It's easy to spot which is which at a glance, but can you really tell the difference between zinc and regular sunscreen?

If you spend hours in the water, you're also subjecting yourself to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Simultaneously, saltwater, sweat, wind, and repeated wiping can quickly turn a good layer of sunscreen into virtually nothing.

So, should surfers use zinc sunscreen or regular sunscreen?

The answer depends on what you value most, from water resistance and skin coverage to how often you want to reapply.

Although both types can provide effective UV protection, they work in different ways and behave differently in the water.

Shall we take a look at what separates them?

What is zinc sunscreen?

Zinc sunscreen typically uses zinc oxide as its active UV-filtering ingredient.

Zinc oxide is a mineral sunscreen ingredient that provides broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB radiation.

Rather than relying primarily on organic UV filters that absorb UV radiation, zinc oxide acts as a mineral UV filter that absorbs and scatters UV radiation at the skin's surface.

Its most obvious characteristic is its appearance.

Traditional zinc products can leave a noticeable white layer on the skin, which is why surfers have long been associated with white noses and cheeks.

Or in some other fancier versions of this product, colored faces.

Modern mineral sunscreens can use finely dispersed zinc oxide particles and may be much less visible, although the trade-off is often less of that classic thick zinc appearance.

In other words, it's like a physical barrier that protects your skin from UV radiation.

What is regular sunscreen?

"Regular sunscreen" usually refers to sunscreen based primarily on organic UV filters, sometimes called chemical filters.

We're talking about ingredients that absorb UV radiation and convert it into lower-energy forms before it can damage the skin.

They can offer excellent broad-spectrum protection and tend to spread more easily than traditional zinc products.

They are also generally less visible on the skin. And for surfers, that can be an advantage.

A sunscreen that feels light and disappears into the skin is less likely to interfere with wearing a wetsuit, rubbing against a surfboard, or simply walking around town after a session.

But the label matters more than whether a sunscreen is mineral or organic.

A surfer should look for broad-spectrum protection and strong water resistance, regardless of the type of UV filters used.

We've picked our favorite surfer skin protection shields already here on SurferToday.com.

Because whatever they'll tell you, not even tanning is healthy, let alone a sunburn.

Which lasts longer in the water?

Now, here's where things get more complicated.

Neither zinc nor regular sunscreen should be considered permanently waterproof.

Water-resistant sunscreen eventually loses effectiveness, particularly after prolonged time in the ocean, heavy sweating, towel drying, or repeated contact with a surfboard.

Some zinc-based formulas are thick and adhere well to the skin, which can make them feel particularly suited to surfing. But a thick layer does not automatically mean better or longer-lasting protection.

If you're a surfer, the most important factor is the product's stated water-resistance time and how consistently it is reapplied.

If you're paddling out for a long session, don't assume that one application before leaving home will protect you for the entire morning.

It won't. So take care.

Zinc has one major advantage for surfers

Zinc oxide can be particularly useful when you want targeted, high-visibility protection.

Think of the areas that receive the most punishment: the nose, cheekbones, lips and tops of the ears.

Applying a thicker layer of zinc to these high-exposure areas makes it easier to see where you've applied protection and where the layer has worn away.

That visibility can be useful in the ocean.

A surfer may not notice that a transparent sunscreen has disappeared from the nose until the skin starts turning red.

With traditional zinc, the protective layer is much easier to see.

Regular sunscreen has its own advantages

For everyday surfing, a modern regular sunscreen can be more convenient.

It generally spreads easily, leaves less visible residue, and can be more comfortable when applied over larger areas of the face, neck, and exposed body.

And this is something that matters because the best sunscreen is ultimately the one you will apply generously and reapply when necessary.

And we cannot stress this enough: please, do reapply.

A sunscreen that feels unpleasant, leaves an unwanted residue, or makes your eyes sting may encourage you to use less of it.

That defeats the purpose of choosing a theoretically excellent product.

What about sensitive skin?

But there is another area where individual skin response matters.

Some people find mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide more comfortable, while others prefer organic-filter formulas.

Neither category is automatically suitable for every sensitive skin type.

If a sunscreen causes irritation, burning, or persistent discomfort, switch products rather than simply applying less.

And remember that the eyes are particularly vulnerable during surfing.

Sunscreen running into your eyes while duck-diving under a wave is not only uncomfortable; it can temporarily affect your vision when you need it most.

So, which should surfers choose?

There is no universal winner.

Choose zinc if you want highly visible protection on vulnerable areas, prefer a mineral UV filter, or like a thicker formula for the nose, cheeks, and other high-exposure spots.

Choose regular sunscreen if you prefer a lighter, less visible formula that spreads easily over larger areas and feels comfortable during everyday use.

Actually, for many surfers, the smartest approach may be using both: a comfortable broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen over larger exposed areas, combined with zinc on the nose, cheekbones, lips, or other areas that need extra attention.

Whatever formula you choose, application matters more than the label.

Apply it before paddling out, use enough to adequately cover exposed skin, and reapply according to the product's instructions, especially after prolonged water exposure or towel drying.

The best sunscreen for surfing isn't necessarily the thickest, most expensive, or whitest one.

