Why Surfing Matters to Me
Because the happier you are, the more joy you can spread to others…
We've all seen those idyllic surf photos - a girl on a longboard in a bikini, a tropical palm tree with a guy underneath holding a shortboard looking at barrel in the background, or maybe it's just a hot happy person loving life at the beach. Even hotels and airlines get behind the strategy of highlighting beautiful turquoise water and empty beaches to sell their services. Surf lifestyle marketing seems to be everywhere... and for good reason.
If you’re living in a tropical beach paradise that must mean you’re living the dream.
If you've ever paddled out on a surfboard or been pushed into a wave you may have experienced the feeling most surfers are chasing - an experience most surf writers, filmmakers and photographers are constantly attempting to document but always fall short. It's not just that you're standing on moving on water, a novel feeling in and of itself, but it's something more. Maybe it's that drop in your stomach when you carve down the face of wave or the innate desire to do more with the wave you chose to ride. It could be the anxious build up of paddling for the wave with the cathartic release of getting to your feet and blissfully cross stepping along the board. Honestly, it might be all of those moments for some but I'll tell you what it is for me...
I enter the flow state when I'm surfing
I tend to have a very busy mind. I can sometimes get too in my head about my life and while dreaming, brainstorming, reflecting and processing is great for me most of the time, it's nice to have a break too. I can let the expectations of my health, fitness, business, and relationship status wash away when I get in the ocean. I stop thinking about where I'm going to take that girl out on Saturday or why the client still hasn't emailed me back. Unanswered questions about the future of the Goat Surf Club or where I'm going to be traveling and working next no longer seem relevant.
From the moment I hop on my board, I can be present.
Flow state, as defined by the Flow Research Collective, refers to the "optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform at our best." Time speeds up or slows down. You become totally absorbed in the present moment because the challenge and your ability complement each other perfectly. The situation you're in isn't so challenging that it becomes frustrating or so easy that you feel bored but sits right in that sweet spot that requires your full attention. Surfing brings out that flow state for me.
Documentary filmmaking also brings out that flow state for me.
In fact, there's a lot of moments in my daily life that I seek to incorporate some level of "flow." As a longtime musician and songwriter, I can easily get lost writing the perfect pairing of melody and lyrics. As a long-distance runner, my mind becomes dailed in maintaining my stamina after hours of running in the mountains. As an extrovert (and part of the reason I feel called to documentary filmmaking), I also find myself getting deeply immersed in conversations with people from all walks of life.
I've been surfing for a long time now. My uncle first pushed me into waves in North Carolina when I was in elementary school but I didn't find a consistent surf routine until high school. After living in Costa Rica for a couple years then surfing multiple times a week for two years in the UK, I felt like I finally discovered "my thing." I was a surfer. I had surfer friends. I talked about surfing and dreamed of someday taking surf trips like the ones I'd read about in one of the best surfing books of all time "Barbarian Days." But then, things changed...
I moved to Colorado…
I traded the surfboard for the snowboard and my community changed too. I definitely found snowboarding to produce a similar level of "flow" for the first few years but never felt as connected to it as surfing. I'm equally as good at snowboarding as I am at surfing at this point in my life, however that might be gauged, but the lifestyle never quite clicked for me. While I don’t want to discount the impact that untouched powder has had on my life, peeling waves have always been my muse. While I don’t want to discount how amazing it’s been to live in Boulder and form community there, it feels like I do need these surf trips to reset my often busy mind.
As my adventure filmmaker career develops I’m doing better at creating a healthier balance physically, mentally, spiritually and financially. Because I’m now in the position where I no longer feel I need to be hustling to get the next job. I want to be intentional with the projects I take and how I spend my time. Hopefully this year I’ll be able to spend more time chasing waves with my close friends around the world. I do feel like there’s so many storytelling and marketing opportunities available in the adventure surf niche but it’s honestly been a little difficult to break into the surf filmmaking industry for me because of where I’m located.
Breaking into the surf industry…
A large portion of the clients I regularly interact with in the outdoor industry don’t need surf lifestyle marketing for their brand because their product line revolves around mountain based activities. Additionally, I’m not located in a coastal region so it’s a little difficult to organically network with those potential clients. The Goat Surf Club has led to many promising connections but still has not become a significant portion of my income so we’re limited to just a couple trips a year. But I think that’s actually okay. When life gets hard in Boulder I don’t want to have to rely on surfing to bring myself back to the present and recharge.
My relationship with surfing is ever changing but achieving that flow state while in the water has always remained constant. Maybe I’m not changing the world by surfing but I think these sorts of hobbies matter because the happier I am, the more joy I can spread to others.
Want to Work Together?
Roo is a commercial/documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Boulder, Colorado but travels all around the world for his filmmaking career. He has produced films for Outside Magazine in Ireland, camera operated for Netflix in the Rocky Mountain West, photographed among indigenous communities in Peru and Ecuador, directed videos with professional climbers in Mexico and has received notable recognition in his hometown of Orcas Island in Washington State for his work telling uplifting stories in the outdoor space.
Let’s chat - reach out below and I’ll respond in the next 24-48 hours!