After all the years I’ve spent skateboarding and snowboarding, it seemed only natural to give surfing a try (in spite of the fact that all I ever did was make fun of all the surf bros at ASR). So, some years ago, I went to Hawaii and took up surfing. Now that people know I surf, I get lots of requests to teach people how to surf. But from LA to SD, every surf spot is packed every time there’s a hint of swell in the water–there’re just too many people living here, and surf is a more limited resource than you’d think.

So lately when people tell me they want to learn to surf, I send them to some surf sites and the Pacific Coast Shark Research site. (The link is acting funky, try putting http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm into your browser and enjoy.)

Considering that nearly all of the attacks are on surfers, it’s become a really valuable unrecruiting tool.