So You Want To Learn How To Surf

On our list of New Year’s resolutions are the ones, in spite of best intentions, we know will slip to 2020 and beyond. The 4am wake-up time. The putting away of clothes straight after they’re washed. The never, ever dipping into our savings.  Still, though, there’s one we’re not going to let slide another year: learning to surf.

“Get ready for a hell time,” says Luke Stedman, an ex World Tour surfer and founder of menswear label Insted We Smile.

You  know his work – you’ve seen it walking around on John Legend, Jeremy Piven, Mike D and Nick Jonas. Stedman now calls LA home but this once-upon-a-time Northern Beaches guy knows what’s what when it comes to water sports. In LA, among other things, Stedman runs lessons through his Smile High Club, a surf experience program and spends most of his time in the stretch of water from Venice Beach to Malibu.

“Right now it’s freezing cold in the water,” he laughs. “I wish I was surfing the pass at Byron. We are doing a lot of Smile High Club experiences here in LA right now. We take you surfing a film you and then we do a video analysis at the Surf Rider hotel and have a cocktail while we go over the clips and send you away with a program on how to get better.”

Sounds like a tough break. Or not.

As with starting anything new, he says, you’ll need to have patience. Good things, we’re told, take time.

“Get a lesson to learn the absolute basics about the ocean and equipment and to get the right technical advice on how to get up from the get-go,” he says.

There are more than a few need-to-knows. While you can pick up most of them from watching Point Break (the original, people), here’s some for your list, with some pointers from Stedman himself:

Find a break (almost) all of your own
“Don’t go to a crowded popular location for your first surf,” says Stedman. “Find somewhere where there is not many people around.” This way you don’t have to worry about cutting people off / losing your board. On the plus side, it means you don’t need to share the waves / wait too long for your turn. (Lots of) practice makes perfect.

Hold on
When you’re heading to the water, hold onto your leg rope so you don't trip yourself over. Especially if anyone with a camera is within shooting distance.

Get out there
Paddle out on the rip, not into the line up. Before you get out there, watch the surf for a few sets to be sure you’re not about to paddle out and cut someone off.

Give way
In the lineup, the the surfer sitting closest to the peak has right of way. If you’re paddling into a right-breaking wave and there’s someone on your left paddling, you need to hold your horses.

Don’t drop in
“Don’t drop in,” says Stedman. This means in on someone’s wave. If you do drop in (by accident) pull off asap and be sure to shout a sorry. It’s never too late to say sorry (thank you Justin Bieber for yet another valuable life lesson). Whatever you do, don’t abandon ship and leave them with a rogue board to contend with.

Don’t let go
No matter what, don’t let go of your board. Consider it your BFF, your shadow. If you do lose it, be sure to pull back on the leg rope to keep it nice and close.

Choose a board that helps you
When it comes to what board to learn on, you’re best off with a foamie. For a start, it’s nice and soft. And the bigger the better. This will mean you won’t have to paddle as hard for your waves. (Yet another win.)

“A soft top is a great board to start on,” says Stedman. “They have a lot of buoyancy to allow for you to paddle and stand up more easily.”

Wear something that stays on
“Guys have to be wearing surf trunks,” says Stedman. “It’s non negotiable. I also like to wear a tee shirt to keep the sun off my back.”

What are you waiting for? Get out there.