Talented Santa Cruz goofyfooter switches stance for an entire year! Why?
I’m a thirty-two-year-old goofyfooter from Santa Cruz, California. I was good enough to get free shit and swipe a little travel budget off sponsors, but not good enough to make a real living. Only Nat Young has done that.
For the past year I’ve been riding switch.
Only switch.
Am I a masochist? Not exactly.
I’ve had severe neck, back, and hip arthritis that’s been giving me hell since I was eighteen. At first it was a degenerative disc disease, then it was Ankylosing Spondylitis (the auto-immune disease that Mitch Crews has), and even Lyme disease. I was doing intravenous antibiotics for a year!
My hips are the worst, bone-on-bone and covered in cysts. It’s clear that I have severe arthritis and widespread pain and fatigue, which has been dubbed “fibromyalgia”, but I reckon the doctors know fuck all so I’ve stopped worrying about the diagnosis and now concentrate my focus on managing the symptoms-which has been pretty much a full-time job.
After my second hip arthroscopy last November, where they shaved another bone spur off the head of my femur, I made a decision. As a goofyfooter, I pivot off my back left leg pretty hard. And the arthritis was so severe in my left hip that I decided to do an experiment to see if switching my stance for a whole year changed anything
Fuck, it was brutal.
Winter had just started and I was weak and fat from being laid up. I started like every surfer should: soft-Top. Longboard. Gun. Fun Board. I could barely pop up at first. The waves were starting to get going that winter and I was putting myself in some really dumb situations. Every wave I actually made were the early markers, then I transitioned into bottom turns, cutbacks, foam climbs.
Riding switch for a year, I discovered how hard it is to rewire your brain. It’s like writing in cursive with your non-dominant hand. It’s just so damn tough for most people. I found it as exciting to work on this handicap, even though I was getting consistently pummelled.
That’s about where I’m at now, spending as much time as I can on a surfboard with my left foot in front. I’m working on linking turns and trying to work on consistency through repetition. I’ve gotten a couple of sweet tubes on my forehand, but pig-dogging is awkward, so I’m workin’ on that.
My lowest moment was this summer in Costa Rica. I decided to bring a 70’s inspired Travis Reynolds 6’6” single fin to surf a heavy beachbreak. The single fin would have been sketchy going goofyfoot. Beautiful board, but Christ, I’ve never taken so many donuts. That’s when I started really second guessing my resolve.
Best moments?
I’ve had some barrels, some large waves, and survived a session at my favorite local slab. I think setting a goal, and sticking to it feels the best. It’s cool to step out of your comfort zone.
Riding switch for a year, I discovered how hard it is to rewire your brain. It’s like writing in cursive with your non-dominant hand. It’s just so damn tough for most people. I found it as exciting to work on this handicap, even though I was getting consistently pummelled.
I realized that there are ways to keeping surfing fresh, even with a body so torn up. I’ve been told by countless doctors to tone down, or even quit surfing, which is horrifying. So, ultimately, if I learn to switch at will, this may extend the shelf life of my surfing. I just need to learn to hold back when the surf gets hairy.
And let me say something, it feels… good… to be a kook again.
God, think of paddling out to overhead surf and committing to getting scrubbed across the reef nearly every time you surf. How is that not appealing?
Santa Cruz is a place where people can take you down and throw salt, so embracing being a kook is good for the ego.
I won’t lie. I was self-conscious about it at first.
All my friends know and have given me props and set waves, but it’s the blow-ins out in the water that get to me. They don’t know me, so they paddle around or burn me. That gets me riled up, so I have to remember that I’ve been doing the same things to kooks practically my whole life!
Full circle, man.
I cant imagine it for surfing, i spent 6 months only skating switch. Id show up to the park and do 100 switch ollies and 100 nollies every time i went. I still spend at least half of every session trying to skate switch. Snowboarding i spent about a month solid riding 4-5hrs a day switch but thats cake. Im trying to imagine switch dropknee and it sounds a lot like hitting the seafloor over and over again. Good on ya!
Impressive feat! At least your in the right local to switch! Check into Foundation Training for your body imbalances .I would be glad to show you a few basic moves to integrate all the core muscles that attach to the hips. I’m here in Capitola. 541 981 8222
There’s a heavy “Soul Patrol” crew encroaching on local waters- it’s comically frustrating
That is a little less confusing.
Thank you.
God damn it.
Is he on some sort of disability pension and if so what are the ins and outs of being too disabled to work but able to spend countless physical hours in the ocean?
Asking for a friend.
