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"Good to the last Drop": Understanding surfers' motivations.Dr. Steven L. Butts, Key Words: Surfing, motivation, ethnography Abstract This paper considers the motivations and requirements for obtaining membership into the surfing subculture, and demonstrates the added value an ethnographic and participatory approach can provide to the improved understanding of the sociology of sport and sport-related subcultures. In this paper it is suggested that if surfing is to be understood as a sociological phenomenon not only must the subculture and its motivations be understood, but the activity itself. A discussion and analysis of the determinants involved in becoming part of the surfing subculture is provided, as is a partial explanation for the drive for obtaining membership. The paper concludes that a participatory approach allows for a deeper level of understanding and the potential for further analysis than a distanced methodology. Introduction While the literature on the sociology of sport is growing, there remains a need for ongoing attempts at understanding the culture and motivations of participants. Sports traditionally viewed by the scholarly community as a 'fad' or inconsequential must be reconsidered as many have become deeply entrenched in society. Furthermore, to create a general understanding of the sociology of sport we must first develop a comprehensive awareness of individual sports, as seen though the eyes of their participants. To this end, this paper examines Florida surfers from an ethnographic perspective. An investigation is made into how membership of the surfing subculture is attained, and an explanation offered as to the motivations for doing so. By employing an ethnographic representation of one segment (Florida surfers) of the surfing subculture, this paper holds significance in three principle ways: 1) it provides a case study of a highly popular, yet little researched activity; 2) it will allow for future comparison to take place between surfing subcultures situated within other groups around the world; and 3) it suggests that the use of participant-observation is necessary to understanding sport subcultures. The first point needs no further discussion, but the second and third require some explanation. From its modern beginnings in Hawaii, surfing has become a world-wide phenomenon and a surfing subculture has developed in a variety of diverse cultural groups. What is unknown at this time is what are the common elements that these culturally diverse subcultures share; and why have they developed the way they have? Anecdotal evidence from surfers suggests that the motivations for surfing may be similar, but that there exists variation in the way membership into local subcultures is obtained. The third point, the necessity of employing participant-observation, is discussed in the methodology section. However, the principal point being made here is that to fully understand any sport subculture, the researcher must actively engage in the sport with members of that subculture. It is suggested that there is simply no other way to gain critical insight of a sports subculture necessary to accurately portray that subculture or its meanings and complexities. This may go some way to explain why so many sport subcultures are underrepresented in the literature-the time involved in becoming a member of these subcultures is great, with relatively little academic prestige given to the results. Nevertheless, surfing has existed for over a millennia, with its beginnings in Hawaii and Polynesia (Finney & Houston 1966). On a February day in 1778, Captain James Cook made the first written record of surfing. As his ship pulled into Kealakekua Bay in the Hawaiian Islands, Cook was amazed to see men and women riding long wooden planks across the face of immense waves (Dixon, 1966). Shortly after, with the arrival of missionaries, surfing was nearly eradicated in the Hawaiian Islands until a revitalisation movement was started by Hawaiians in the early twentieth century. The missionaries had associated the practice of surfing with promiscuity and gambling (Muirhead, 1962). Surfing began its trek through popular American culture in the 1950s with motion pictures like Frederick Kohner's "Gidget," which was to be followed by a host of others, including the recent Hollywood movie "Point Break." Through time a particular demeanour, language, and look have developed which denote membership of the surfing subculture. There are currently an estimated two million surfers in the United States alone (Doheny, 1987 cited in Flynn, 1987) who support ever increasing surfing-related industries such as surfboard manufacture, wetsuit production, and clothing marketed to surfing populations. Hawaii persists as a modern surfing Mecca, but today surfers travel the world in their quest for the elusive perfect wave. The literature on surfing reflects a California and Hawaiian bias, which can be explained by surfing's beginnings and subsequent spread to California, and the fact that these areas contain some of the best breaks, or surfing spots, in the world. Other literature includes works