Why write a surf blog?

When I told my Dad I was writing a surf blog, he said “I need to get a life”.

So that got me thinking. Why do I write a surf blog and do I need to get a life?

Here’s a few reasons why I write a surf blog:

You can’t surf all the time

Winter nights, flat spells and apocalyptic storms will keep even the most hardcore from surfing. For hungry surfers like me with a full time job, a child and a dog – you can’t surf a lot of the time.

Sure there are other surf related activities that beat sitting at your laptop, but my weekday freetime seems to be limited to 8:30pm till bedtime. Summer evenings host fickle surf, the winter evenings are cold and dark. So I spend a lot of evenings at my laptop.

Yes I would rather be surfing than writing about it – believe me when I can, I do. But I can’t surf all the time so I blog about surfing instead.

Better than watching rubbish TV

Watching mind numbing, soul destroying and regurgitated tv series is the obvious time filler when the clock strikes 8:30. But I have always tried to find other ways to use the surfless twilight hours more constructively.

So far I’ve tried Tai Chi, got a degree and tried different tea (actually it was coffee but that doesn’t rhyme). Now I’m learning how to blog and researching the world of surfing. I hope you agree – that’s better than watching rubbish TV.

Keep in the surf news loop

I never needed to know who the current Men’s World Champ was, isn’t it usually Kelly Slater? I rarely went to local surfing events and surf mags bored me.

However, I’ve become a surf news addict. I was stoked to find the surf film Otelo Burning, I was stunned to stumble upon a naked Kelly Slater photo and surprised to find the Crap Surfing Championships on my doorstep.

Now I’m tapped into the online surf source, and enjoy sharing the surf love.

Get to share the surf love

By filling my non surfing hours with surf research, I find lots of online surfing gems. Fantastic photos, exciting events, amazing videos, top tunes and super surf news are created daily to enhance our surfing lifestyles.

By sharing this treasure chest of shiny surf media, I hope to brighten the flat spells in other surfers lives.

Connect with fellow and foreign surfers

It’s great when a fellow surfer adds a blog comment, tweets or emails me. To say “hi”, to say they like Surfer Dad or even to say they don’t. It’s just great to know people are reading Surfer Dad and make the effort to send a message.

It’s especially great when surfing parents from around the world get in touch to share their experiences. It makes me happy.

Prospect of freebies

Ok, I have a confession to make – I love freebies. I’ve got a wardrobe full of t-shirts with surf mag names emblazoned across the front. I live in them.

I do not write this blog with the illusion of making money. But I do harbour the hope of surf companies sending me so many freebies, that I could open my own surf shop.

Until then I’ll keep writing a surf blog.

Do I need to get a life?

I write a surf blog because of the reasons above and more. I’m a full time father, lover, worker and a part time surfer. I don’t need to get a life, I’ve got a great life. I’m just trying to squeeze the most out of the life I have.

Dad, if you do read this I didn’t take your comment personally. Honest.