You are too old to surf

You don’t stop surfing when you get old. You get old when you stop surfing.

But hey—spend enough time on Reddit and you’ll find surfers who think it’s totally fine to stop at 54… and some who wish they’d stopped ten years earlier. Travesty.

So, let’s talk age and surfing.

Have you seen that video of a 7-year old surfing Pipeline and making it look like bath time? (It was a small day!)

Was your initial thought: what have I done with my life?! 😜 Yeah. Same.

Most of us will never surf Pipeline. Not because we’re not kids any more. Not because we’re not fearless.

But because we’re not so consumed by surfing that we’d dedicate the next decade to getting that good. And honestly? I don’t want to fight 200 guys for one set wave.

Originally, I planned to write a whole essay on how it’s never too late to learn to surf. And maybe this still is that. Just with a dose of reality:

• You can start late.
• You should adjust your expectations.
• You will get better.
• You don’t have to surf Pipeline.

Progress isn’t measured by the size of the wave—no matter how much the surf world glorifies it. It’s measured by how it makes you feel. And if the whitewash makes you grin like a 7-year-old at Pipe? You’re doing just fine.