SurfEcon Myth Busting: Surfers are lazy

Sunrise Surfer from LA times

This morning, I woke up at 4:45 AM to go for a surf at dawn. I suffered through the groggy transition to wakefulness hoping to get better morning conditions and to beat the summertime crowds. I was in the water by 5:30 - 6 guys out. By 6:30 the water was already started to get crowded and by 7:30 is was packed - on a Sunday AM.

I returned home to find these two Facebook messages. Many surfers get up very, very early to go surfing either to get the best conditions (the wind if often blowing offshore), beat the crowds or to get a surf in before work or family obligations.


(Names blurred to protect the committed)

These early beach visits are one of the reasons why surfers are so hard to intercept when economists study beach visitation.

Every morning around the country legions of surfers are waking in the dark, heading to their favorite spot, often changing into a wetsuit before jumping into the chilly ocean at first light. This phenomenon is so common is has its own name - "dawn patrol".

Lazy? I don't think so.

New York Surfers Defy Surfer Stereotype

Photo from: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

A recent article from the NY Times about surfer's objections of an offshore LNG facility in New York had this quote:

“Our community is both much bigger and far more diverse than people give it credit for,’’ said Chris Wade, the chairman of the Surfrider Foundation’s New York City chapter and one of the organizers of Saturday’s protest. “The average outsider who doesn’t surf has stereotypical ideas of who a surfer is and where they live and we defy those stereotypes here in New York.”

Chris is right and he's also a classic example of someone who defies the surfer stereotype - he was an infantry officer in the Marines, he has an Ivy League education, he has a Masters in History from Duke University, he's a teacher and a very active volunteer for the Surfrider Foundation.

He's also not alone and its also not only a phenomenon in New York.

A paper I wrote on the socioeconomics of surfers Trestles in Southern California had similar findings - surfers tend to be fully employed, well educated and earn high incomes. They essential reflect the communities they come from - that probably shouldn't be a surprise.

To help better understand who surfer's are, Surf First has launched a national survey of surfers to better understand their demographics, surfing habitats and economic impacts to coastal communities. You can check out the survey here.

The Surf Economics of Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County, Florida is arguably the epicenter of surfing in Florida. This region boats numerous surf spots from CoCoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet and spawned the Hobgoods and Slater.

Last week, Mike Slotkin of Florida Institute of Technology presented some stats on surfers who visit Brevard County from an internet-based survey of 240 surfers who lived outside Brevard County but visit to surf.



As you can see, surfers from throughout the state come to Brevard County to surf.











These surfers represent a full range of ages - over 40% of them are over 36 years old.













They are also well educated and earn high wages. For comparison, the median household income in Florida is a little over $46,000 and about 25% of Floridians have a college degree. These surfers are wealthy and well educated.









When they visit the county to surf they spend money in local businesses.







When you begin to add up those expenditures over a year they start to add up. As is common, the hardest number to find is the annual number of surfer visits. Here they estimated 9500 a year.






This profile of Florida surfers who visit Brevard County is similar to the demongraphics of surfers who visit Trestles. Mike shows this comparison in his presentation. You can see all the slides here (5 MB .pdf)

Thanks to Dr. Mike Slotkin and Dr. Alex Vamosi for sharing their presentation and kudos to Brian Kelly for conducting the survey.

From http:/www.surf-first.org....

WOULD YOU SPEND 15 MINUTES, IF IT MEANT SURFING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

We thought you would. And the good news is you can. All across the country, surfers are facing access and environmental fights that fail to consider their needs and enormous impact. While fishermen and other recreational ocean users flex big muscle in courthouses and town halls, surfers get pushed aside a 'segment group.' A minor hobby for punk kids - instead of healthy lifestyle for whole families. That's because we let them.

Despite being a 1000-year-old sport with a $7 billion industry, surfing has failed to produce the demographic and economic studies to show who we are, where we live, and what we spend. So while other interest groups bolster their arguments with impressive numbers to prove their positions, all-too often, surfers get blindsided and bowled over, unable to offer a single hard number to support their cases or save their breaks.