on the history of surfing (Finney & Houston, 1966; Young, 1983), how-to books (Lueras, 1984), and surfing guide books describing surfing locations and accommodations around the world (Filosa, 1977). Surfing has also been used as a heuristic device to explain more abstract notions such as the semiotics of sport (Flynn, 1987; Kovecses, 1979). The little ethnographic work done (see Dixon, 1966; Finney, 1959; Muirhead, 1962) is dated, with the exception of articles and letters found in trade magazines. Surfing has become increasingly popular in Florida where a distinctive subculture is maintained by those who have mastered the art of surfing. Florida is not known in the surfing world as having consistent waves. Nevertheless, Florida supports a large surfing community, many of who are accepted members in the surfing subculture. Most Florida surfers ride shortboards, which are more manoeuvrable than old-style longboards, although longboards appear to be making a comeback. This paper's purpose is directed at providing insights into surfers' motivations for their involvement in the sport and what is involved in becoming an accepted member of the surfing subculture. Subculture is defined as providing a structure of an alternative value system, which contains its own rules and systems (Longhurst, 1995). Methodology Upon my decision to move to Florida to pursue my doctoral degree I promised myself I would buy a surfboard and start surfing. My interest had been peaked some years earlier after a few fruitless attempts with an old college friend. Having spent most of the following years in Kansas I didn't get any better. Nevertheless, after I arrived in Florida I joined the university's Surf Club. Through the club I met a network of experienced surfers who didn't mind me tagging along with them to the beach. (I suspect I was probably a source of amusement, being from Kansas.) I began surfing once a week, and it was then that my research interest into the surfing subculture developed. During the past five years I have continued investigating the surfing subculture as a participant-observer, conducted formal and informal interviews, taken part in countless surfing-based discussions, and read popular trade magazines such as Surfer and Surfing. It is from this information that this paper grew. To guard against inaccuracies I had two experienced surfers review drafts and incorporated their comments into the final copy. It is important to note that nearly all of my informants were white males; indeed the overwhelming majority of surfers I have encountered to date have been white males. When I began the research I was viewed as a 'kook' by my informants. A kook is one who is not competent in the surf and thus an annoyance and potential danger to surfers. But by the time of writing I have become an accepted member of the surfing subculture. Do you have to be one to understand them? The answer to this question lies in what it is we want to know. Many of my findings could have been garnered through traditional methods, including direct observation and interviews, by someone who has never set foot in the ocean. However, without personal experience it would be difficult to understand what goes into the unconscious decision making process surfers use to ride waves, precisely because it is unconscious. Also, surfers are quick to assert that the non-surfer cannot understand the almost spiritual feeling they get from riding waves. Ask any surfer and they will say there is nothing like riding across the face of a wave. If asked why, the inevitable response is, "There just isn't." What surfers report receiving from surfing is both a sense of personal satisfaction and of belonging to a group they feel cannot be understood by non-surfers. Surfers are unable to explain to each other the feeling they get while surfing, but other surfers report knowing the feeling they are unable to express. Experience tells them not to bother even attempting to explain their passion to non-surfers. The feeling satisfies a psychological need, one that clears the mind and cleanses the spirit. Riding across the face of a wave, the surfer almost achieves a feeling of weightlessness, and is able to express him/herself by manoeuvring their body and surfboard, with only nature providing the energy to keep moving. Even if the waves are of poor quality, as long as they are rideable, it is an extremely rare event to hear a surfer saying they wished they had not gone surfing and done something else instead. My account of Florida's surfing subculture would lack depth and insight if I had not become a surfer myself. The reason for this is that what is being talked about is the abstract notion of feelings. If surfers find it difficult to express their feelings about surfing, how could a non-surfer even attempt to put them into words? What is evident from this discussion is the struggle for the qualitative researcher to attempt to relay information from tacit, rather than explicit, knowledge. Explicit knowledge is that which can be written down and reflected upon, while tacit knowledge refers to knowledge that is unformulated. Maykut and Morehouse (1994, p.33) suggest that tacit