Just Talking
Just Talking
I am the type of person who will go out and get something before I try it. 99.9% of the time I am spot on. For example, surfing.
I went, what seemed like years, without trying a new sport. Bike, eat, nap, talk about biking, bike, and pass out. By chance, I started working with a company that flew me to San Diego, CA to coach indoor cycling at a convention. I know you’re thinking, “more biking?” Yes more biking, but the trade-off was amazing. I had never been to California nor touched the Pacific Ocean.
While there, I worked with Missy Giove. For those of you who don’t know Missy, she is former world champion downhill mountain biker and avid motocross enthusiast. She sets her bar high and loves to raise the bar even higher when it comes to sports.
I was a third wheel in the back seat of her pimped out truck as she and her girlfriend drove to the local San Diego beach break. With windows down and cool ocean air rolling in, this is what was in the truck besides three humans: Two tiny dogs, their toys, and their tiny attitudes, rocking music, and clothes and gear for every sport. These included a custom baby blue downhill mountain bike, wetsuit, surfboard, and two motocross bikes tethered down in the back with all the accoutrements. Oh, helmets. Lots of helmets.
I dropped my window and the dog hair started flying. I remember thinking, “Something is about to go down! Bring IT!”
We jumped out of the 6 inch lifted truck and Missy “The Missile” suited up while talking about surfing. With her towel wrapped around her and frantically tugging at her wetsuit, she let me know she’d only just gotten into surfing.
The love and excitement she exuded at that moment was palpable. Like a three year old reaching for candy, she grabbed her board and applied last minute wax. It was her first surfboard; a shorty a/k/a a short board. I knew most beginners started on a longboard because of its stability, so starting on a shorty was impressive.
With the shorty slung under Missy’s arm, we quickly crossed the wide beach towards the chill Pacific water. The last thing I remember Missy saying before paddling into the water was, “I got this,” and off she went into the local break. Some people might hear that comment as cocky, but I understood. With the heart of an athlete and champion, you can only live in a world of confidence and have no doubt. You simply believe and do.
With confidence high, Missy cruised out towards the other local surfers. For the unfamiliar, surfer’s can be very territorial. We call it “localism” and it’s prevalent all over the world. Surfers get all hyped about whether or not you were born and raised on a particular break with the attitude of, “If you aren’t a local, we’ll take your lifted truck and drop it to the ground with your little Totos too.”
Missy paddled right into the line-up of surfers. The waves were coming in head high and she blended right in with all the other black suited surfers. I couldn’t tell which one she was until she came out of the surf saying, “No problem out there. They gave me a little ‘tude, but it was fine. I gotta work at this.”
Later that day, I strolled the strip along the beach. I checked out every surf shop comparing gear, brands, boards, and vibe. One shop had a super deal on wetsuits and that’s when it happened. At that moment I was 99.9% sure that I would like surfing. I bought a wetsuit, jammed it in my suitcase and flew back to Boston.
I remember opening the suitcase to the overpowering smell of that black stretchy material. Quicksilver “cell tech” liquid seam-sealed goodness; the material that would keep me warm and toasty in New England water. “The last suit I’ll ever wear” in true “Men In Black” style.
A few weeks later, I was putting on that wetsuit for the first time at “The Wall” in New Hampshire. It was the first hurricane swell of the season. Great small waves for a first timer...NOT. My New Zealand neighbor was there handing me his wife’s surfboard to use. My other buddy Andy, who had surfed Costa Rica and Bali, was asking me if I was all set to go. I had no idea what I was getting into. I said, “Yes,” knowing that I had a 99.9% chance I would survive. No doubt.
The wash off the ocean was larger than any waves I had been out in before...and this was just the white wash. We hadn’t even gotten to the waves yet. My buds yelled out some directions, “move up on the board,” “just like you’re swimming.” They quickly broke through the wash and impact zone. I wasn’t so lucky.
For what seemed like half an hour, maybe more, I struggled in that impact zone. Wave after dark, heavy wave pummeled me. I never knew how powerful a 6 foot + wave could be. I felt like a slinky getting pushed the wrong way down steep steps. If there was a taffy pulling machine for humans, this would be the turbo setting.
I finally just put my head down and kept paddling. I wanted it so badly, to get out there and have my shot at catching a wave. What I dreamt would be easy, like Gidget giving her little Gidget hand wave after singing a Gidget song, became one of the most physically demanding moments I’ve ever experienced.
Then like the silence after an explosive firework finale, a giant wave rushed over me. I broke through the cold, green wave to the freedom and the serenity of the lineup. There were tons of surfers out there straddling their boards waiting for the next set of waves. I pushed my hair from my eyes and saw Andy laughing at me, exclaiming, “You made it!”
The rest of this surf story Andy likes to tell, much to my humiliation.
I look back at that first day of surfing and smile. I smile knowing that I was 99.9% sure that the wetsuit would be a good purchase. Time for more gear and much to the frustration of the sales person at the surf shop, I knew I didn’t need to start on a buoyant longboard. Instead I bought a custom, short Shane Smith surfboard. Just like Missy, I knew what I wanted and that I would learn quickly. This year I have surfed almost every month. Even in the dead of winter, I squeeze into my black suit, kick back some coffee and paddle out for a fix. I know that I have a 99.9% chance of freezing my butt off, but I don’t mind.
I probably ought to say I am 99.9% excited about ViVe and the success we all can achieve, but that wouldn’t be true. I am 100%, take-all-my-chips-at-the table, excited about ViVe. This website is the black wetsuit; a “purchase” that has been made without trying the rest of the sport. It is Missy’s confident, athletic tone, “I got this,” and seeing past the “localism” one might encounter; the doubtful giving you a cold shoulder and talking smack when you do something different. It is going to happen and I am ready; Vive ready. Ready to give 100% until I reach the lineup. I can say this because I am 99.9% spot on. ;)
Peace and strength,
Jon Malone
99.9% ViVe
Tuesday, September 16, 2008