It's the sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection, stays on reasonably well in the water, and that you'll actually use properly every time you surf.

Please consider that. You're doing your skin and yourself a huge favor.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

Sixteen-year-old Australian Lucy Darragh and Indonesian tube specialist Rajo "Barrel" Saputra have won the 2026 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang after a spectacular day of surf at one of Bali's most famous waves.

The event, now in its 23rd year, waited until August 20 for the kind of conditions it was built around.

Padang Padang finally delivered a day of clean, powerful barrels, with 24 invited surfers competing on Bali's Bukit Peninsula.

The Rip Curl Cup has a one-month waiting period, running from August 1 to 31, during Indonesia's prime swell season.

The format is designed around a simple idea: wait for the right swell, then run the entire contest in a single day.

The limited field also means surfers have only 48 hours to reach Bali once the event receives the green light.

That patience paid off.

Padang Padang finally turns on

There had been an earlier chance to run the main event on August 11, but the waves did not have enough size and consistency.

A stronger Indian Ocean system then began to build, putting the competitors back on alert for August 20.

This time, the call was right. The 24 invitees arrived at Padang Padang for a full day of tube riding.

The field combined some of the world's best barrel riders with leading Indonesian talent, continuing the event's long-standing role as a meeting point for international stars and local surfers.

The competition used a Leaderboard format.

Every surfer surfed two non-elimination heats, with their two best scores counting toward their combined total. The four highest totals advanced to a winner-takes-all Final.

Men's Round 1 began with 16-year-old Australian Ocean Lancaster setting the early standard with the first excellent score of the day.

The following heat was much harder, leaving Varun Tandjung, Tommy Sobry, Taj Burrow and Bruce Irons with few opportunities to show their full potential.

Then came Rajo Saputra.

The Lakey Peak local posted an 8.17 and an 8.57 in his opening heat. It was an early warning that he was going to be a serious problem for the rest of the field.

Padang Padang became more active again in Round 2. Tosh Tudor moved up the leaderboard with a 9.50, but the standout heat came next.

Saputra and Dylan Wilcoxen both scored perfect 10s.

First alternate Makana Pang, who had received a late call-up after Craig Anderson withdrew, added two nine-point rides of his own.

The channel was filling with spectators and the atmosphere grew louder as the afternoon went on.

Before the Final, Pang led the standings with 19.26 points.

Saputra was second with 18.83, defending champion Westen Hirst had 18.20, and Tudor sat on 17.50.

Rajo Saputra wins with a 19.73

The men's Final quickly became one of those heats in which the scoring starts to look almost ridiculous.

All four finalists found waves in the excellent range. Each posted at least one nine-point ride.

Watching the action, Mason Ho summed up the difficulty of judging the scores when he said, "I don't even know how to tell the difference between the nines anymore."

Saputra eventually found the wave that separated him from the field.

He scored his second perfect 10 of the contest and followed it with a 9.73. His combined 19.73 out of a possible 20 points gave him the victory.

Hirst, Saputra's childhood friend and the defending champion, pushed hard and finished with a 9.50 and a 9.23. His 18.73 total was enough for second place, ahead of Tudor and Pang.

Saputra could barely speak after returning to the channel.

"I can't even talk right now, I'm so happy," he said.

"I had a dream last night that I was going to win the comp. It's crazy. My dad got second in this contest in 2006, so I'm so stoked to win it this year and bring it back home for him. I hope he is happy right now at home."

The result adds another chapter to the history of a contest that began in 2004.

The inaugural Rip Curl Cup was held at Uluwatu, while the 2005 edition produced six-foot Padang Padang surf and was won by Made "Bol" Adi Putra.

Since 2007, the event has brought leading international tube riders together with the best surfers from Padang and Bali.

Lucy Darragh controls the women's event

Darragh was just as convincing on the women's side.

The Australian teenager established herself immediately in Round 1, scoring an 8.13 and a near-perfect 9.93.

Defending champion Jasmine Studer answered with a 9.00 and an 8.50, while Hawaii's Vaihitimahana Inso posted an 8.07 and a 7.17.

Ruby Berry produced the only perfect 10 of the women's competition in the other opening-round heat. She found a long, hollow barrel that ran from the middle section all the way through the end of the wave.

Kailani Johnson also found a standout wave, earning an 8.17.

The second round was slightly slower, although Studer continued her form with another 8.50.

When the opening rounds were complete, Darragh led the women's leaderboard with 18.06 points. Studer had 17.50, Berry 17.17 and Inso 15.24.

Those four surfers advanced to the Final.

Berry started strongly. She won the first exchange with an 8.17 against Darragh's 7.50. But she could not find the second score she needed.

Darragh waited for her opportunity and then found it.

Her 9.00 ride secured the title, giving her a 16.50 final total. Berry finished with 12.74, Inso with 12.10, and Studer with 5.34.

"This is such a sick comp. I've been watching it for years, since I was a grom. I just can't believe I've won it," Darragh said.

"There's honestly no better feeling than just standing in a massive Padang tube. I'm so stoked."

Darragh's victory comes only two years after the Rip Curl Cup introduced a dedicated women's division.