understanding appears when, "We know more than we can say, and the more we can say, the more our unarticulated or tacit knowledge grows." As my own knowledge of the surfing subculture developed, my tacit knowledge continued to expand, and some of it developed into explicit knowledge. The relevance here is to further justify my answer to the question, do you have to be one to understand them? The answer in this context, is yes. The only way tacit knowledge of this sport subculture can be developed is through active participation. Becoming a surfer or getting out of 'kookville' Attaining membership of the surfing subculture is not something that happens overnight, and it is not something you can buy your way into. All the equipment necessary to surf in Florida is access to the beach, a surfboard, leash, baggies, wax, and if it's cold, a wetsuit. At a pinch, all you really need is a surfboard. However, equipment does not make the surfer. Becoming a surfer - mastering basic skills and being able to understand and communicate surfing-related knowledge - is a long, arduous process. Learning to surf requires the ability to swim, some sense of balance, a certain amount of physical strength and stamina, a lot of perseverance, an absence of fear of the ocean and what's in it, and a willingness on occasion to be held and spun under water, sometimes smacking the bottom or your surfboard, for extended periods of time...repeatedly. Not everyone who tries surfing becomes a surfer. To become a surfer you have to be willing to take your 'licks', come up smiling, and paddle back out again until you are able to 'drop in' and 'make' the wave that pounded you before. This is never simple or entirely painless, and more than one beginning surfer has quit after getting 'drilled' or smacked and tossed around by powerful waves. Only after almost two years and innumerable frustrating days, especially in the beginning, was I considered a (barely) competent surfer by my peers. Some learn faster, some slower, but none learn overnight. The first step to becoming a surfer and getting out of 'Kookville' is for the novice to get 'outside' past the impact zone, where the waves are breaking. On small days with waves three feet or less, the novice can usually manage to struggle out. Getting out in larger waves usually requires mastery of the fine are of duck-diving. Duck-diving requires an understanding and experience of being in the surf. To duck-dive the surfer paddles straight toward the oncoming (breaking) wave, and before the nose of the surfboard makes contact with the wave, the surfer pushes the board down and under the oncoming wave with their weight on the front of the board. Once under, s/he steps down on the tail of the board and uses his/her arms to pull the surfboard back. This process, which is relatively simple to explain and extremely difficult to master, allows the surfer to shoot underneath and out the back of a breaking wave. Many surfers report they believe learning to duck-dive properly is as difficult as learning to surf. Once the novice is able to get out past the breaking waves, learning how to catch waves begins. Learning to select and catch waves requires considerable practice. After the novice is able to paddle into and catch waves, s/he must learn to snap up to his/her feet in one smooth, fluid motion; each time placing his/her feet in the same spots on the board. This is especially critical for big or hollow waves where the margin for error is narrow. After falling over several times with arms flailing, the surfer will eventually get to his/her feet and find himself/herself riding a wave. This is a high point for a beginner; every surfer I talked to remembers their first wave. But this doesn't mean you're out of Kookville yet. From the beach, surfers make catching and riding waves look easy, but most of those who make it look easy have been surfing for several years. Experienced surfers say selecting and paddling into a wave, deciding which direction to go, getting to their feet, and riding down the face of the wave are largely unconscious. To accomplish the above, a complex decision-making process is involved and the surfer has only a few seconds to make multiple decisions. Novices find it difficult to make all these decisions, and they often end up not catching the wave, going the wrong direction, or failing to get to their feet before the wave breaks. To add to the novice's difficulty, no two waves are exactly the same, and new information must be added to the decision-making process each time an attempt at catching a wave is made. The novice may know what to do, but be unable to quickly make the decisions necessary to get a ride. Experience in the ocean and tenacity appear the only ways to achieve the appropriate unconscious decisions necessary to become a competent surfer. This is one explanation why surfers let beginners learn the hard way, floundering in the surf. They know no matter how clear their advice, the novice will only progress after s/he has learned from his/her own experience. Another explanation for the apparent lack of assistance is that when they are in the water, surfers want to surf, especially if the