Trying to Explain the Stoke

How do you explain to someone who doesn't surf and has never felt the power of waves what it feels like? For any surfer who lives a life surrounded by 'surf civilians', there is the constant need to explain things. This scenario normally plays out around making apologies and excuses about how the swell has turned up early or the wind his turned and ends up with a backward shuffle out of the door.

So why do we surf and how do we explain it to people. I have tried and failed many times to explain and just ended up sounding like Bodhi from Point Break. Consequently, everyone thinks I just sit around talking about waves and smoking dope. Aren't outdated stereotypes great.

In my quest to find the perfect combination of words I decided to ask some people who have spent their lives in the surf industry and I had hoped would have more experience in articulating their excuses and therefore would have a better explanation of 'The Stoke'

In a series of Interviews for Surf Bunker I included the question, “Can you explain how it made you feel the first time you caught a wave or got barrelled? “ These are the words that came back.

Dr Tony Butt - Big Wave Legend

'Well surfing a big wave, taking the drop, its like skiing down a mountain except the mountain is following you. There is like a smooth, silent motion. Getting tubed is like being in a big explosion except you are safe. You are in the middle of all this energy all around you but you are in a safe place.'

Luke from The Bloom – Surf Musician

'Just pure happiness. Nothing else in the world is happening except that moment and I think that is what's so special about surfing. It strips away all other thoughts while you are riding that wave.'

Thomas Meyerhoffer – Famous designer and surfboard shaper

'It might not be so much the first wave but the first time you feel the feeling of surfing a wave. I can't remember what it was but obviously that made a huge impression and from then on I was on a constant quest to feel that or more.'

Hugo Tagholm – Boss at Surfers Against Sewage

'I remember it being an amazing feeling... an elation really. A lot of people use the term of the flow and being in the zone and it is that sort of focus, you know. You are riding the wave so perfectly that you feel kind of almost outside of yourself.'

Steve – Founder/Owner/Shaper at Slyde Handboards

'Its a very personal experience and something I truly believe you can not quite put into words. Its something that I am sure only a surfers knows, I have ridden a lot of waves in my time but there are only a handful that sit in my mind and when I think about them I feel that irresistible pull towards the ocean. Its the kind of happiness that wells up inside of you which is what I think people refer to as the 'stoke'.'

Well, there we have it, I have asked a lot of people who should have had a better idea than me but it seems that no matter how well grounded or articulate you are there are some things that just can not be put into wordsbutt rather enjoyed. I will leave you with this short flick from Kordroy TV that always makes me want to get in the water.