I really enjoy telling people I surf. I live nowhere near the coast so it always surprises people. And I like to think it makes me sound cooler than I really am! When I tell someone new that I surf they almost always follow up with one (if not all) of these five funny questions people ask about surfing.
Five funny questions people ask about surfing
I quite like the questions. They make me smile! But if you want to seem a little more knowledgable, try these alternatives.
Can you stand up?
Um. Yes. Silly question? If you tell me you play tennis, do I ask if you can hit the ball?
Ask instead: Are you a long-boarder or a short-boarder?
Do you ever fall in?
Yes! All the time! And mostly on purpose! (The above photo *may* not have been on purpose…)
It makes me smile that people think the object of surfing is to make it all the way to the beach without falling in.
I’d prefer not to hop off my board in shallow water and risk a broken ankle, thanks. Besides, I spent a good 20 minutes paddling hard to get out there. There’s no way I’m coming all the way in just to paddle all the way out again!
Ask instead: What’s the longest ride on a wave you’ve had?
Do you wear anything under your wetsuit?
I do. Most people do. Some people don’t.
Those people haven’t considered what will happen if they hurt themselves while surfing. Someone will have to cut you out of that skin-tight suit of yours and you’ll want to have something on under there… (happened to a friend…)
(NB. It’s super unlikely that you’d get hurt but just in case.)
Ask instead: What’s your favourite surf brand?
Do you pee in your wetsuit?
Let’s keep this as one of the great mysteries of surfing. Nobody knows for sure what anyone else does or doesn’t do in their own neoprene outfit. And do you really want to know?
Ask instead: Anything else!
Are there sharks?
No. None. Ever.
At least that’s what I tell myself. Even when I surf Shark Bay. Although thanks to Mick Fanning’s fishy friend, J Bay is no longer on my surf bucket list.
No surfer wants to think about sharing the water with a great white – so we just don’t.
Ask instead: Have you ever surfed with Dolphins?
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