The current issue of Tracks looks at the historical and contemporary symbiosis of surf and skate cultures. Below, Angus Piper riffs on the relationship between rolling-in and paddling out, in his own life.
Surfing and skateboarding have long complemented each other, and the two cultures are intertwined like vines on a thriving tree. Together, they facilitate lifestyles of constant movement and flow, open up communities you never knew existed and spread lashings of meaning on the toast of life.
Those mingled feelings of flying down the line, bombing a smooth hill, throwing spray off a bottom turn and letting sparks fly on abandoned pools.
The two communities are united by the desire for unattainable joy. There are always better waves, a harder trick you can try, a new board and different fins, an architectural anomaly untouched and that elusive point break unmastered. This search for more is frustrating at times but for me, it means there’s no end game, the rewards exist in progress, friendship, experience and community. United in a pursuit of more, surfers and skateboarders can leave the grasp of modern monotony yelling from the shoulder, scrolling and rotting in the current of everything you’re supposed to care about. Looking down the line, pushing through traffic, there is only an addiction to pure flow.
Where there are surfers, skateboarders lurk behind in alleys, watching city councils create their own swell. I was a skateboarder before a surfer and learning how to move my own way on a wave opened my eyes to an alternative I could actually sustain for the rest of my life. As much as I love rolled ankles and shiners, the saltwater is a lot more forgiving than concrete (most of the time). I now travel with a constant dilemma – to seek out a heaving metropolis or escape to a deserted surf town on a remote island. Both scenes fill my soul with never-ending joy, but to live in balance between the two would be paradise.
The most interesting people I meet tend to be surfers and skaters; there’s something different inside each person that steams before it boils. An underlying creativity and desire to break out of a pre-fashioned, Styrofoam mould. Out in the surf I’ve met doctors, sailors and dropouts; at the skatepark I’ve come across painters, poets and priests. The transition from the water to four wheels often feels seamless. Language is irrelevant, simple sounds of joy replace conversation – a hand in the air, a smile and whistle for wave of the day, handshakes and hollers after landing bolts, and the simple act of commitment earns nothing but respect.
The anti-establishment ethos both lifestyles embrace can give them a bad rap, but in reality, the mental strength and skills you develop out in the ocean and on the street build character and cultivate determination, helping you to overcome any problem … perhaps with the exception of finding and holding down a job.
You can read more about the symbiotic relationship between surf and skate in our crossover edition of the mag. Click here to subscribe and get a copy of Issue 607 delivered to your door.
