I had an unexpected window between freelance projects and made the spur-of-the-moment decision to book a ticket to Portugal to learn how to surf!
It is a sunny day in early April and I’m in Portugal with a group of strangers who all signed up for this beginner surfing class. We are pulling slimy-cold wetsuits over our bodies and do awkward hula-hoops with our hips to get them on.. Admittedly, these wetsuits don’t feel great, but they kind of make your body look great.
After some exercises on the beach, we are herded into the water. There is no escape.
Our instructors warned us: Remember to not hold the rope around your fingers, or else you'll lose them. That ocean doesn’t care if you’re a man or a woman.
Learning how to surf is scary, addictive, thrilling, but also very tiring, by my body felt like mash potatoes by day 5. This surfing class was such an intense experience. Basically the game is, a massive natural force pushes you forward, and if you do the right moves, you're in for a good long ride.
Do you remember the day surfing broke the Internet?
Three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning was attacked by a great white shark during the final of the J-Bay Open. Its the first time in professional surfing history that a surfer is attacked on live TV, and we saw it all go down live.
That documentary above is so emotional. Its not just another surfing documentary of some Gold Coast surfer who chases waves. Its about 20 minutes long though.
Mike Fanning is an inspiration and a role model. At first his life was all fun and games, but then catching waves becomes his mission. He lost so much more, prior and after the shark attack.
Mike Fanning says how life is in the best way possible.
Life is like the ocean.
Life is unpredictable.
Ride the wave as long as you can, and know that the next one is coming
The world deals people these cards…
You have the choice to be crippled by them, or you have the choice to make a better version of yourself
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