waves are good. They don't want to sit next to someone they know isn't going to do much of anything except 'get in their way'. Lastly, surfers have no desire to see their numbers increase because of crowding, some would say overcrowding, at many surfing locations. However what irritates surfers the most about beginners, apart from getting 'in their way', is that the latter typically do not know or follow the unwritten rules of surfing. If willing to brave surfing in a crowd, the shrewd kook quickly learns to paddle out to an empty spot in the line-up where other surfers are sitting. An aerial view of surfers typically shows them in a line parallel to the beach. This is because at a given location waves will usually break about the same distance from the shoreline. The line-up also serves the purpose of keeping surfers out of each other's way. If the novice paddles out past the line-up they are unlikely to catch any waves, as the waves will be breaking past them. If they sit inside the line-up they are likely to have waves break on top of them, as well as running the risk of getting run over by another surfer. The beginner also learns that when there is a crowd, a surfer who takes every wave that comes by is a cause of agitation to other surfers, and that it is appropriate to let some waves go by for other surfers to take. However, the most important edict of surfing is if two (or more) surfers are going for the same wave in the same direction, the one nearest the peak, the most powerful part of the wave, has claim to the wave and the other(s) are supposed to back off. Taking off on a wave in front of someone is known as 'snaking'. Snaking can be dangerous, creating a situation where collision is a potential result. Even if collision is avoided, the person who does the snaking causes the wave to close out or break in front of the surfer who was closest to the peak. Repeated snaking of other surfers is the surest way to cause outrage. However, in areas where heavy crowds form, snaking is a more common and seemingly accepted practice because the more surfers there are, the less waves are available. But the larger and more powerful the waves, the more the rule concerning snaking is followed. This is due to larger waves being more powerful and threatening, combined with the fact that there are fewer surfers in the line-up because they are either not able to get out past the impact zone where the waves are breaking, or do not feel comfortable in riding bigger waves. Surfers are quiet while in the water. The quickest way to be labelled a kook is to yell unnecessarily while surfing. The only occasions surfers typically yell is when a big set of waves is coming in, if someone gets an exceptionally good ride, or if someone is about to run them over. Surfers will talk to each other, but even among friends conversation is kept to a minimum. I asked several surfers why? They responded that they didn't like the serenity of being in the ocean broken, and if you are talking and not paying attention to the horizon you run the risk of missing incoming waves. In 'the old days', if you arrived at a break and there was already a small group out surfing, you would go somewhere else. But increases in the number of surfers often make it difficult to find empty breaks. A 'pack or herd' mentality has developed. Even though it is a common phenomenon, the pack mentality is contradictory to what the majority of surfers value most - a good session with a few of their friends, and no one else. There are some locations that do consistently produce high quality waves, and most are well-known and crowded. But for those who follow the pack mentality, no matter where they are or how few surfers are out, they will invariably paddle out right next to those surfers already in the water. Surfers assert that you can almost bet that wherever you go, ten minutes after you paddle out and start catching waves, other surfers will follow. Serious surfers become especially irritated with the pack mentality when there are waves breaking nearby with no surfers on them. I asked my informants how they thought the pack mentality got started, and apart from a few derogatory statements about ancestry, was offered little in the way of an explanation. On two occasions I asked surfers I did not know who paddled out to me why they were sitting right next to me when the waves were just as good and void of surfers for several hundred yards in both directions. They probably thought I was threatening them as their only response was to paddle away. The best explanation for the pack mentality I can offer is that surfers who are paddling out think that wherever surfers are already in the water must be where the best waves are breaking, which is sometimes true. Often it is not. In the water, being considered a surfer by your peers is based on your ability, and demonstrating that you have mastered at least the basic skills of surfing. However, those who can surf competently but repeatedly fail to adhere to the unwritten rules lose status among their peers. Surfers will say that the individual 'just doesn't get it', meaning they don't understand that part of the surfing experience