Good Vibe - Issue 12 - July 24th 2019
Product News
Surf Meal released their newest range of surf food products this month. The revamped ‘Supply Boxes’, provide you with your surfing essentials direct to your door at a fraction of the retail cost. With five to select from including a ‘Mystery Box’ there is a Surf Meal ‘Supply Box for everyone.
Surf Meal are running a giveaway of a ‘Supply Box A’ to one lucky winner, for details on how to enter click the link HERE.
PSST!! – A Choc Mint SURF BAR will be here very soon!
Team Rider News
The Australian winter as usual gives much of the surfing population a reason to be elsewhere. That could be chasing Indo swells like Kai Maggs and Ned Hart or heading north of Kalbarri chasing some homegrown goodness like Jerome Forrest and Jed Mattison. Others on tour duty like Claire Bevo, Josh Constable and Lewy Finnegan have found their escape in the Northern Hemisphere in various parts of Europe. The rest of us have been treated to a really good winter with plenty of swell, favourable winds and thinned crowds despite the occasional ‘ice-cream headache’ and numb toes.
WSL Update
With the John John Florence’s injury and subsequent withdrawal from competition, my interest in the World Surf League has waned according to best guess about 15%. That said it is still more than anything else found in media. It feels like the excitement balloon has been slightly deflated when the best athletes are not participating, much like the remaining birthday balloon on clean up, now a worn-out, soft, lifeless version of itself. Like when Shane Warne was banned for taking his mums slimming pills and I saw for the first time what people meant about cricket being boring. However, cricket did not have Kelly Slater. Since, finding his ‘mojo’ and with JJF out of action, Kelly once again, provides the most compelling story line of the World Tour. With rumours that this year may be his last, Kelly seems to be drawing on the energy of everyone that has bought into his fairy-tale finish.
Surf Meal Family
We welcome a new addition to Surf Meal family with Magnus Michael Walster born in early June. He, his mother and father all doing very well. Although yet to step on a surfboard, I had to mention him here being the exceedingly proud father I am.
Another addition is Nic Quinn, a surf writer that will be occasionally contributing his thoughts and ideas to the Good Vibe and Surf Meal blog. Nic is based in California , I personally love hearing other people’s take on our favourite activity, even though I can’thelp hearing a random American accent in my head when I read it - his first piece is below – Enjoy!
How to up your surfing game at level
If you are reading this you are most likely a surfer or ocean lover, so you already know just how much focus, fitness, knowledge, and effort it takes to really progress at it.
I mean think about it-in what other sport are there such a variety of conditions, such as ocean bottom, tides, swell direction, swell angle, swell period and wind patterns? Not to mention just how much pure grit and dedication it takes to get better, especially if we have started surfing later in life. After 25 years of surfing the California coastline as well as a variety of epic spots around the globe, I found that some of these tips below have aided my process over the years.
So what are some little tweaks in our approach to surfing that can help us improve at any level?
1.) Nutrition: I know, I know, doesn’t sound like the most fun of the bunch, but if you approach it right, it absolutely is. Now that surfing finally has people dedicated to taking care of nutrition, thank you Surf Meal, it has become a whole lot easier taking care of our nutrition and eating “cleaner”. Because when do we start feeling so much better in all facets of our life. I won’t go into an in-depth dive on meal planning, but I do have this to offer-offer: acknowledge what you are eating every day.
But how does nutrition translate into surfing? Jumping on our boards and using our paddling muscles to surf longer sessions or bigger waves, for instance, takes fuel, and if we don’t fuel our bodies with whole foods, healthy fats proteins and carbohydrates, we will burn out way quicker than if we had. Try eating as much whole food as possible and skip the white flours, greasy snacks, or sugary drinks, as Surf Meal readers you already know the benefits, but if for some strange reason you haven’t eaten a Surf Bar, I promise you, it will give you so much more stamina in and out of the water.
2.) Watch other surfers: If you are wanting to improve on anything in life it is best to emulate your greatest mentors. Competitive surfers do this all the time. Even if your aspirations for surfing don’t involve competitions or the professional arena, watching what other ripping surfers are doing can help you improve your technique, wave selection and confidence in the water.
3.) Clock in water time & go out at a variety of breaks: I have to say, this may sound obvious, but this is the number one thing that helped my surfing and overall ocean knowledge improve over the past two and a half decades has been. . .water time. Just by immersing yourself in the water over and over, as much as possible, you will learn and grow and develop great strategies for adapting to a variety of conditions.
You could be great at one maneuver on one specific wave, for instance, but you are going to want to add more to your arsenal over time. Don’t overlook the nuances of how much surfing at different breaks and going out on days that look “crappy” to anyone else, actually helps to improve surfing skills. There are even some pros who admit they are better in certain conditions, or only on their “front hand” for instance, who train repeatedly to get themselves versed in a variety of different breaks, conditions, and types of waves. Not to mention it keeps things fresh and you won’t feel bored. Try these tips above and I promise that your surfing skills will improve over time because of your added attention to detail and overall focus.