The 2024 edition was the first time women had their own competition at the event.

The decision followed the 2022 appearance of 15-year-old Erin Brooks, who competed against the men and reached the Final, finishing fourth.

The 2026 field featured 24 invited surfers, split between 12 Indonesian surfers and 12 international competitors.

The event continues to present itself as Indonesia's longest-running surfing competition and one of the world's most exclusive tube-riding contests.

Competitive surfing has spent decades trying to solve a problem that other sports dealt with long ago.

A surf contest can be amazing to watch - online or on site - but it can also involve long waits, changing conditions and stretches when very little happens on screen.

The World Surf League (WSL) has built a global professional sport around individual surfers competing in heats.

But the new Surfing Super League (SSL) wants to try something different.

Set to launch in Australia in summer 2028, the Surfing Super League is a team competition designed around a 90-minute game.

Eight regional teams will compete along Australia's east coast, with four teams involved in each game.

The league is being created by former Surfing Australia CEO Chris Mater and is designed specifically for live television and a stronger connection between surfers, teams and local fans.

The idea is simple enough to explain in a few seconds.

Four surfers represent each team during a game, and they take turns surfing in a relay format. 

There are two 40-minute halves, a 10-minute halftime break, and a special Power Surfer who closes each half.

The team with the highest score wins.

The result is surfing that looks more like a conventional team sport without removing the part that makes surfing different.

How the Surfing Super League will work

Each SSL team will have six surfers: four men and two women. Every squad must contain at least one surfer from each of four talent groups.

The first is "Royalty", made up of Australian surfing icons and former stars. Owen Wright is given as an example.

The second is "Elite", which is aimed at Australia's leading competitive surfers outside the Championship Tour level. Sophie McCulloch is one example.

The third is the "Wildcard" category. Each team can have one surfer from outside its home market, including an international athlete. Jacob Wilcox is listed as an example.

The fourth is "Free Surfer", designed to give some of Australia's best free surfers a professional competition platform. Soli Bailey is one of the examples supplied by the league.

Six surfers are signed to a team, but only four compete in an individual game. The lineup consists of three men and one woman.

The competition begins with a start signal.

The first surfer paddles out, catches waves and scores before returning to tag the next teammate. The surfers continue rotating throughout the half, with no fixed limit on the number of waves they can ride.

That actually changes the rhythm of a surf contest.

Instead of watching one heat build around two or four surfers, viewers follow a team score that can change every time another surfer enters the water.

The first half lasts 40 minutes. The woman on each team serves as the Power Surfer. She starts the half and also rides the final scoring wave.

Then comes a 10-minute halftime break.

The teams switch for the second half, and a male surfer becomes the Power Surfer. He starts and finishes the second 40-minute period.

There is another twist at the end. Teams must finish the second half within the allotted time. If they fail to do so, they lose five points.

The entire game lasts 90 minutes.

Four teams compete in each game, meaning 16 surfers are in the water across the four teams. The league says the format is designed to leave almost no dead time.

The score at full time decides the winner. The teams collect points across the season before the leading sides meet in a single Grand Final.

Eight teams, one Australian coast

The SSL will be built around regional identity.

The eight teams will represent Sydney's Northern Beaches, Sydney South, Newcastle, the Northern Rivers, the Sunshine Coast, two Gold Coast teams and Melbourne.

The Gold Coast will therefore have its own local rivalry, with two franchises representing the same broad surf region.

The regular season will travel through seven markets: the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Northern Rivers, Newcastle, Sydney Northern Beaches, Sydney South and Melbourne.

Each stop is planned as a beach-stadium event, with grandstands, fan areas, music and local surf communities becoming part of the show.

The league plans seven rounds in a round-robin season, with two games scheduled each weekend across the tour markets. In total, the regular season is planned to contain 15 games and 30 hours of live television.

The season then ends with one winner-take-all Grand Final.

The structure is important because the SSL is selling more than individual performances. A surfer is expected to represent a place.

And that is familiar territory in Australian sport.

Fans can follow a team even when they do not know every surfer in the lineup. Rivalries can develop between regions.

A good result at the local beach can become something that belongs to the community rather than only to the surfer who earned the highest score.

The league is also expected to begin with ownership of all eight franchises before some teams are potentially sold to private owners.

Mater has said he is open to expanding the competition beyond its original markets.

Why the league wants to change the economics of surfing

The financial argument may be as important as the sporting one: the SSL says its players will be paid equally, regardless of gender.

Each team has six contracted surfers, and reporting on the launch says every athlete will receive an $89,000 contract for the eight-week season.

That would give surfers something that is often difficult to find outside the top levels of professional surfing: predictable income.

The problem is especially relevant to Australian surfers trying to reach the WSL Championship Tour, the elite of professional competitive surfing.

The established pathway requires athletes to travel and compete internationally on the WSL's lower tiers. Travel, accommodation and competition costs can quickly become a major burden.

Mater argues that the decline of financial support from traditional surf brands has made this pathway harder for athletes who do not immediately reach the top level.

The SSL is intended to give those surfers a professional domestic platform while they continue developing.

