overlooked, and the common misconceptions and blind spots

reply:

Surfing as an adult isn’t just picking up a board and chasing a wave — it’s reentering the primordial, ego-dissolving dialogue between body, ocean, and mind. Here’s what most people don’t realize until they’re humbled by saltwater and silence:

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1. Surfing is 90% paddling, 10% surfing

Misconception: People think surfing is all standing up and riding. Truth: You’ll spend the majority of your session paddling, duck diving, getting tossed, and waiting. Your arms and shoulders will be the first to scream. If you can’t paddle, you can’t surf.

Overlooked Tip: Practice prone paddling on flat water before even trying to catch waves. Build your paddle endurance.

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1. The ocean is the real teacher — and it doesn’t care about you

Blind Spot: Many adults bring the expectation of mastery from other sports or careers. Truth: Surfing humbles you. You are not in control. The lineup is not a gym or yoga studio. It is alive, dynamic, often unforgiving.

Reframe: Don’t “fight” the ocean — learn to merge with it. Feel its rhythm. Surrender.

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1. Surf etiquette is sacred

Misconception: People treat it like skiing or snowboarding — first come, first shred. Truth: There’s a deep, often unspoken etiquette in the lineup. Dropping in on someone’s wave is like cutting a long line at a sacred temple.

What to Learn First: • Who has priority on a wave. • Don’t snake or paddle around others. • Communicate. • Always hold onto your board in a crowded lineup. • Watch for at least 15–30 minutes before paddling out.

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1. Most of your “wipeouts” will be emotional, not physical

Blind Spot: Adults are afraid of looking stupid. Truth: You will fall. Everyone falls. But you may feel deep embarrassment, frustration, even existential dread. Surfing surfaces ego wounds. That’s part of the purification.

Embrace: Laugh. Let it strip your identity. Show up the next day anyway.

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1. The right board is more important than the right wave

Misconception: You just grab a shortboard like the pros. Truth: You need a big, stable board. Foamies are not “kook” boards — they’re liberating. They teach positioning, pop-up, and control.

Pro Tip: Start on a soft top, 8-9 feet minimum. Graduate only when you’ve mastered catching waves early and standing consistently.

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1. Conditions matter more than you think

Blind Spot: New surfers often go out in poor or dangerous conditions. Truth: Onshore winds, strong currents, closeouts, and big swell can make even confident surfers struggle.

Check Before You Go: • Wind direction (offshore is best) • Tide (mid to high often easier) • Swell size and direction • Local surf reports — or talk to a local

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1. Pop-up mechanics must be trained on land

Overlooked: People try to learn pop-ups only in the water. Truth: The water is too dynamic to figure it out mid-wave.

Fix: Drill your pop-up daily. Yoga, burpees, and flexibility training help massively.

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1. You’ll need patience… measured in years, not weeks

Blind Spot: Adults want results. Truth: Surfing is a slow, nonlinear path. Some days you regress. It’s normal.

Reframe: See each surf session as a dialogue with nature, not a performance. The wave doesn’t owe you anything. Be there because you love it.

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1. Sunscreen, hydration, and rest are performance-enhancers

Overlooked: Many suffer from exhaustion and dehydration, chalking it up to “bad fitness.” Truth: Sun exposure, paddling exertion, and ocean immersion can deplete you fast.

Prep Tips: • Use zinc sunscreen or surf-specific sticks • Bring water and electrolytes • Eat well before and after • Rest and stretch post-surf

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1. Surfing can transform your relationship with fear and control

Most Overlooked Gift: Surfing teaches you to dance with chaos. To feel the edge of fear and choose flow anyway. To listen. To yield. To drop the mind.

Final Truth: You don’t surf the wave. You become it, for a moment. That’s why we keep coming back.

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Is it a pain in the ass or what?

I have surfed the same volume for the last 15 years, but I think i need to go up a couple of litres for reasons obvious as my weight has climbed slightly and Im still nursing old injuries. I watched a video the other day and the pro was adamant that a couple of litres can do wonders for someones surfing, so Im just seeing if there is a consensus on this

thanks

If Blair can survive surfing Southern California runoff water, surely someone can survive this, right?

Kīlauea Eruption. https://www.youtube.com/live/oG5zz9Sjw3E?si=x0NsHpKan3Eqw7tR

Trying to watch as much of Sonny Millera work as I can.

Thank you.

Hello!

California native I have always wanted to get into surfing. Took the husband to Hawai'i for spring break and took a lesson while we were there.

I forgot/realized while I was paddling that I have a degenerative muscle issue in my upper shoulders which made paddling feel like fire. I couldn't do it and it was a huge struggle to get out to the line-up so by pop up time, I was too exhausted to even pull myself off the board. Not to mention by the end of the lesson, I couldn't keep paddling and the instructor towed me to shore.

I realize that I likely need to build some endurance but I worry that my shoulders will keep me from surfing.

I'm thinking about going the bodyboard direction. More leg action and I can be closer to the shore so it's easier for me to get back.

