Don’t be a shoulder hopper!

The word of the week is “shoulder hopper.” You don’t want to be one, trust me.

There are two places from where the shoulder hoppers come. Either they are inexperienced surfers, not familiar with surf etiquette, or they just don’t give a fuck. They are these over-aggressive surfers who believe the ocean owes them and, therefore, every wave is theirs.

What a shoulder hopper does is he takes off in front of a surfer who’s already riding the wave and therefore has priority. A shoulder hopper will argue that they can sneak a ride and not interfere with the surfer who’s already on the wave. But unless it’s a party wave with your mates or everyone is going straight to the beach at a beginner’s beach break, that’s not usually the case. The shoulder hopper will ruin your ride. What an asshole.

According to the EOS, the expression “shoulder hopper” comes from the fact that the asshole surfer consistently takes off from the shoulder, where the wave is easier to catch because it’s mellower than from the peak itself, which requires some skill because it’s steeper and more powerful.

This technique, if we can call it a technique, is frowned upon. Like, a lot. It’s a serious breach of surf etiquette. But unfortunately, there are surfers in surf etiquette, so you see it in your local lineup.

Would you believe it—there’s a song titled “Shoulder Hopper”? By the SoCal band Surf Punks. It goes like this:

If you ride the waves as much as me
You gotta get your trip together early
Hop in the combi, head up the coast
Check out the spots that you love the most
If you’re lucky and the waves are up
You gotta get them for yourself
There’s nothing I hate more than to see
A shoulder hopper walking up the beach
Shoulder hopper, don’t drop in on me
Shoulder hopper, comin’ down
Can’t you see me comin’?
If you ride the waves as much as me
You can’t afford his company
Now his friends are on the rocks
Their kind of vibes give me mental blocks
There’s spray in my face, I can’t cut back
Head for the shore, I’m gonna have a Big Mac
The way he parked, I can’t pull out
This guy’s valley, gotta kick him out