I’ve been denied disability a number of times. And to be honest I usually surf for about an hour,3 times a week. They should give me disability though…despite being able to jump on a surfboard or do yoga to blow off stress and get exercise. I understand your question though.
Full props to ya mate you should consider a move to our great country down under, there are still a few sponsored spots on the Canberra Boardriders Team available to man with your sort of commitment.
A session at the next point north turned him. Curse those knee-high sand bottom peelers.
For the most part I’d rather surf soft points on my backhand. Having your weight over the inside rail and being able to drop the trailing hand in the water when cutting back makes it a bit more fun than forehand grunt and flap. But I’m surf-racist.
Nothin’ like a blistering backhand combo!
laird rode his golf-cart surfboard switch for a year.
Neal, if you haven’t pursued Ayurveda to address your condition, please consider it. My wife regularly reverses conditions such as yours, and it’s not all that difficult.
I have toyed with it but need to jump in whole hog. Plus I don’t have a ton of savings to invest in that right now (working on an Elimination Diet). But if you have any literature to suggest regarding Ayurveda For Dummies let me know!
Because it is very much predicated on your specific body, it isn’t very effectively engaged for a condition such as yours by reading a book (although starting an anti-inflammation diet is a good start.) just bite the bullet and do an initial consult with someone who’s got real experience in your condition (not some little graduate of a online Ayurveda course). In Santa Cruz, Dr Suhas is highly regarded, and also Dr Jay Apte over the hill. I’m sure there’s others too. You just have to start the process, and it needs to begin with healing your gut, and then go into removing the toxins. It’s totally doable, but you have to engage fully, and not just dally. Obvs, from your adventures with switch, you’re capable of that.
My wife says no, don’t go to Dr Apte.
Or fuck, just come see my wife in Sacramento- she’s probably done more of your type of condition than anyone in Cali
I’m stoked on your stoke. I’m going to stop coming up with lame excuses not to surf and embrace my ever growing kookiness..
I think it’s your Irishness poking through Kearney, not comfortable with success so did what you could to catch some boots up the ass again.
considering his phyical condition some would think his Irishness would encourage to find life anew in whiskey, good onya for fighting your DNA Kearney
Good on ya Neal!
I have a buddy here, a very skilled regular foot, who decided to learn to surf goofy. He didn’t have your health issues but he did have the same attitude, like, get it done whatever it takes. It was fascinating, his style goofy was quite different to his style regular — more upright and less compressive. I think maybe he was a better tube rider goofy. It’s always struck me that learning or trying to learn switch is one of the great drills for any competent surfer who wants to challenge him or her self, but a whole year, that is fucking impressive.
Thanks Nick! I’m keepin’ it goin–it’s a blast!
The health stuff sounds heavy not to mention shitty but the bit about how good it feels to be a kook again… I’ve been learning to surf switch everyday when the waves are sub-par, soft-top and all. It has transformed me from a grumpy pile of shit to a happier less out of shape pile of shit and the stoke I get from the smallest progression makes me feel like a kid again. You might need to chime in on Chas and Derek’s “intermediate plateau” with a fresh perspective.
My eldest son started as a goofy and defected to a natural footer. I nearly disowned the bludger. The youngest now has priority with the inheritance though.
Medical reasons are pretty acceptable in this situation. More power to you NK.
Amazing commitment. I’ve toyed with that for about 10 minutes many years ago, slammed hard (skating) and thought “OK fuck that idea”.
It seems like your old mate Rory Parker went switch for a year in Hawaii too. He’s bumming whatever he can get his hands on if his articles are true.
You beat me to that one. It was like ripe fruit ready to be picked.
Good read Neal.
Do you notice a difference in how you actually see a right now? Do the visual cues reading the wave seem different?
Keep it up Kearney, one less shit footer in the water has gotta be a positive thing 😉 Much respect mate.
Oi, tone it down. That’s the sort of surf-racism that riles our vajacent friends.
Expect a heart breaking story posted tomorrow about Rob Machado’s Afro yearning to be a natural footer like his hero Miki Dora.
Ok.ok. I gotta ask..whats up with you two? Nick and Nik.
Nick is a someone, Nik is a no one.
Dayum . . . heavy story. I guess your only option is to be positive. I’ve thought of switching stance for about 5 years now, to challenge myself – I haven’t even tried it once, haha, maybe one day. There’s a few surfers i know who surf switch – it’s pretty cool. Butch Van Artsdalen was a pretty cool old school switch stancer too.
Do we have the leash to blame for not learning to go switch in the beginning?