McCulloch, one of the surfers associated with the project, has also pointed to the value of guaranteed income and the ability to spend more time developing as an athlete instead of constantly finding ways to finance an international competition schedule.

There is another attraction for experienced surfers.

The SSL is offering a team environment and a competition that stays in Australia.

Former world champions Layne Beachley and Joel Parkinson, along with Owen Wright, have indicated that they are interested in returning to competitive surfing for the new league.

Wright's possible return is particularly interesting because the SSL is giving retired surfers a reason to compete that is different from chasing another individual world ranking.

The league's format could therefore create space for athletes who sit in an awkward gap between elite professional surfing and retirement.

The SSL versus the WSL

The biggest difference is that the WSL is built around individual surfers and a world championship, while the SSL is built around teams and individual games.

The WSL season is also global; the SSL is almost the opposite.

Its first season is domestic. It stays on Australia's east coast. Its teams are regional. Its games have a fixed 90-minute structure.

The WSL also determines its world champions through accumulated results.

The SSL has no equivalent individual world ranking. Its central question is much simpler: which team scores more points in the game?

That difference could make the SSL easier for a casual viewer to understand.

The WSL has been simplifying its own competition format for 2026, but the basic unit remains the heat.

The SSL replaces that unit with the game. Could it be fun to follow and watch?

A different answer to surfing's television problem

Surfing has an obvious television disadvantage: the ocean does not follow a schedule.

A football game can start at 7:30 pm and finish around two hours later. A surf contest has to wait for waves.

The waiting period may last several days, and even when competition is running, conditions can change quickly.

The SSL is trying to reduce that problem with a format that can adjust to the conditions.

The league says the course length, wave targets and scoring can be changed when the surf is poor. The goal is to decide the match rather than wait for perfect waves.

That is a major departure from the traditional contest mindset.

A WSL event is judged against the quality of the waves available at a particular location. The SSL is designed to make the competition itself more flexible.

The difference matters for broadcasting.

The SSL is targeting two 90-minute games in prime weekend slots, with a 10-minute halftime and a clear finish.

The league has also said it has received two broadcast offers, including one from Kayo Sports.

Instead of asking viewers to check whether the surf contest is running, the product is intended to give them a game they can sit down and watch.

What the team format could add to surfing

The most interesting change may happen inside the surfers' heads.

In a normal surf contest, a surfer's score belongs to that surfer. In the SSL, every wave can affect six teammates, the regional identity of the team, and its position in the season.

A surfer who catches a wave can immediately hand the responsibility to another teammate.

That creates tactical possibilities that do not exist in a standard individual heat.

A team may need to decide when to use its strongest surfers, how to respond to changing conditions, and how aggressively to chase a deficit.

The Power Surfer rule adds another layer. Each half has a designated surfer who starts and finishes the period, giving the final wave a clear place in the story of the game.

It also gives women a defined role in every game.

One woman must surf for every team in each match, and the first half's Power Surfer is a woman. Because squads contain two women, teams must build enough depth to cover that role across the season.

The league says men and women will be paid the same.

That obviously does not make the SSL a replacement for the women's WSL Championship Tour.

It creates a different competitive product in which men and women share the same team structure and contribute to the same result.

A domestic league with a bigger ambition

The SSL is being launched as an Australian competition, but its stated purpose reaches beyond a summer of beach events.

Mater has described the league as a way to strengthen Australia's development system and keep talented surfers inside professional surfing for longer.

The broader aim is to improve the depth of Australian talent available for future world titles and Olympic competition.

That could make the SSL a useful partner to the WSL rather than a direct replacement for it.

The two systems would reward different skills.

The WSL remains the place where surfers compete for the world's biggest individual title and travel to the most important waves on the professional calendar.

The SSL would give Australian surfers a paid domestic competition with teams, local rivalries and a much tighter television format.

There is room for both.

The biggest test will come when the first games are actually played. A relay can sound exciting on paper, but surfing is still surfing. Waves arrive when they want, not when a television producer wants them.

The SSL's success will depend on whether its rules can turn that uncertainty into part of the spectacle without making the competition feel artificial.

For a sport that has spent decades waiting for the next set, that may be the most important experiment of all.

Hopefully, it won't have the same fate as football's European Super League, an alternative tournament which at some point was led by Real Madrid but never saw the light of day.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

A surfer checking the tide chart before paddling out probably isn't thinking about the Moon, Earth's rotation, or the mechanics of the solar system.

They're thinking about whether the reef will have enough water over it, whether the sandbar will finally start working, or whether the waves are going to improve as the tide comes in.

Fair enough.

But there's something about that tide chart that most surfers probably don't know.

The tides are slowly changing the length of Earth's days.

NASA notes that tidal interactions have been slowing Earth's rotation for billions of years. And we have geological evidence showing just how different Earth once was.

For example, sedimentary records in South Australia indicate that around 620 million years ago, a day on Earth lasted only about 21.9 hours.

So, yes, your tide chart is connected to a planet that is very, very slowly changing.

How does that happen?

The ocean acts like a brake

You probably already know the basic story.

The Moon's gravity pulls on Earth and its oceans, creating the tidal bulges responsible for the rise and fall of sea level.

