Surfing is a spiritual experience

For how long have you been in India now? Do you think of yourself as an American, or Indian?
Most of my adult life has been spent here in India. I would have to say i am a hybrid, a tie-up, a total mix of Indian and American values. But not 50/50. "Main 80 pratishat Hindustani hoon (I am 80% Indian)."

Who taught you to surf? How old were you when you first started?
I began my surfing career in 1963. I was 16 years old at the time. In those days, there were no surf schools and no surf instructors. You just hung out at the beach and made friends with the guys that surfed. You watched, you talked, you got a surfboard, you stood up and you taught yourself how to do it, you got stoked [hooked] and the next thing you knew, you were a surfer and the local newspaper wanted an interview with you. I did my first newspaper article about surfing in 1965 in the Jacksonville Times Union.
Back in 1963-65, surfing was a new sport in America. Not just new to the public, which certainly it was, but surfing was also new in the sense that the sport was reinventing itself every couple of years with new rules, new styles, new equipments, bigger and better waves — it was a fast evolving sport and an even faster evolving lifestyle. Since then, millions of people around the world from a wide varieties of climates and cultures have taken to surfing. Surfing has become a globally accepted lifestyle and a multi-billion dollar a year industry.

You came to India in search of spirituality. Is surfing a spiritual experience for you? Can you elaborate.
SS: Yes, surfing is a spiritual experience for some people but not for all. It might be better said the surfing is an excellent platform for a person to express their spirituality or for a person to find their inner spirituality for the first time.

Can you retrace your Indian sojourn - where all did you travel to and surf when you first came here?
That has been a long journey that began in 1976. Since then, I have explored all the beaches from Kolkata to Kanyakumari and from Kanyakumari to Dwaraka. The first beach I explored for surf was at Jagannatha Puri in Orissa and later on at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

You formed the Mantra surf club during your second visit to India – is that correct? Which year was this?
I travelled in and out of India many times between 1976 and 2002 and sometimes stayed here for lengths of time exceeding one year. In 2002, I started the Mantra Surf Club with some local kids.

Was it difficult to convince the locals in Mulki about surfing or were they enthusiastic about riding the waves?
It was very difficult to bridge the gap between the locals and surfing. They loved to stand on the waters' edge and watch me surf, shouting, laughing and having a great time. But when I would suggest that they also try it, they would run away. Especially the mothers — they were very afraid to let their children go into the ocean. In our seventh year of running the Mantra Surf Club and the Surf Ashram, local boys and girls started surfing. Now groups of local kids show up on the weekends for surfing and they love it!

Can you comment on the surfing scene in India and the way it has grown in, in the last decade.
The last decade has seen the type of growth in the surfing community that indicated that surfing in India is here to stay. Ten years ago, you could barely round up a dozen surfers. Now when we hold a surf contest, about 200 kids and adults show up to participate.
State tourism departments in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala have shown keen interest in supporting various surf and surf-related events in their respective states. Corporates around the country too are getting involved and sponsoring individual surfing athletes.

What do you think can the locals/state governments do to support the sport here?
More government support for surf events, water sports events, etc. Also more beach facilities in general for the public when they come to the beach. Facilities like toilet and shower facilities, car parking, life guards, food vendors, lodging facilities, keeping beaches clean and environmentally safe, etc. When these things are done, then a new sector is added to the economy, and if developed properly, tens of thousands if new jobs can be created. New jobs, new skills, all this spells economic growth. It will be a big step forward when governments realise this.
But you cannot just sit around and wait for other people to do it for you, so the Surfing Federation of India [SFI] was established by local surfers to promote surfing in India. They have thus far done a wonderful job. Now the SFI has the opportunity to send surfers from India to attend and represent India in the World Surfing Games that are held internationally every year. What is lacking is greater government support. What is needed now is for the government to realise that surfing is a viable sport in India, a viable economic boost in a new economic sector involving surf tourism, travel, surf equipment, surf clothing, surf schools and a whole lot more.
The government should also lower import duties on all sport equipment and offer significant perks to anyone trying to promote alternative sports in India. Yes, the government is doing a little to help surfing grow, but the fact is that there is a whole lot more the state and central governments could be doing to help the promotion of surfing.

Which are some of the best places to surf in, in India?
The best surf is found in India's Andaman Islands and Lakshadweep Islands. Not only is the best surf available in India, but it is also world-class surf by any measure. The remaining 7,000km of coastline of mainland India has dozens of great surf spots like Kovalam, Covelong, Mahabalipuram, Manapad, Varkala, Mulki, etc. The best surf spots and the most surfers seem to be in the southern states but there are waves in the north as well.

Can you describe some of your best surfing experiences and/or surfing anecdotes from your life here.
Imagine yourself sitting [alone or with a friend or two] on your surfboard amongst the waves early one morning as the sun is just rising. The sun's rays are bouncing off the face of the waves as sets of 4- and 5-foot surf comes rolling through. The wind is slightly in your face as you turn your board to paddle for an incoming wave. Three hardy strokes and you are in… sledding down the face of the wave you jump to your feet, so focused in what you are doing that everything outside that moment vanishes, gone. Ten or so seconds later the ride is over and the rest of the world reappears.
Unless you are a surfer, then discussing what actually happened during that 10 second ride isn't going to be that fruitful. To appreciate the depth, beauty, mystery and spirituality of surfing you have to have been there and done that.
Lets put it this way…everyday which includes a surf session is a good day, a day with experiences [moments] that seem to pull your world together — leaving you always a better person.