It's never too late to learn how to surf. Riding waves is an activity that is enjoyed by people young and old. I've seen folks surf daily well into their 80's.
Starting your surfing journey as an adult is 100% achievable—and with the right physical and mental approach you could still have many, many years of surfing enjoyment in your future.
In fact, I would argue that you have some advantages starting later:
- Access to better equipment
- Ability to drive yourself to the beach
- Educational resources that didn't exist 15 years ago
- Surf retreats, wave pools, and surf clubs
And yet, there are a few considerations that need to be called out plainly...
- You are going to be using muscle groups you haven't used before.
- You are going to be in an environment that is likely unfamiliar (and powerful).
- You are going to be using equipment that is unfamiliar to you.
Lets take these one-by-one:
Muscle Groups
Surfing requires muscle groups that don't get used during the course of most people's everyday life—even fit, active people. Laying on top of a board, paddling uses your lats and back muscles in a way that differs even from swimming where your body is below the surface of the water. The best way to build up these muscles is by doing the activity: paddle your surfboard.
More tips on proper paddling technique here: https://almondsurfboards.com/blogs/news/6-tips-for-improving-your-paddling-endurance
Another commonly undeveloped muscle group for new surfers is those small, twitchy muscles in your legs that make it easy to crouch and/or balance. I cannot stress this enough: if you want to get better at surfing, get better at crouching. Too often, I see surfers bend at the waist with stiff knees—this is NOT how you want to bend. You want to practice crouching on dry land so you can get your hips closer to the deck of your surfboard when you are riding a wave.
More on that here: https://almondsurfboards.com/blogs/news/do-your-legs-feel-too-stiff
If all you do is practice paddling and practice crouching, your strength, balance, and flexibility will improve. Don't underestimate how much these things will help you.
The Ocean As a Playground
The ocean commands the utmost respect. It is well beyond our control, which means its your job as a surfer to understand how to read it and react to it. Become a student of your local surf break.
A surf spot looks very different at high tide than it does at low tide (tides cycle every 12ish hours).
A surf spot also looks very different when there is a 1-2 foot swell in the water versus a 8-10 foot storm. Surf forecasting websites use offshore buoys, swell diredctions, and weather patterns to predict wave sizes. Start to learn your local break.
One of the most underrated things you can do is simply to watch surfing—with intention. More on that here: https://almondsurfboards.com/blogs/news/learn-how-to-watch-surfing
Equipment for Adult Beginners
Surfing is actually quite simple in the sense that you don't need an overwhelming amount of gear.
- A good surfboard for novices (something that allows you to catch waves with confidence, and feel in control of the board beneath your feet)
- The right fin(s) for the board (install them like this)
- A wetsuit
- A leash (goes on your back foot)
- And probably a board bag to protect your board (I'm convinced 90% of dings happen outside of the water)
Now, one of the great advantages to starting your surfing journey as an adult is you don't have to start on a cheap foam toy. You can begin your surfing with the proper equipment for putting you on the path towards surfing proficiency. The cheap, slick-bottom soft tops you have likely seen at a big box store resemble a surfboard, but are incredibly limited in what they can provide.
You deserve to start your journey with a real surfboard designed to engage with the face of the wave with a real rail, and a real fin. We built the 8'0 R-Series Joy as a "foamie" version of one of our all time best selling custom board models, the Joy.
The R-Series is every bit a foam surfboard (with all of the conveniences) while still being every bit a surfboard (with all of the design care and performance when it counts).
Because it's molded from one continuous piece, we are able to accomplish two major benefits:
- Real rails and bottom contours (the rail of the surfboard is what is engaged with the face of the wave, and determines how your board will engage with the wave)
- Durability by eliminating the glued seams and slick plastic bottom (the place where all soft tops eventually fail)
At 8'0" in length and over 72L, the Joy is enough board to confidently catch waves (and keep that wave count up) without being so much board that it is difficult to manage in and out of the water.
For the adult novice who is serious about learning to surf, there is no better place to start than with the 8'0 R-Series Joy. Don't start with a cheap toy when you have aspirations for being a well-rounded, confident, life-long surfer.
At the expense of over-emphasizing the point, I also want to mention that our R-Series boards are made in the USA and they are recyclable, which means we can start working toward closing the loop on surfboard manufacturing and eliminating the waste created by cheaply produced soft tops. But that's a conversation for another day.
Today is about equipping you for the best start to your surfing career.
In addition to the points above, I wrote a guide book called Almond's Guide to Your First Year of Surfing, which contains everything I wish I knew when I was learning to surf. You can download that guide for free, and I suggest you read it a few times during your first year of surfing—its packed with actionable tips on speeding up the learning curve.
If you are serious about learning to surf—as an adult, my advice would be:
- Step 1: Download our Free Guide
- Step 2: Go watch your local surf break on a crowded Saturday morning (probably more than once)
- Step 3: Start practicing crouching around the house
- Step 4: Get our 8'0 R-Series Joy
- Step 5: Enroll in a surf class or surf school
- Step 6: Surf often and get as many waves under your belt as you can.
Surfing proficiency and confidence is in your future! We are here for the whole journey.