is to respect other surfers. Out of the water, a surfer's experience comes through in conversation. Proper use of terminology, knowledge of surfers, surfboards, wave conditions, and surfing locations, and the ability to relate one's own surfing experiences give other surfers insight into one's skill level and experience. Nevertheless, final judgement is made in the water. Those beginning surfers who are willing to learn necessary skills and adopt appropriate behaviour can, through time, become accepted members of the surfing subculture. But the only way to be considered a surfer by your peers is through the application of experience, and there are no short cuts to this learning process. As a beginner, if you work at it, after countless trips to the beach, you might find yourself in a position with your peers where you can look out over the water at a group of surfers and call someone else a kook. And more importantly, know why. The surfing subculture Given the time, effort, and potential threat to bodily injury, why would anyone become a surfer? A non-surfing friend who knows many surfers equated their desire to surf as an addiction. Most surfers would agree, and state their addiction began with their first ride. A surfer who has not been surfing for an extended period is like a smoker in need of a cigarette. Both are 'jonesing', or in need of a fix for which nothing else is an adequate substitute. When surfers are thrilled or inspired, they say they are 'stoked'. Surfers can get stoked while watching good quality surf or after getting an exceptional ride. Being stoked however is not an uncontrolled adrenaline rush. While surfers are paddling out through breaking waves timing, endurance, speed, and strength are necessary. Oxendine (1976) suggests that for optimal performance for activities requiring endurance, speed, and strength, such as paddling out, a high level of emotional arousal is necessary. However, he goes on to say that a high level of emotional arousal becomes a detriment to optimal performance for activities that require co-ordination, steadiness, general concentration, and fine muscle movements; skills that surfers require while riding waves. Thus, although informants report 'psyching themselves up' to paddle out as quickly as possible through the impact zone, once outside the breaking waves their arousal is transformed. Surfers commonly refer to a feeling of peace and tranquillity while riding a wave and report that their sense of time becomes distorted, often taking on slow-motion characteristics; a not uncommon experience during peak moments in sport (Calhoun, 1987; Murphy & White, 1978). My findings support Oxendine's (1976) work in that the emotional state of surfers while surfing is in a near constant state of flux, quickly changing from tension to calm. Perhaps this rapidly changing emotional state explains the psychological addiction to surfing most surfers profess having. However, there are risks associated with surfing. Surfers take social risks by calling in sick to work, and cancelling plans with significant others, friends, and family when the waves are good. They may pass up job opportunities to stay near the ocean. Surfers face physical risks including potential death by drowning, although, for Florida, surfers' death or severe injury is uncommon. There are, however, a host of potential dangers including stings from jellyfish and stingrays, sunburn and dehydration, being struck with a surfboard (your own or someone else's), hitting the ocean floor, as well as shark attacks. Non-surfers do not understand surfers ambivalent attitude toward sharks which are commonly found close to shore in Florida. Whenever I tell non-surfers that a shark surfaced nearby while we were surfing, they invariably say, "You got out of the water didn't you?" They are amazed when I tell them that we only pulled out hands and feet out of the water, lay on our boards for a minute or two, and then continued surfing. If a shark is large (bigger than your surfboard) or hanging around, surfers feel more threatened and will sometimes get out of the water and go surf elsewhere. To non-surfers, staying in the water after spotting a shark signals some sort of 'death wish'. But surfers know that every time they are in the water it is likely that sharks are nearby, probably swimming beneath their dangling feet. Once acquired, this knowledge is enough to drive some beginners out of the water, never to return. But for surfers, sharks and other hazards hold their respect, not their fear. Common sentiment states that statistically speaking, in Florida you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being attacked by a shark.. Schwendinger and Schwendinger (1985, p.96) state that "the identity of surfers is validated by peers on the basis of their own criteria, which often refer to style of life as well as specialised knowledge and skill". Surfers come in all ages and sizes and from all kinds of backgrounds. Yet there is a manner of dress and use of language that distinguishes surfers. Although anyone can wear clothes marketed at surfers or pick up some of the lingo, if you 'talk the talk', you'd better be able to 'walk