But there's a little more going on.

Earth is rotating once roughly every 24 hours, while the Moon takes about 27.3 days to orbit Earth.

The two movements don't line up perfectly, and the tidal bulges are dragged slightly ahead of the Moon as Earth spins.

Then comes the ocean itself.

Tidal water doesn't move around a smooth, frictionless planet. It encounters coastlines, shallow seas, continental shelves, underwater ridges, and the seafloor.

All that movement generates friction and dissipates some of the energy involved in Earth's rotation.

Think of it as a tiny brake on the planet. It isn't a brake you'll ever feel. Your surf session won't suddenly become 23 hours and 59 minutes long.

But over geological time, even a tiny effect can become significant. And that's where things get really interesting.

Earth's days are getting longer

Tides and Earth's rotation might seem like two completely separate things.

They aren't.

Some of the rotational energy that keeps Earth spinning is transferred into the tidal system and eventually dissipated as heat. As a result, Earth's rotation gradually slows.

And when Earth spins more slowly, the length of the day increases. The change is incredibly small on a human timescale.

Nobody is going to check the clock halfway through a surf and discover that Tuesday has mysteriously gained an extra minute.

But go back hundreds of millions of years and the difference becomes much easier to see.

Earth used to rotate faster.

That means a year contained more days than it does today - not because Earth needed longer to travel around the Sun, but because each day was shorter.

The ancient Earth was, quite literally, spinning faster. And that brings us back to the water washing over the reef in front of you.

Every tide is part of the same process.

And the Moon is moving away

There's another remarkable side effect.

As Earth's rotation loses energy through tidal interactions, some of that energy is transferred to the Moon's orbit.

The Moon responds by gradually moving farther away from Earth.

Today, the Moon is receding at roughly 3.8 centimeters per year. That's not exactly something you'll notice during your next dawn patrol.

At that rate, the Moon only moves about as far as the length of a fingernail in a year. But geological time has a way of making tiny numbers much more interesting.

Over hundreds of millions of years, centimeters become kilometers.

So two things are happening at the same time: Earth is gradually spinning more slowly, and the Moon is gradually moving farther away.

The tides are part of the connection between them.

Not bad for the water level you were checking before paddling out.

The tide that shapes your surf session

Of course, surfers experience tides in a much more immediate way.

A few centimeters or tens of centimeters of water can make a huge difference to a wave.

A rising tide can cover a shallow reef, change the depth over a sandbar or alter the way a wave breaks.

A falling tide can expose rocks, change currents and turn an average-looking lineup into something completely different.

But there's no universal "high-tide wave" or "low-tide wave."

The Moon may be responsible for the gravitational force behind the tides, but the coastline and seafloor decide how that tidal energy behaves locally.

Continental shelves, underwater ridges, reefs, bays, estuaries, and the shape of the coastline all influence how tidal waves travel through the ocean.

That's why two peaks relatively close to each other can have very different tidal ranges and timing.

It's also why local knowledge matters.

Locals and experienced surfers don't just know whether a spot works on a rising or falling tide. They know how that particular wave responds to changing water levels.

Some breaks wake up as the tide fills in; others start firing as the water drains away. Some have a very narrow window when everything comes together.

Every surf break has its own relationship with the tide.

Rocks that remember ancient tides

And here's where the story gets even more fascinating.

Scientists don't have to rely entirely on computer models or old observations to understand how tides behaved in the distant past.

Rocks can remember them.

Certain sedimentary deposits, known as tidal rhythmites, contain layers produced by repeating tidal cycles.

By studying those patterns, scientists can investigate how Earth's tides behaved hundreds of millions of years ago.

These geological records offer clues about a very different Earth - one where the planet was rotating faster, and the Moon was closer.

In a sense, they're geological tide charts that have been sitting around for hundreds of millions of years.

No surf forecast, smartphone app, or tide table pinned to the refrigerator: just layers of rock recording the rhythm of an ancient ocean.

And if you're a surfer, there's something pretty cool about that.

The same gravitational relationship that helps determine whether your favorite wave works at high tide has been shaping Earth's oceans - and leaving traces in its rocks - for hundreds of millions of years.

So the next time you check the tide before paddling out, remember that you're watching a small part of a planetary process that is slowing Earth down, pushing the Moon away and changing the length of our days.

All while you're waiting for the next set. Isn't that fun and exciting?

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

I am not a surf instructor, and I never wanted to be. Yet, I have casually taught fewer than a handful of people to surf in over 35 years of surfing. Last Saturday, I taught three in a row and confirmed an old adage (related to surfboards).

In over three decades, I have kept my love of surfing to myself.

I have never forced, imposed, or gotten my friends and family excited to join me and try to get up on a surfboard. If they don't show interest, it's OK.

Besides, they know who to call when the subject is surfing... and London.

Therefore, because I have never been pushy with others about my hobbies (the same applies to indoor climbing), my contribution to spreading the stoke or increasing the crowd factor is not particularly relevant.

Not guilty, I guess.

Congrats, you're a surfer

However, life has crazy days reserved for us.

Suddenly, what was supposed to be my father's 80th birthday party quickly transformed into a "massive" surfing baptism for three girls of different ages.

