Photo: NickPro

I don’t do surfing.

I don’t mean for that to come off like it sounds because I’d actually love to learn to surf. And the reason–five reasons, actually–are below. If you’ve ever read the writing of the folks included in this week’s members to meet, or seen photos of them killing it in the world’s oceans, then you’ll know why– surfing is stoke. Meditation. Adrenaline. Focus. Risk. Fear… but fear conquered, over and over again.

1. David Miller

David Miller, Matador’s senior editor, has temporarily traded his surfboard for a kayak since moving to Patagonia last fall, but I suspect if he had a chance to spend a week at Los Cerritos, he’d pull the plug on his laptop and head up there in a second.

2. Benita Hussain

Benita Hussain’s an interesting woman for a lot of reasons. She was a child actor. She ditched her job as a lawyer and decided to travel the world. And as she travels, she picks up new sports, including surfing. Read about her experiences in “Fear of the Big Drop.”

3. Rhys Stacker

Rhys Stacker’s been a Matador member since the early days, and as he’s made his laps around the world, he’s filed a handful of surf reports for Matador, including Surf Vietnam: China Beach and Beyond; Surfing Morocco; and Portugal’s Algarve Coast.

4. Alex Hapgood

Peep Alex Hapgood’s Matador profile and you’ll see him ruling a wave in Cornwall. Though he’s written about surfing in Portugal and Spain for Matador, he knows his local territory best. Check out his article about ING’s kitesurfing ban in Cornwall.

5. NickPro

NickPro is fired up on “surfing, partying, and meeting people” and felt most immersed in another culture when he worked on a surf lesson boat in Mexico. Check out his profile to see pics of him owning his board.

Community Connection:

Looking for the best surf spots around the world? Want to get started surfing? Everything we’ve ever published about surfing is on our Surfing Focus Page!

About The Author

Julie Schwietert

Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator currently in New York, formerly of Mexico City and San Juan. She is Matador's managing editor and is the lead faculty member of MatadorU's travel writing program.

  • http://joshywashington.wordpress.com joshua johnson

    big ups to our surfing ninjas!

  • Adri

    Oh, I just chatting with my friend who stay at G-land, a surf camp about 3 hours from Bali (by boat). Then I read this post, is it a sign for me to learn surfing? :-)
    Indonesia has many great places to surf and I cannot surf, such a pity!

    Sufing Ninjas, if you happen to be in SEA, you should go to Mentawai for the waves , not Bali :-)

  • http://thehussainitydefense.blogspot.com/ Benita Hussain

    You guys!!! I’d been doing an intensive yoga teacher training as well, and this was the best thing to return to after the month away! Big love to Matador!

  • Pingback: Hunting for Tube in Peru

Supporting Our Community →

Chicago, as any Chicagoan will tell you, is the coldest place on Earth.

Supporting Our Community →

The Society of American Travel Writers Foundation awarded Matador the Silver for Travel...

Supporting Our Community →

Anne Merritt is an intern at MatadorLife and frequent contributor to MatadorAbroad.

Supporting Our Community →

Lindsay Clark works behind the scenes as an intern at MatadorTV.

Supporting Our Community →

Though we experienced some frustrations in the transition, Matador Travel is looking...

Supporting Our Community →

A writer, an expat, a student, a globbler (yes, a globbler), and a Barcelona editor...

Supporting Our Community →

MatadorU grad Heather Carreiro joins the team as editorial intern for Abroad.