“I’ve committed to surfing the rest of my life.”
Lance Armstrong, Athlete
Advantages & Disadvantages of Surfing
Surfing is a quite popular sport in many countries all over the world.
Many people enjoy surfing as recreational sports while some of them even surf on the professional wave.
Even though surfing is a quite nice hobby and has many advantages, there are also some problems with surfing.
In this article, the pros and cons of surfing are shown.
Audio Lesson
Contents
Advantages Of Surfing
- Surfing is a lifestyle for many people
- Can help to relax
- May give you a feeling of freedom
- You may find many like-minded people
- Good to improve your fitness
- You can improve your balance
- Can be combined with a nice vacation
- May turn into a real profession
- You don’t have to find free slots in sports halls
- Surfing can free your mind
- May improve your confidence
Surfing is a lifestyle for many people
For many people, surfing is not just a hobby, it is a way of life.
When you paddle out for a surf in the early morning, it can really give you a feeling of peace and you may feel like this is the right place for you.
Combined with the action that you get by riding a wave, surfing is the perfect hobby for many people who live close to the ocean.
Therefore, surfing can do more than a sport for you.
It can become a big focus in your life and can make your life really better if you are the type of person for it.
Can help to relax
Another advantage of surfing is that it can greatly help us to relax.
Many people in our nowadays society are quite stressed by their jobs and their private life.
Therefore, many people need a hobby to relax from their stressful lives.
If you are one of those stressed people who just need a break from time to time, surfing may be for you since it can provide us with the optimal mix between physical exercise and relaxing on the board
May give you a feeling of freedom
Many people also like surfing due to the fact that it can provide us with a significant feeling of freedom.
When you paddle out and ride a wave, it feels like basically nothing can stop you and you will be freed from the boundaries you experience in all parts of your daily life.
Hence, if you a freedom-loving person, surfing is definitely for you since it makes you feel like there are no boundaries for you at the moment.
You may find many like-minded people
Surfing is a lifestyle and people who like to surf usually also have a quite similar attitude towards life.
Thus, also the chances to find many new friends and to hang out with people you really like can increase when you practice surfing on a regular basis.
Good to improve your fitness
Although it might not look like that if you just watch surfers paddling out, surfing is extremely exhausting and if you never tried it before, you will be done after just a few minutes.
However, due to the fact that it is so exhausting, surfing can also greatly improve our overall fitness level, which in turn also improves our health.
You can improve your balance
Another upside of surfing is that you can also greatly improve your balance.
This is also the thing that makes surfing really difficult to learn.
You have to get plenty of practice to get the necessary balance, but once you found it, surfing can be quite a lot of fun.
Can be combined with a nice vacation
Many people see surfing as a nice way to spend their vacation.
Since it is quite relaxing while also physically demanding at the same time, surfing can be a great mix to benefit our body as well as our soul and can therefore be the perfect vacation and traveling activity.
May turn into a real profession
If you become really good at it, surfing can also become your profession and you may even be able to earn really good money from it.
However, note that becoming a professional surfer is extremely difficult and only a minimal fraction of all surfers will make it to this point.
Therefore, make sure to have other options when it comes to making a living.
You don’t have to find free slots in sports halls
While you have to search for free slots in sports halls for many other sports, you can go surfing basically whenever you want to since the ocean is usually big enough for all of us.
Therefore, you don’t have to waste time and effort to find surfing opportunities if you live next to the sea.
Surfing can free your mind
Since surfing gives us a feeling of freedom, it can also greatly help us to free our minds.
For instance, if you currently have important decisions to make in your life, surfing may help you in this regard since you may able to unplug from your life and get a wider view of what’s important for you.
May improve your confidence
Another upside of surfing is that it can significantly improve your overall confidence level.
While it might be hard at the beginning, you will learn over time and this progress will boost your confidence.
Moreover, surfers are also quite popular among girls and in case you have difficulties with attracting girls, surfing may also help you in this regard, which in turn may further increase your confidence.
Disadvantages of Surfing
- Surfing can be quite exhausting
- Sharks are a problem
- Injuries
- Surfing can be difficult to learn
- You have to buy some equipment
- Not suitable for you if you can’t swim
- Surfing can be dangerous
- You may need a surf buddy
- You may overestimate your abilities
- Some surfers may behave quite antisocial
- You may need a car
- Sunburns are a problem
- People may not like the shaky feeling
- Other sports may fit you better than surfing
- You need to live close to the ocean to surf on a regular basis
Surfing can be quite exhausting
Apart from the many advantages of surfing, it also has its downsides.
One problem with surfing is that it is a quite exhausting sport.
If you never tried it before, you will not believe how exhausting it actually can be to surf.
