Peaks and Barrels - Where Surfers Go When They Travel

I wrote this article so that you could be informed. I am only one person here is my expert opinion on how our culture has evolved. Right now surfing is the new golf. This last year the board sports industry combined to yield over 7.25 billion dollars. What an incredible number for such a small industry.

So I am telling you this? A couple of things to think about:

Maybe most people don’t actually know what it is like to ride in the tube.

Most of us will never be able to ride a skateboard on a ramp though most of our neighbor hoods have a skate park.

There may be peaks and barrels up and down the Outer Banks of North Carolina right now, but to most people the season is over.

The board sports industry is so profitable but you are asking why?
While you and I are sitting at home getting ready for the football season, there are a few brave men and women out hunting for peaks and barrels around the world. They do this because it is their job. Dont misunderstand, this is not the life you can just sign up for.
These few people are providing the images on your American Express commercial; they are giving input to the design of the tee shirt you are wearing right now, and they are filming the next wave you want to travel to for the ride of your life; they get you stoked. Their cultural input (on the clothes you are wearing) is helping them stay motivated while spending 1000’s of hours on planes, traveling the globe hunting for the perfect peaks and barrels.
Are we looking at a culture shift? We now look at the real road warriors as being the ones who stimulate us visually. These few wave riding heroes help us to define our own individuality, they are defining what it means to be dressed up, or in business casual, or how we now dress for night on the town. Look around how many people are wearing a tee-shirt that looks nice enough to wear under a sport coat? This is what I will be wearing when I submit an application for my Black Visa…Thanks Tony Hawk!
The road warriors of today go to an office most of dream of. They are even changing the way we would like our office environment to feel. We sit on our cubicles and imagine ourselves to be sitting right in from of Pipeline while she breaks.
I am happy the surf industry is transforming culture, we are starting to have a new respect for one another, we are starting to work together as a whole not just as individuals. When I sit down at a meeting to discuss the latest in IP LAW I am not judged by my attire but by what come out of my mouth, my actions, and my morals. Has business once again being transformed into a Golden Age a Surfing Surfing Golden Age? Business ethics and market knowledge are once again on the topic of discussion in the board room not the way we are dressed? I sure hope so.