If you have not caught the latest Local Sessions Magazine, here is the latest published "Written in Wax"

Close to the Soul
I added a sticker to the beloved “surfmobile” with the stylized silhouette of a noserider that says “Stay Close to the Soul”. I don’t really need a sticker to remind me of this, but it seemed fitting to add it there next to the Fuel TV decal and right above the Local Sessions sticker. This is a small, outward expression of what surfing is to me though it is essentially impossible to relay the feeling to someone who doesn’t surf. Certainly friends and loved ones can sense my excitement and hear my “stoke” as I talk about one of my best days on the water. It’s no wonder so many people have taken up surfing because we are the best marketing tool that any industry could hope to have…millions of devotees spread across the globe who can hardly contain themselves as a good swell comes to their favorite break, or that talks about their latest session with a sparkle in their eye. This club without a roster shows up to the beach toting foam and fiberglass works of art under tan, muscular arms and shoulders so it’s hard not to notice and aspire to this subculture. The surfing world runs on this engine that we help fuel and as much as some may complain, it’s what pushes the new generations of surfing technology. Just like the sticker on my jeep, I think deep down the surfing world wants everyone to know how amazing and perfect a ride on a wave can be, and like any good secret, it’s hard to keep.
Still, when you strip this away, when you subtract out those who will try and fail, or those that never get that addictive thrill, and that do not connect to the ocean, you are left with those who have a soul of surfing. They might compete and even get sponsored, just ride with friends, or look for the solitude of an empty dawn patrol spot, but the soul is there in any of them. A few years back when I finally figured out the “act” of surfing, the “soul” of surfing quickly washed over me like the clear, turquoise blue ocean of a summer afternoon. My favorite new quote says… “the cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea” (Isak Dinesen). Though this surfing soul was born in the “ride”, I think this quote sums up why it stays strong in me. I didn’t really know I had an ailment, until surfing and the ocean healed me. For every specific ride or memorable session I have just as many memories of things like seeing a school of fish under me as I rode down the line, or seeing a dolphin up close in the wild, or feeling the curative effects of the ocean on my stuffy nose or lingering hangover. You have to work for this, and you might get hurt. However, if you are good to surfing, it will be good to you.
There are other facets of my surfing soul. While the surfing bug was biting hard, anytime I wasn’t in the water, I was reading about surfing, hanging out on WBLivesurf.com or Swaylocks.com, or in the garage giving life to old boards. I read a few of Kem Nunn’s books and then stumbled onto Allan Weisbecker. I now count Weisbecker as a friend and who has recently been very ill. He wrote among other things “In Search for Captain Zero”, the first book of his I found and read. The story isn’t all about surfing, but the soul of surfing is present throughout. It’s worth your time. A lot of the most interesting people with whom I have connected to over the past year or so are as a result of surfing or Local Sessions which of course fuels this soul and stoke. This human element of soul surfing comes to me when I meet someone in the lineup, or as I learn the name of a mystery surfer from that foggy morning session, and from the fellow surfer at the Midas shop who keeps the “heep” running. Of course I can’t forget the family that puts this great magazine together. If Chris and Patsy aren’t close to the soul, then I don’t know who is. A lot of what surfing is to me is very personal, but I have learned that staying “close to the soul” has a broad, inclusive meaning.
See you in the water.
Got a comment or idea? Let me know at Writteninwax@gmail.com