We were just checking the surf after eating the anniversary cake. Our goal was never to paddle on a full belly - just feel the sea breeze and the vibes.

But, hey, some things happen for a reason, and the quick beach check quickly escalated into a "let-us-all-go-surfing" session.

Suddenly, I had an eight- and a ten-year-old begging to try surfing for the first time. One of them was my niece.

I have to admit I wanted them to succeed so badly, I took a long, wide, and thick surfboard out to the water.

The two children were really skinny and light, and I thought I could have more chances of becoming their surf hero if I could get them up and riding on their first whitewater waves.

And I wasn't wrong. So, I put all the money into the largest board - in length and volume - I could take.

The old lesson that says, "the bigger the board, the easier it is to stand up and ride," is still valid.

And then, with youngsters, everything gets easier and easier.

The "boat" that I took worked wonders. They needed just a couple of waves to adjust to the initial bumpiness of the rumbling whitewash.

After that introduction, stoke and addiction took over.

The girls were so over the moon and full of joy that they wanted the board just for them. They wanted all the waves that existed.

They just couldn't stop catching waves - nonstop, back and forth. And their smiles told me everything I needed to fill up my soul.

Children, especially pre-teenagers, have an overwhelming stock of energy that seems to recharge itself via enthusiasm.

At some point, I was exhausted. I was sending them into the waves constantly, and they were showing no signs of fatigue.

The rides went for 50 yards or more. On and on.

A 46-year-old standing up at the second ride

But it wasn't over.

I had one more challenge I wanted to tick from my list of surfing accomplishments: an adult mother in her mid-40s who had never lain on a surfboard.

Could I make her experience the ultimate thrill of the water world?

"Come here," I told her. "Seriously, try it."

And so I pushed her on three waves. In one of them, she stood up and glided for a few seconds.

"Congratulations, sir!" I told my inflated ego. "You've made it!"

The Triple Crown of Surfing Baptisms had been concluded, and the trick was just an old recipe.

If you're a first-timer or a beginner surfer, get a really big board to get things started. It's really worth it.

You'll skip consecutive frustrations and ride attempts, unnecessary wipeouts, and the belief that surfing is hard.

It isn't. It's easy and should be a joyful experience from the get-go.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

The words of Zachary Payne have and carry deep meaning. They come from the depth of someone who truly feels surfing.

In the age of social media and inner entertainment ruled by short video clips and fast content, there is not much space for poets anymore.

Let alone surf poets.

Zachary Payne is one of the few who are building bridges between the spiritual side and essence of wave-riding and that treasure world of words and literature.

SurferToday.com has been the home of surf poetry for quite a while, thanks to this elite club of those who refuse to shut down one of humanity's last enclaves of intelligence and thought.

Payne publicly revealed "Where Did the Stoke Go?" at the 17th annual Honolulu Surf Film Festival at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA).

The night was curated by The Surf Poet Society, which is a grassroots network of artists and arts movement founded on Oahu.

It brings together surfers, ocean lovers, poets, and visual artists to celebrate the artistic and spiritual side of surf and alternative surf culture.

Before reading the poem, Zach gave a short intro where he shared a bit of background about the piece and a humorous story about the very first time he shared it.

He explained that the poem is about surfing, but it's also about poetry itself and the creative process - how poems come, how they sometimes get stuck, and how they eventually take shape.

In this particular case, one morning while driving to Hawaii's Sandy's, the poem suddenly started pouring into his mind.

Payne was composing and finishing it in his head as he drove.

When he arrived and got out of his car, he spotted legendary waterman Mark Cunningham checking the surf.

Zachary walked right up to him and blurted out: "Mark, I'm gonna read you a poem!" admitting he probably scared Mark a little.

Now, you, dear reader, have the chance to read the written words. Please, enjoy.

'Where Did the Stoke Go?"

"Where did the stoke go?" is a great title for a piece in which I thought I would explore the loss of the mystical and the magical,
The loss of desire, or the dying of the flickering spark.
First with poetic definitions to set the stage:
Embers are tiny smoldering pieces left of the dying fire. To stoke is to encourage, to incite, to feed the fire so that it will intensify.

The poem stalled here, and sat and waited, and waited, and waited.

After some time, in an attempt to continue it, I came up with some catching questions, and I ask:
Where did you lose your stoke? Or should I ask when?
Was it in the need of getting the shot, or making the post?
Was it in the competition of having to get the score,
Or the need to always go for more, more, more?

The poem stalled again as if it didn't want to be written. I'm not one to force a poem;
They will go where they want to go, when they want to go, if they want to go at all.
For this reason, I have plenty of titles and half-written items, sticky notes and phone memos - all stalled, stuck in waiting.

But then after months, maybe years, something happens, and a thread appears.
I don't know many sages, and I don't really hang with wise men, but I have two daughters,
And kids do say the darndest things.

For example, the other day as we're driving home from the shop, my daughter was looking at a surf mag,
And she said, "I don't want to be a competition surfer, Dad. I want to surf like you."
In my mind, I thought, "an out-of-shape, middle-aged bodysurfer."