Not anymore. With your help, we can start to paint a true picture of who surfers are and how we behave. And every surfer who answers provides another stroke of necessary detail. All you need to do is take 15 minutes to fill out the survey. Here's some quick rules:
Answer honestly. An accurate study is our best weapon.
When in doubt, leave an answer blank. We'd rather have less info than bad info.
Pass it along to your friends.
All information is anonymous. We promise not to share the individual details for commercial purposes, but we will share the bulk data - national, state by state, and as a whole. Right here. That way, surfers, in any fight, in any coastal town - from the most precious, world-class pointbreak to the shittiest, shiftiest sandbar - can proudly walk into any town hall or business office and prove with concrete numbers that surfing is a pursuit as crucial to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in their beach town as any other ocean activity. That enjoying the ocean is much a god-given American right as protecting your beach home investment.

Maybe if we're just as selfish, aggressive and determined as we are in the water, we'll never lose another wave. And if we do, it's because we looked hard, considered it carefully and let it go for a greater good - not because someone snaked it from us.

NOW: TAKE THE SURVEY!

a wave rider in the White House

A new twist on the surfer stereotype...



Not only is Obama the first African American to become the President of the United States, he's also the first President who can legitimately body surf!

Next time someone disparages a surfer, you can remind them of this.

Surfers come in all ages, shapes and sizes...

© Kymri Wilt/Mira Terra Images

On February 6, 2008, California Coastal Commission held a 14-hour hearing and voted to deny the construction of a Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach.

I attended the hearing along with thousands of others - many were surfers, many were environmentalists, and all were passionately professional about making their voices heard. There were CEO's, attorneys, moms with toddlers, commuters, activists, teachers, and all walks of business professionals, male and female, who took the day off work to give testimony or support. The definition of a stereotypical surfer was blown right out of the water. Surfers come in all ages, shapes and sizes. However, most of the signs, t-shirts, websites and promotional advertising seemed targeted to an outdated punkish youth subculture and did little to embrace today's real-life surfer - someone like myself (self-employed, vegetarian, wife, mother, homeowner, hybrid-driver, world traveller, photographer, etc.).

More...

Negative Surfer Stereotype Bares Itself in NJ?

Last Sunday, the NY Times published an article on the increasing trend of clothing optional vacations. Apparently, the town of Ocean County township in New Jersey plans to buck that trend.

The township recently passed an ordinance that prohibits changing your clothes unless you are in a closed structure, regardless of how discreet you are. Surfers feel that the ordinance is directed at them due to prejudice against the old stereotype that "surfer's are trouble".


Read the article here

Spicoli

Jeff Spicoli, one of Sean Penn's early roles, has become one of the most recognizable characters in surf movie history. Spicoli epitomized the ultimate surfer stereo type - he was a perpetually stoned surfer who could care less about school or the rules.

As Spicoli put it, "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine."

This entertaining Hollywood character may have done more to perpetuate the surfer stereotype and done more damage to the reputation of the surfers than any other characterization.

Today's surfers around the world, many of whom are extremely successful professionals, are responsible parents or highly paid professional athletes still suffer from this negative stereotype.

While we still have a long way to go, the good news is that things are changing as surfing become more mainstream (at least there is an upside) and there is less bias towards surfers.

Surfer Stereotype Dispelled in Pismo Beach

Yesterday, I gave a talk at the H20 Conference entitled Dispelling the Surfer Stereotype based on my research on the socioeconomics of surfing at Trestles Beach in Southern California.

Ted Ehring, a councilmember of the City of Pismo Beach, was in attendance and he commented that while Pancho's Surf Shop was a leading contributer to the City's tax base, he was under the impression that surfers didn't really contribute much to the economy of his coastal city. He was startled to hear that I estimated a range of economic impacts to the City of San Clemente by surfers who visit Trestles to be between 8 and 13 million dollars a year. He requested a copy of my power point to share it with others.

I guess it worked- for a least one person the surfer stereotype was dispelled.