the walk'; that is, if you want to be considered a surfer, you'd better be able to surf. The glue that holds the subculture together is the activity of surfing, and surfers are protective of their subculture. Surfers are not impressed with surfer 'wannabes' who attempt to use surfer jargon or wear surfing-related clothing, yet can't surf. This apprehension stems from the fact that to become a surfer a great amount of time and effort are required, and surfers fear that non-surfers will view the 'wannabe' as a surfer, potentially fostering what surfers feel is a misrepresentation of their subculture. There is little localism or show on the Florida coasts. Locals will tell you the only surfers with attitudes are those who come from inland. To gain acceptance and credibility within the surfing community inland surfers often place frames around their license plates to conceal their county of origin or habitat, or buy speciality plates which do not denote county so no one will know they are not local. Needless to say my Kansas tag drew the occasional look of bewilderment, although only those with whom I was well acquainted were bold enough to follow it up. Wherever they are from, novice surfers undergo a process of socialisation, and for most beginners, it is their peers with whom they interact that provide the majority of information regarding the subculture's attitudes, knowledge, and values. Surfing movies and magazines may supplement or reinforce peer learning. For example, you risk getting called a kook if you strap surfboards on your car with the fins over the trunk or boot. Nearly all surfers transport their boards fins first. They don't think either way is safer, but they know which way will get them called a kook. How well one follows the rules of surfing is influenced by peers, experience, and exposure to written and visual material. It is this enculturation that determines norm responses, and suggests that the surfing subculture is sustained and perpetuated through the enculturation of a group's new members. Sanctions do exist for those who refuse to follow acceptable norms while operating within the subculture. For example, a surfer who repeatedly breaks the unwritten rules is likely to have looks, words, or in rare instances a fist 'thrown his way'. Almost certainly the canons will carry on changing as surfing continues to grow and becomes increasingly popularised by the media. However, most socialisation still occurs from within the subculture, specifically from peers, who impart to new members the wisdom that surfers always try to help out other surfers, that the condition of the ocean and environment is important, and that there is nothing a good day of surfing cannot fix. In this paper I have suggested that a distinct surfing subculture exists, and that if we are to understand surfing as a sociological phenomenon we must understand this subculture and its motivations, as well as the activity itself. Although not all sports activities possess distinct subcultures, for those that do, many have been investigated. However, for those sports that have received little scholarly attention the challenge remains to undertake a comprehensive analysis and understanding of them so that a more informed discussion of the sociology of sport and sport-related subcultures can be brought to light. ReferencesCalhoun, D. W. (1987). Sport, culture, and personality. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics Publishers. Dixon, P. L. (1966). Men and waves: A treasury of surfing. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc. Doheny, K. (1987). Head dents, chest knots, chin splits: The price of surfing. Los Angeles Times. April 14 Part V:1-4 Filosa, G.R. (1977). The surfer's almanac: An international surfing guide. New York: E.P. Dutton. Finney, B. R. (1959). The surfing community: Contrasting values between the local and California surfers In Hawaii. Social Progress, 23, 73-76. Finney, B.R., & Houston J.D. (1966). Surfing: The sport of Hawaiian kings. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co. Flynn, P. J. (1987). Waves of semiosis: Surfing's iconic progression. The American Journal of Semiotics, 5(3):397-418. Kovecses, Z. (1979). Toward the semiotics of sport. In T. Borbe (Ed.) Semiotics unfolding. (pp. 535-540). Berlin: Mouton. Longhurst, B. (1995). Popular music and society. Oxford: Polity Press. Lueras, L. (1984). Surfing: The ultimate pleasure. New York: Workman Publishing. Maykut, P., & Morehouse, R. (1994). Research: A philosophic and practical guide. London: The Falmer Press. Muirhead, D. (1962). Surfing in Hawaii: A personal memoir. Flagstaff: Northland Press. Murphy, M.,& White, R.A. (1978). The psychic side of sports. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Oxendine, J. B. (1976) Emotional arousal and motor performance. In A.C. Fisher (Ed.), Psychology of sport. (pp. 124-135). Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Company. Schwendinger, H., & Schwendinger,J.R.S. (1985). Adolescent subcultures and delinquency. New York: Praeger Publishers. Young, N. (1983). The history of surfing. Sydney: Palm Beach Press. |
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