But I replied, "A soul surfer?"
She said, "No, not a soul surfer, Dad. A love surfer."
"A love surfer?"
"Yeah, a love surfer, Dad. Out there simply because you love it."

The lights went on, the celestial music started to play, and I was filled with pride,

Because my daughter sees me as a love surfer.

Not out there because I'm good - mostly average, not radical, not extreme.
Not out there in search of sponsors or money or accolades.
Not out there in pursuit of Nirvana or trying to find the true meaning of the universe.
Only out there because I love it.

Because I love straight-running knee-high crumblers with my girls.
I love chasing the whomp and the two seconds of glorious vision.
I love having a sore back and a neck that hurts every time I look to the left.
I love Wawamalu and the Sandy's morning crew - retirees that hear on a daily from an uninformed that they are "too old." Catch me in 20 years, life goals!

I love the nicks, the scrapes that become scars from the shallow reefs.
I love the playground, love the long stylish rights,
The lully days where one is more buoy than rider.
I love my wife - God, she's amazing, mi compañera.
And I love when a poem goes... I love when poems go free, free-flowing. What an adventure!

And I love those days - those days when it's inspiring, and after a few good ones you feel so full,
And you stay past the leg cramps, just swimming because there's perfection in the moment.

Yeah, a love surfer... out there simply because you love it.

And after many months and plenty of wondering, this poem has come full circle and found its end.
But I leave you with this one question:

Where did the stoke go?
Or should I ask when?

Words by Zachary Payne | Spanish Teacher and Bodysurfer

Imagine enjoying a day at a wave pool like you're playing a video game in which you are one of the characters with goals and a mission.

Flowstate is adding a new layer to the wave pool experience by turning every surf session into part of an ongoing game.

The Australian surf technology company has launched Flowstate Game Modes, a points-based gaming platform that rewards surfers for what happens on every wave while helping surf parks encourage repeat visits. 

The system is already running at URBNSURF Sydney, URBNSURF Melbourne, Atlantic Park Surf, Lost Shore, and will soon expand to SurfTown MUC before reaching more parks in Flowstate's global network.

Instead of treating each booking as a standalone session, the platform connects every ride to leaderboards, achievements, seasonal competitions, and rewards.

But how does this work?

Every wave now earns points

Flowstate's gaming engine is built on the company's artificial intelligence model, which already analyzes individual waves and surfing performance.

Each session earns points based on factors such as the number of waves caught, ride length, and the difficulty of completed maneuvers.

Operators can then build different games on top of the same scoring engine, each with its own objectives, rules, and bonus multipliers.

According to Flowstate, the AI automatically calculates scores for every wave after park operators define the rules of each competition.

"The Flowstate AI model was built from the ground up to understand exactly what happens on a wave; every maneuver, every section, every ride in full context," said Chris Hausler, Flowstate's co-founder and chief technology officer.

"Whether it's getting to your feet for the first time, surfing backside or pulling into a barrel, every moment is scored with weighted handicap points designed to find a winner across every level of surfer."

The company says the handicap system allows beginners, intermediate surfers, and advanced riders to compete fairly by comparing performances against surfers of similar ability rather than against the strongest surfers in the lineup.

Solving the return visit problem

For most surf parks, attracting first-time visitors is only part of the business challenge.

Keeping those guests coming back regularly is far more valuable.
Flowstate believes gamification can help solve that problem without relying on discounts.

"Every wave pool operator is chasing the same thing: a surfer who books once and keeps coming back," said Mike Mortimer, Flowstate's co-founder and chief product officer.

"Flowstate Game Modes gives us the most powerful rebooking engine we've ever had. When every session earns points, unlocks achievements, and puts your name on a leaderboard, the reason to book your next session is built into the experience itself."

The company says the platform applies ideas borrowed from behavioral science rather than relying only on rankings.

Small rewards can be earned quickly to encourage regular participation. Daily, monthly, and seasonal competitions provide longer-term goals. 

Public recognition also plays a role, with surfers earning titles such as "Barrel Hunter of the Day."

Flowstate also attempts to change the emotional response to failure. In one game, even a wipeout can trigger rewards that encourage surfers to keep progressing instead of leaving frustrated.

Four games with different goals

Rather than offering one universal leaderboard, Flowstate has introduced four branded competitions, each targeting different surfing behaviors and commercial objectives.

"Everyday Hero" is designed as a handicap competition that anyone can enter. Surfers collect points throughout daily, monthly, and season-long rankings regardless of their ability level.

"Barrel Hunter" rewards tube riding. Every AI-verified barrel adds to a surfer's score, with the best performers earning recognition and prizes.

"Wipeout Roulette" turns crashes into opportunities. After selected wipeouts, surfers can receive AI coaching feedback, technical tips, or offers for in-pool coaching sessions. The idea is to introduce surfers to coaching services they might not have requested on their own.

"Winter Warrior" focuses on participation during quieter months. The seasonal challenge rewards surfers who log the highest number of waves through winter, helping operators increase demand during traditionally slower periods.

Inspired by arcades and Topgolf

Flowstate says its approach reflects a broader consumer trend toward competitive social experiences.