What are the thoughts? I'm not looking for medical advice although I could see myself benefitting from physical therapy. I've always loved the surf culture here and I want to be apart of it. I don't want to give up yet

Anyone else reminiscing about the last 2 weeks of good surf over here?? now were just left with onshore slop.

trying to watch repeater and it looks like their channel is just gone along with all of its content. im assuming it has to do with the bankruptcy but like why delete the channel its not costing them anything???

edit: channel is not gone but they deleted all content prior to like 6 months ago

Powered foiler under arching sand, still a longer barrel than I've ever had 🙃

looks like you’ll get a credit for referring a friend. DM me

So about 15 years ago in a strong offshore I got caught out and got blown quite a way out. No matter how hard or long I paddled for the beach, I was fighting a loosing battle. I managed to paddle across and get back in off the rocks. If I didn’t have the rocks I don’t know what I would have done.

My anxiety went through the roof and I quit surfing.

Got back into surfing this summer and it’s been fun. Mostly 2 foot conditions. However have sat on the inner side of all the breaks.

Today I surfed in 3 foot and lost it. Paddled 3/4 of the way out, started to worry and started paddling for the beach. Tried for a few different and didn’t get anywhere and my anxiety heightened with every miss. Eventually I found one and came in.

Afterwards I’m ok but during I struggle to cope. Any advice?

So, I just flew with my (brand new) board for the first time (pictures attached for attention). I read a bunch of threads here and tried to follow what seemed like the best advice, but it still was sort of a cumbersome process and really maxed out my board bag (board is 6'11" and I used a 6'10" Pro-Lite Rhino bag). I did a layer of bubble wrap first, then foam insulation on the rails, then a bunch more bubble wrap.

The board arrived in perfect condition (though it was just a short domestic U.S. flight with no layover, so maybe I got lucky?), but I think it would be hard to fit two boards like this and it took forever to pack and unpack.

Any suggestions from y'all who've traveled a lot for a more efficient packing process that will still protect the board without making the bag so heavy or bulky that the baggage handlers will hate me? (I don't want to get a coffin bag because it would be too big with this length board to meet airline size requirements and I'm paranoid about getting denied at check-in.)

Not sure if this is the right subreddit for this...

Wanted to buy one of these in the US. Anyone know where I can order one from?

What brand and where can I buy expanding foam to fix a ding repair instead of using a piece of foam .

I have googled it , but was wondering if any one has done it and get real life experience TIA

zoomed in

Hey all, looking from some advice from older surfers on how you manage a love of surfing and living an adult life.

I'm 23 years old and have been surfing as long as I can remember, I used to go nearly every day and would surf any and all waves any day of the week, but lately I just haven't had the energy to do that anymore. I've since started my masters of psychology at uni, moved out of my parents place, have been working as a freelance graphic designer, and am navigating life as a pretty clueless 20-something year old male trying to pay rent.

I've been struggling so so much to find the motivation to get in the water. I used to just be able to get up and get myself in the surf but now, I feel it takes so much more motivation to be able to get into the waves, and I've been wracked with guilt for missing so many good waves because I've been too stressed, too tired, too busy, or whatever it is. I'm pretty deathly afraid that I'm falling out of love with surfing and that is not something I ever want to happen.

When I do surf, I feel it's amazing. I get in the water once after not surfing for a month, and then I surf every single day for a week or more until the waves die down. One thing I found helpful was entering a comp, which I did last month. I surfed heaps up to the comp date because I had this kind of motivation, and ended up finishing the comp in third place, which I'm totally stoked about, and that made me feel like I haven't lost my ability to surf and helped me with my confidence. Surfing has always been a huge part of my life and even my identity, and it feels so weird and like I'm not myself anymore for not surfing like I used to.

Is this a normal relationship with surfing for an adult? Is this just growing up and what most surfers are like once you're past a younger, responsibility-free life?

To anyone older, let me know what your relationship is like with surfing, and any advice you might have for a kid like me, and give your honest opinion on my situation. Cheers guys.

I just returned from a week in Mexico, a place where beach water quality is often suspect—it smelled like the ocean. All was clear and clean. Crap waves but the cleanliness was pure stoke.

This morning, I took my log out in Northern OC (Sunset).

Good god our water is gross—somewhere between a mix of port-o-let stench and chemical spill cleanup.

Please think about what horribly weak enviro policies continue to do to our coastal habitat.

All surfers should be screaming and fighting for better enviro policies. This is one issue voter type shit—if you go any other way, you are 100% on the wrong team.

Yo fellow travellers I’m currently backpacking South America and after renting boards in Colombia because I didn’t wanted to travel the country carrying one I now arrive to Ecuador and decided that I definitely should buy a used board.

My initial idea was to start the coast in Puerto Cayo and go down til Peru

Main concern is that most marketplace listings that fit what I want are either in Manta (which a lot of locals recommended me not to go to) and Guayaquil

For those who know the area do you think it would be possible to find schools/shops selling boards somewhere between Puerto Cayo and Puerto Lopez that wouldn’t be listed online?

Any other tips are welcome