Awesome surf quotes and wisdom

Surfers are regularly stereotyped as ‘illiterates’ and ‘dropouts’, who flick through pictorial surf mags and rarely read anything with words.

However, if you ask a surfer for a few words about surfing, they become ocean orators.

Surf legends

Surfing legends are not known for their insightful prose, but occasionally the waves inspire some saltwater wisdom.

“Surfing is very much like making love. It always feels good, no matter how many times you’ve done it.”
Paul Strauch
Source: Resolver2009

“The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun”
Duke Kahanamoku
Source: Top Ten Surf Trips

“Out of water, I am nothing”
Duke Kahanamoku
Source: SUP Surfing

“Wiping out is an underappreciated skill.”
Laird Hamilton
Source: Esquire

“When you make a mistake, the ocean gives you an instant reminder. You get punished. If golf clubs could shock you every time you hit the ball wrong, we’d probably learn how to play golf pretty well.”
Laird Hamilton
Source: Esquire

“Surfing’s one of the few sports that you look ahead to see what’s behind.”
Laird Hamilton
Source: Esquire

“If in doubt, paddle out”
Nat Young
Source: SUP Surfing

“I took off on a wave, went down the side, popped out the other end, and went, shit, I’m still alive!”
Greg Noll (on surfing Waimea Bay for the 1st time)
Source: Club of Waves

“Okay, shit, I guess this is a good day to die!”
Gerry Lopez (on towing into Peahi/Jaws)
Source: Club of Waves

“Sliding a wave removes our brains out of the ordinary and slips us into the extra ordinary of being there now. No more worries about mortgages or strife of being poor or rich. When you enter the domain of an ocean cylinder, that moment, those split seconds belong to the Zen part of just being. Period.”
Bill Hamilton (surfer/shaper)
Source: Club of Waves

“Its not tragic to die doing something you love”
Mark Foo
Source: Stoked Bunny

“I think when a surfer becomes a surfer, it’s almost like an obligation to be an environmentalist at the same time.”
Kelly Slater
Source: Stoked Bunny

“I try changing my surfing, which is the absolute worst thing you can do. Everyone surfs their own way. If I try to surf like someone else I look like a dork.”
Andy Irons
Source: Stoked Bunny

Surf scenes in films

Surfing has featured in many films and given us many memorable quotes. Here’s some that made the cut:

“Surfing’s the source. Can change your life. Swear to god.“
Point Break – Boy in surf shop
Source: SUP Surfing

“Charlie don’t surf.”
Apocalypse Now – Lt Col William Kilgore
Source: IMDB

“You either surf or you fight”
Apocalypse Now – Lt Col William Kilgore
Source: IMDB

“I just surf cause it’s good to go out and ride with your friends.”
Big Wednesday – Matt Johnson
Source: IMDB

“So this is where you work Turtle?”
“Only when da surf’s bad, Barney. Cause’ when da surf’s good, nobody works!”
North Shore – Rick and Turtle
Source: IMDB

Surfer quotes

You don’t have to be a pro surfer or an actor to wax lyrical about surfing.

“I’m just a surfer who wanted to build something that would allow me to surf longer”
Jack O’Neill – talking about inventing the wetsuit
Source: Surfer Today

“You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Source: Resolver2009

“There is nothing, nothing, more sad than a surfer who used to surf.”
Old surfer sage
Source: Stoke Report

“There are a million ways to surf, and as long as you’re smiling you’re doing it right.”
Unknown
Source: Stoked Bunny

“If I couldn’t surf, I’d just die.”
Excerpt from the Tribes of Palos Verde by Joy Nicholson
Source: Stoked Bunny

“Surfing soothes me, it’s always been a kind of Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I’m on a wave.”
Paul Walker
Source: The Door

“With 73% of the planet under water perhaps ‘earth’ should be named ‘ocean'”
Unknown
Source: Surfing Quotes

“Success isn’t found in how long a ride lasts but rather what a surfer does while riding”
Unknown
Source: Surfing Quotes

“I could not help concluding this man had the most supreme pleasure while he was driven so fast and so smoothly by the sea”
Captain James Cooke
Source: SUP Surfing

Roger Sharp – Surf photo

The following words of wisdom are from Sharpy’s five part series called “You know the rules” and inspired me to create this post.

“I don’t need to tell you this but just to be sure: DO NOT ever wear boardshorts outside of your wetsuit. Unless you want every single right-minded person in the universe to think you are a tool of the highest order; and yes it is okay to point and laugh if you see someone doing it.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 1

“If you are too deep for the wave of the day go anyway to give the crowd a show. Everyone loves a good swan dive into the flats and someone on the right spot can still enjoy the ride.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 1

“You should always tell at least one newbie that the wax goes on the bottom of the board to make it go faster, like a snowboard then watch the confusion.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 5

“Conversely always tell a beginner that the zip does indeed go on the back of the wetty, no one should be allowed to walk down a beach like that.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 5

“One drop in is an accident, two is rude, three is a twatable offence.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 5

“You don’t need to get every biggest and best set wave of the day. Sharing is caring and sometimes the smaller ones run better.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 3

“If you see some litter on the beach on your way back to the car pick it up. Might not be yours but it’ll do wonders for your karma.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 3

“Never drive away from good surf.”
Roger Sharp
Source: Surfphoto – You know the rules Part 3

If you’ve got any other snippets of surf wisdom, please share them in the comments below. Thanks