Therefore, you may want to train a little bit in the gym before you actually go out there in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Sharks are a problem
Even though the risk for shark attacks is quite low, this risk still exists and a handful of people lose their lives every year due to shark attacks.
Thus, keep in mind that surfing is not risk-free and you should evaluate for yourself whether you want to take this risk or not.
Injuries
Surfing can also lead to serious injuries.
For instance, in case you fall from your board and the water is rather shallow, you may touch the ground with your head and you may suffer from headaches or even brain concussions.
Moreover, some people also break their arms or legs from time to time.
Surfing can be difficult to learn
Another disadvantage of surfing is that it is rather difficult to learn.
It can take quite a while until you find the right balance and the right technique.
This also means that you will fall down from your board quite often and you should be able to deal with a certain level of frustration in order not to quit surfing right at the beginning.
You have to buy some equipment
Obviously, in order to be able to go surfing, you need to get a surfboard.
You might also need a wetsuit, especially in case the water is quite cold.
Surfboards and wetsuits are not that cheap and if you want to have good equipment, you can spend quite a lot of money on it.
Thus, make sure you are willing to make this investment when it comes to the decision of whether surfing is a suitable hobby for you or not.
Not suitable for you if you can’t swim
Moreover, you also need good swimming skills in order to surf in a safe manner.
The currents can be tricky and if you are not a good swimmer, you may get into serious trouble or even drown.
Hence, make sure to improve your swimming skills to a level where you feel confident enough to surf.
Surfing can be dangerous
Surfing is also not the safest of all hobbies.
Apart from the potential injuries or shark attacks, your surfboard may also hit you on the head in case you fall from your board and you may even pass out due to that.
You may need a surf buddy
Due to all those dangers, it may make sense that you only surf with a surf buddy who can take care of you in case of emergency.
However, this also implies that you can only surf when your surf buddy also has time and you may become restricted due to that.
You may overestimate your abilities
Another problem with surfing is that many people overestimate their skills and their abilities.
This can lead to serious issues, especially in case people run out of power and may not be able to make it back to the beach without the help of others.
Some surfers may behave quite antisocial
Even if this is rather rare, some surfers are also not always behaving socially.
For instance, at quite popular spots, there may be hierarchies regarding who is allowed to ride a wave at a certain time and if you don’t comply with the rules, other surfers may even break your board.
You may need a car
In order to get all your surfing equipment to the beach, you may also need a car for it.
Especially if you are too young for driving, this may prevent you from having the ability to surf and you might have to go for other hobbies instead.
Sunburns are a problem
Since you will be exposed to the sun during surfing and the water surface will also reflect the sun rays, chances are that you will suffer from serious sunburns sooner or later.
Hence, make sure that you use sufficient sunscreen in order to protect yourself against the pain of sunburns and skin cancer.
People may not like the shaky feeling
Some people also do not value the shaky feeling on a surfboard at all. If you are one of those people who don’t like this feeling, surfing will definitely not be the right hobby for you and you should go for other sports instead.
Other sports may fit you better than surfing
In general, while many people love the surfer lifestyle, others simply don’t like it at all due to various reasons and if you are not interested in surfing, just go for other hobbies instead.
We are all different and therefore, we all enjoy different hobbies.
You need to live close to the ocean to surf on a regular basis
If you really want to practice surfing on a regular basis, you have to live close to the ocean.
In case you do not live near the ocean, you will have to drive for long hours every time and sooner or later, chances are that you will lose your interest in surfing and you will likely go for other sports instead.
Thus, especially if you plan to surf in the long run, make sure to move close to the beach so that you can practice this sport in an efficient manner.
Top 10 Surfing Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Surfing Pros | Surfing Cons |
|---|---|
| Surfing can improve your fitness | Surfing can pose some risks |
| Surfing can become a lifestyle | Sharks are a problem |
| May improve your overall health level | You may overestimate your abilities |
| Can help you to relax | You have to learn how to swim |
| You can focus on yourself | Surfing is quite exhausting |
| Feeling of freedom | Not easy to learn |
| Surfing can improve your confidence | Some surfers may not be nice |
| Good to get girls | You need some surfing equipment |
| Nice vacation activity | Sunburns are a problem |
| May turn into a real job | Potential injuries |
Should You Learn Surfing?
As we have seen before, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages of surfing and you have to evaluate by yourself whether the pros of surfing outweigh the cons or not.
In case you come to the conclusion that surfing is not the right hobby for you, you might go for playing soccer, hockey, basketball, American football or tennis instead.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfing
https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/what-is-surfing
https://www.surfer.com/surfing-magazine-archive/
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
Wanna make a contribution to save our environment? Share it!
