By Kyle Jorrey–Sports Editor &
Joann Groff–Assistant Sports Editor
It’s been 20 years since Sean Penn’s character Jeff Spicoli uttered those famous lines in the 1980’s hit movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont.”
“All I need is some tasty waves, a cool buzz and I’m fine.”
Yet for many Americans, Penn’s representation of a surfer — stupid and stoned — remains their perception.
Here at Pepperdine, only minutes from some of the country’s most popular surfing spots, scores of students take to the Pacific Ocean each day in search of the perfect wave. And those that do know it takes a lot more than long hair and poor vocabulary to call yourself a surfer. For them, the true die-hards, the sport is more than a hobby — it is an obsession.
“I spent mornings and nights surfing in between school,” said Andrew Heino, a junior who grew up in San Diego. “And when I didn’t have the time I didn’t go to school. I ditched a lot just to learn. You could say I was addicted. I had to surf everyday so I could get good enough.”
Whether they’ve been surfing their entire lives or just since they came to Malibu, those that have embraced the sport know it’s generally all or nothing. Junior Jessica Hernandez, who has been surfing since age 9, said it’s hard to find a middle ground.
“You’re either addicted to it or you know it’s not for you,” Hernandez said. “There’s no in between. There’s no one that says they’ll do it sometimes and come back to it later.”
While their passions for surfing may be similar, most surfers have different reasons for why they do it. Junior Jeff May, who came across the country from Vermont to attend Pepperdine, has found surfing can provide him the same spiritual feelings he used to get atop a mountain.
“For me it’s not about being competitive, it’s about feeling mother nature kind of push you,” May said. “It’s a beautiful thing, you get this kind of metaphysical feeling.”
For others, surfing is an effective way to escape the pressures involved with life as a college student.
“It erases everything, it makes everything better,” senior Kari Mefferd said. “If you wake up tired and you surf it gives you energy for the day. If you have a test later on, it doesn’t really matter as much if you have a good session.”
Heino agreed.
“For me, it is definitely my main stress reliever … When you’re out there you are away from everything,” Heino said. “You don’t think about money, you don’t think about life, you just think about the wave. It’s real freedom.”
To sophomore Amanda LeVett, surfing is in an essence man harnessing the awesome power of nature.
“You don’t know the feeling, the rush, until you’ve caught your first wave, and you’ve ridden down the line,” LeVett said. “Just having the wave push you — just think about it. It could tear you apart if it wanted to. You have such a deep respect for the ocean after you realize that.”
Senior Matt Isbell, a life-long board sport enthusiast, didn’t get a chance to surf when he was young because the closest waves were the frigid waters off the coast of Washington. But Isbell took quickly to the sport after arriving at Pepperdine. Now he and his friends are out surfing three or four times a week.
For him, one of surfing’s biggest appeals is the chance to spend a little time with the life in the ocean.
“The neatest part of it for me is being out there and seeing pods of dolphins,” Isbell said. “I’ve actually surfed waves with dolphins and had them come so close you could reach out and touch them.”
Whether you’re a good surfer or not, half the challenge is finding the right spot at the right time that has the best waves. Traditionally, surfers would load up their gear into vans or trucks, and drive up and down the coast in search of the “best breaks.” But technology has changed all of that.
“Now you can find the good breaks on the Internet,” Isbell said. “You look at satellite pictures of what direction the swell is coming in from, and that way you can tell which break will be the best to go to.”
If the swell is heading north, surfers head to a north facing beach. Surfers can also access information wind speeds, weather conditions, and the intervals between each crest of the wave, all which must be processed to determine which beach will provide the best ride for the particular rider.
“I actually got my funding for my surfboard from my mom because I convinced her it was educational,” Isbell laughed.
Regardless of all the changes in the search for breaks, the lifeline of surfing remains the perfect ride — that one wave of the day where everything comes together. To the surfer, there is no comparable feeling.
“The wave of the day — no matter how long you’ve been surfing it still gets you stoked,” Mefferd said. “It’s amazing because it’s something so natural that you can take advantage of.”
“It happens when everything clicks and it works its self out,” May said. “Everything is perfect and when you kick out of the wave you have this feeling of accomplishment. You just cherish that moment and hope for the next.”
Any surfer will tell you every wave and every break is different, and that carries much of the sport’s appeal. While in other sports most situations are duplicated again and again, each session in the ocean brings with it new experiences.
“The wave judges what you are going to do and you have to interpret what the wave is telling you,” Heino said. “You can only do certain things at certain times. It’s all about knowing what the wave is going to do and guessing before it does it.”
To understand the mindset of a surfer may be a nearly impossible task, unless you go out and experience the ocean for yourself.
To the avid surfer, the art of catching a wave is itself a reflection of life and what it is to be alive.
“Surfing is a lot like life,” Mefferd said. “There are a lot of waves that come by, and you come for some and might not get them. It’s all about picking your battles. There will always be good sessions and bad sessions, you just have to keep going out there.”
So next time you hear someone mention how they can’t make it to class because of a huge swell, maybe you’ll understand.
“Every year I miss a lot of school because of waves, which is kind of sad to say,” Heino said. “But opportunity costs, man, and for me the feelings you can get from waves are worth more than those class hours to me.”
October 03, 2002