First I heard the slap of bare feet running on sandy concrete, then glimpsed a small boy darting past. Blond hair mushroomed out from under his trucker hat. When the energetic beam of light stopped near me, his eyes held galaxies, fixed on a fresh autograph he’d just collected.
How old are you?
“Nine.”
Do you surf?
“Yeah.” (Duh)
How old were you when you started? He shrugged.
“About four.”
Fourteen year old surfer Yang Siqi of China. Now 15, she is the first athlete from China to qualify for the Olympics in the sport of surfing. March 2024. Photo by Stephanie Himango
Just behind him, at this final Olympic-qualifying surfing event before the 2024 Olympics, tickets were being awarded to wet-headed, sun-baked athletes just five years older than he is now — athletes like then 14 year old Yang Siqi from China, her country’s first athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics in the sport of surfing.
Nearby, 15 year old Sky Brown of Great Britain, still dripping and adrenalized, was beaming as she signed pages inside the decorated autograph books of her adoring fans. Brown was in Puerto Rico attempting a second 2024 Olympic berth. She’d already qualified for the 2024 Olympics in skateboarding, and was diving into the possibility of being a 2024 Olympic surfer as well. She didn’t qualify this time. Still, I remain fascinated by the logistical challenge a double berth would present — given that skateboarding will take place in Paris this summer, and the Olympic surfing venue is 9,765 miles away in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
The nine year old boy was surely absorbing the environment too. Not only was he watching his heroes paddling out to take their shot at becoming an Olympian, he was sharing space with them.
Before I could ask whose autograph he scored, the boy vanished. Like a wave.
What didn’t vanish was the lingering question around what happens to us when, at a young age, we see or hear something that captures our imagination? How formative is having this dazzling experience for him… at his tender age of nine? Maybe the question is best answered by looking into the past.
Beach Boys
About 60 years ago, in the 1960s, surfing sparked the imagination of another boy of about the same age. It would turn his world around.
Buzzy Kerbox started surfing in the 1960s, won the World Cup at Sunset Beach in 1978 and the 1980 Surfabout in Sydney, Australia. The pro surfer and longtime Ralph Lauren model was among the spectators on the final days of the competition at Arecibo, standing as a bridge between surfing’s past and future.
“In my day, we never had events like this, so it’s really exciting to see this. The camaraderie of the countries and the stoke and the enthusiasm for the sport… it’s rampant here. And I think the surge of the women’s talent is going to influence more women all over the world to get into the sport.”
I was curious to know his surfing origin story, so I reached out to him later.
“I was born and lived in Indiana,” he wrote. “In the summer, the family would vacation in Florida.”
Kerbox said that when he was eight years old, he saw a Beach Boys album cover with surfers on it.
“I thought that looked very cool. A year later, my dad moved the family to Hawaii. I went straight to Waikiki and took a surf lesson. It took over my entire life.”
Katrina
Katrina Kruze was perched on a stairwell ledge overlooking the beach — quiet, unmoving and solitary. Her fixed attention revealed an intensity and something else — maybe a mix of adoration and respect. I turned to see what she was looking at: Athletes from countries around the world celebrating in jubilant circles, waving their flag, cheering and whooping for the success of their teammates.
Her blue eyes were glossy with tears. The blond-haired 29 year old competitor from Latvia was out of the competition, but still soaking in the moments unfolding before her with the presence and soul of an athlete.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she confessed. “It’s just so beautiful to see people achieving their dreams.”
She turned her gaze back to the celebrations of athletes from Germany, Morocco and Indonesia.
“I don’t even know them,” she said.
“I come from a small country. I only surfed three years, and I get to be here… I’m just really grateful being part of it.”
She smiles bright, gathering her composure, and continues.
“The last few days you see people feeling crushed and feeling happy, and there’s just so much empathy here.”
I tried to imagine embarking on a brand new sport at the age of 26 — knowing your competition have five, 10 or even 20 years of experience on you. And in spite of that, here you are, three years later, competing alongside the sport’s best in the world. Positively gritty.
Surfer Katrina Kruze of Latvia. March 2024. Photo by Stephanie Himango
Growing up, Kruze didn’t know anyone who surfed. She’d never even seen it. She told me in an email that she first heard about surfing when she was 14 years old. As she recalls it now, an adult noticed how she lit up when wakeboarding and forecasted one day she would surf ocean waves. It would be another 12 years until she had a real opportunity to try surfing. She said that when COVID started, she hopped between countries for a year and learned to surf.
With an unbridled sense of adventure, hard work and determination, she caught the surfing wave and rode it all the way to Puerto Rico. She said she sometimes wonders, "How good would I surf… if I started earlier?” But she doesn’t let it linger. Play and adrenaline mixed with nature provide the excitement she craves.
Water As North Star
There’s something about the water and those unpredictable crests that makes the surfing community return to them, wave after wave. Like returning to one’s true nature.
Standing along the shoreline of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, first I was struck by the tropical beauty of the rocky coast against the expanse of churning blue sea. Palm trees whoosh like paint brushes across a canvas of sky, pushed along by warm breezes.
When I stepped a little closer, I could see beyond mother nature to glimpse human nature. Alongside mountaineers, surfers must be just about as close to one with nature as any athlete can be.
They immerse themselves in nature’s glory and fury. They ride waves of terrifying enormity and potential as they dance with danger. Standing on land witnessing this spectacle of daring, it’s awe that washes over me.
Mutual Admiration
“I’ve been around surfing for 45 years now competitively, and I love commentating and calling the heats.”
Barton Lynch was in Puerto Rico lending his perspective to the International Surfing Association’s (ISA) coverage, and his love of surfing stretches into coaching and mentoring. The Australian is known for his style, and winning the 1988 world surfing champion is one among many achievements and accolades. Lynch says he started surfing when he was about seven years old. Living at the beach and seeing surfing every day, he said he had to try.
“It really makes me feel great to watch the young people and to see the Olympic tickets get given and the joy on everyone’s faces. Honestly, I sit there in the booth and tear up from time to time because it’s just so cool. You see people’s dreams come true.”
That’s how Shane Dorian sees it too. The surf legend got his start right around his fifth birthday. After more than a decade on the pro circuit, Dorian became a pioneer of big-wave surfing and is active in coaching and mentoring the next generation too.
"I came to Puerto Rico when I was a kid, like 16 years old, for the World Juniors with Team Hawaii. It was just a great time in my life and good memories from that week being here.
“It’s a lot different being on the other side of it. First as a competitor, now as a coach. It’s really fun to be able to feel like you’re helping the team as a whole and helping individual athletes achieve their dream.”
A New Generation
All of this made me feel hopeful for my mushroom-haired friend and every other young spectator. As much as his young spirit might hold dreams, honor heroes and herald a higher calling, so too, the elders want to see those who follow them succeed. The wise teachers understand if the student surpasses the teacher, they both win.
Fernando Aguerre, president of the International Surfing Association (ISA), wearing rings representing peace, love and surfing. March 2024. Photo by Stephanie Himango
Bigger Than Surfing
For ISA President Fernando Aguerre, surfing isn’t so much a sport as it is a way of life. He’s not alone in this thinking.
“For me it’s happiness, and I carry it in my hand!” His fingers stretched like a starfish, he energetically points to the rings circling three of them. One by one he declared: “Peace! Love! And surfing!”
When that’s the ethos, can you really lose? No, you can’t. Whether you start at five, 25 or 85.