FLORIDA ADVENTURES

Catching waves, feeling the stoke, building relationships

Story by Amy Sweezey | Photography by Mike Dunn

Surf instructor Chris Ross believes surfing is more than just catching waves.

It’s about relationships—a relationship with the surfboard, the ocean, and with other surfers.

When he started surfing on the East Coast of Florida as a teenager, Ross laid his board on his living room floor and stared at it. He knew the importance of building a relationship with his board right from the start.

“I wanted to learn the mechanics of it,” he said. “I looked at the fins and checked it all out.”

Ross continued, “If you aren’t comfortable with the board and on the board, you’re going to trip and fall. If a child who is a first-time surfer feels nervous, I tell them to build a sandcastle on the surfboard. As long as they are spending time on that board, they’re building their confidence whether anybody knows it or not.”

After a surfer builds a relationship with the board, the next step is getting in the water.

“You have to be comfortable going in the ocean and confident that everything will be OK,” Ross said. “I’ve almost drowned several times, but I still go out.”

Ross emphasized the importance of a healthy fear of the ocean rather than an unhealthy fear.

“To be in fear of the ocean is healthy when you recognize its power and are aware of sharks and wildlife and other real dangers,” he said. “But when you refuse to even go in the ocean because of those things, that’s an unhealthy fear.”

Ross spent much of his time teaching confidence-building techniques during his surf camps for kids. He understood that inserting healthy fear took away their unhealthy fears.