All Things Bodysurfing
Leading a healthy lifestyle has always been important to me. I eat clean, exercise regularly, meditate occasionally, and average eight hours of sleep per night. I also surf or bodysurf for at least an hour on most days. But there was a chapter in my life when this was not the case; I was not healthy. During this time I…
It wasn’t Patagonia’s gear that first caught my attention; it was their identity as a responsible business comprised of bodysurfers. I originally learned about Patagonia’s business ethos while watching 180 Degrees South. This 2010 documentary film retraces a road trip taken in 1968 by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard from Ventura, California to Patagonia, Chile. I came away from watching 180…
I recently reached out to some of my favorite bodysurfers on this blue planet—Jeff Johnson, Mike Stewart, Belinda Baggs, and Chris Kalima—and asked them to answer two simple questions about bodysurfing. Not only are these individuals great waterpeople, but they also strike me as great humans, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive answers (however brief) from each of them.…
My pal Hannah Walsh likes to think she will someday develop gills and live in the sea. She is a former collegiate swimmer, ocean lifeguard, bodysurfer, and talented surf cinematographer. “My passion for bodysurfing started not in the ocean but in a pool,” says Hannah. “I spent ten years as a competitive swimmer before moving to Costa Rica. Competitive swimming…
The Osa Peninsula is one of the most biodiverse places on earth relative to its size. Located in the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica, this remote region contains 2.5% of the terrestrial species of plants and animals on Earth. Additionally, the Osa provides breeding habitat for migratory marine species like hammerhead sharks and humpback whales, and contains the largest…
Pablo Solano thought he had discovered the art of bodysurfing one day when he accidentally caught a breaking wave while swimming in the ocean. After sliding down the green face of the wave with nothing more than his body, Pablo was hooked. He immediately went home and did some research, discovering that other bodysurfers did, in fact, exist. Pablo had…
The following post is an interview with Jason Hackforth, a bodysurfing handplane shaper based in Santa Cruz, California. Jason is the owner of Superbiscuit Handplanes. So Jason, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into bodysurfing? Bodysurfing just kind of happened for me as an extension of being at the beach all the time. I…
I am thrilled to announce that I have found my new favorite swim trunks for bodysurfing—the Vissla X DaFin Womper 16.5 Boardshort. What I like about these swim trunks: Many things! First of all, these eco-friendly trunks are made specifically for bodysurfers. DaFin is one of my favorite bodysurfing brands—I always use DaFins when I go bodysurfing. Naturally, I was…
Several years ago, I stumbled across a great quote while reading Mark Lukach’s blog post Why I Bodysurf. “I’ve occasionally had a bad time surfing,” says Lukach, “but I’ve never had a bad time bodysurfing.” As both a board-surfer and bodysurfer, the quote rang true for me too. When it comes to surfing, I’m often very critical of my wave-riding…
Keith Malloy’s debut film Come Hell or High Water is, in my opinion, the best bodysurf movie of all time. For me, the film encapsulated the simplicity and beauty of the ancient pastime that is bodysurfing. It also reinforced an idea that I had long held true: bodysurfing is the purest form of wave-riding. Prior to discovering this film, I…
Some of my favorite quotes about bodysurfing: 1. “As the simplest of all ocean sports, bodysurfing requires little more than swim fins and some waves.” – The Plight of the Torpedo People 2. “There are no phonies in bodysurfing. There is no glory in carrying a pair of fins. It’s a basic, primitive thing. It’s just you and the ocean.”…
I thoroughly enjoy reading articles and books about bodysurfing. I also love watching videos of people bodysurfing. The problem with this niche obsession of mine is that there are relatively few bodysurfing links that exist on the internet today. When it comes to board-surfing, however, there are hundreds of books, magazines, films, and websites to be found when browsing the…