Luke Wallace, Flowstate's co-founder and chief executive officer, said the company studied businesses outside surfing while developing the platform.

"Driving and maintaining high levels of utilization across the week, the month and throughout the seasonal cycle of the year is the key goal of any surf park operator," Wallace said.

"Consumer spending habits are currently more reserved, and people have been more conservative with their spending."

He added that Flowstate looked at experiences including Topgolf, virtual reality attractions, and traditional arcades to understand how other industries encourage repeat participation and build customer loyalty.

A marathon put the scoring engine to work

Before the commercial launch, Flowstate tested the platform during a 12-hour surf marathon at URBNSURF Sydney.

Australian endurance surfer Blakey Johnston and Red Bull snowboarder Valentino Guseli competed while the AI scored every ride across three different game modes.

Johnston finished ahead in Barrel Hunter, scoring 2,611 points against Guseli's 1,793. He also won "Everyday Hero" with 7,046 points compared with 6,114.

Guseli's aggressive approach produced a different outcome in "Wipeout Roulette." He recorded 75 wipeouts compared with Johnston's 19 and won that leaderboard by 25,266 points to 6,572.

The results highlighted how different games reward different surfing styles rather than favoring only traditional performance metrics.

More than entertainment

The platform also gives surf park operators additional ways to manage their business.

Operators can apply scoring multipliers to encourage bookings during quieter hours or less popular periods. Leaderboards can support sponsorships through branded prizes and seasonal competitions.

Wipeout Roulette also introduces surfers to coaching, AI video analysis, and one-on-one instruction, creating new revenue opportunities alongside standard surf sessions.

Flowstate says Game Modes currently operates across surf parks using five different wave-making technologies around the world.

The launch marks the second phase of the company's rollout strategy.

During August 2026, Flowstate plans to publish its first utilization and leaderboard data before demonstrating the platform to surf park operators at the Surf Park Summit, which takes place in Virginia Beach from September 1 to 3.

As wave pools continue to grow beyond simple surfing venues into destinations built around community, coaching, and technology, competitive gaming may soon become as familiar as choosing which wave setting to book next.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

Every surfer has experienced it: you paddle out feeling either too full or completely empty.

Halfway through the session, your shoulders begin to fade, your reactions slow, and every wave seems just a little harder to catch.

Choosing what to eat before surfing is not only about satisfying hunger but also about giving your body the right fuel at the right time.

Unlike running or cycling, surfing combines prolonged aerobic exercise with repeated bursts of high-intensity effort.

A typical session can involve constant paddling, duck dives, sprinting to catch waves, quick pop-ups, and maneuvering the surf line like crazy.

That means your pre-surf meal needs to deliver steady energy, support muscular endurance, avoid digestive discomfort, and leave you feeling light enough to move freely in the water.

Finding that balance isn't always easy, but we've got you covered.

One simple brunch checks all those boxes. It's SurferToday's recipe.

SurferToday's power brunch bowl

The following breakfast is designed to be eaten about 60 to 90 minutes before paddling out.

It's quick to prepare, easy to digest, and provides a balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and hydration.

In other words, you'll get sustained energy for paddling, stable blood sugar, adequate protein to protect muscles, hydration-supporting ingredients, and minimal foods that tend to cause stomach discomfort in the water.

Please give it a try.

Preparation time

• Preparation: 8 minutes
• Cooking: 4-5 minutes
• Total: 12-15 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup (50 g) rolled oats;
• 200 ml milk or unsweetened oat milk;
• 170 g plain Greek yogurt;
• 1 medium banana;
• ½ cup blueberries;
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts;
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds;
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds;
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional);
• Pinch of cinnamon;
• 2 eggs;
• 500 ml water (with a small pinch of sea salt on particularly hot days if desired);

How to make it

Begin by cooking the rolled oats in the milk over medium heat until they reach a creamy consistency.

While the oats cook, prepare two eggs using your preferred method - boiled, poached, or lightly scrambled all work well.

Transfer the cooked oats into a bowl and top them with the Greek yogurt, sliced banana, blueberries, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, and, if you'd like a touch of sweetness, a drizzle of honey.

Serve the eggs alongside the bowl and drink the water while you eat.

The result is a meal containing roughly 650 to 700 calories, about 35 to 40 grams of protein, 70 to 80 grams of carbohydrates, and enough healthy fats to keep you satisfied without slowing digestion.

Why this breakfast works so well before surfing

The secret about SurferToday's breakfast is how each food complements the others. Here's why we included each one of them in your meal.

Greek yogurt provides high-quality protein

Greek yogurt introduces high-quality protein through both whey and casein.

These proteins help reduce muscle breakdown, promote satiety, and begin supporting recovery before you've even left the beach.

Calcium from the yogurt also plays a vital role in muscle contraction.

Oats provide long-lasting carbohydrates

Rolled oats form the nutritional foundation of the meal.

Their complex carbohydrates release energy gradually thanks to soluble fiber known as beta-glucan.

Rather than producing a rapid spike and crash in blood sugar, oats provide a slow, steady supply of glucose that helps sustain paddling over long sessions.

Cinnamon may help moderate blood sugar

Even the pinch of cinnamon has a purpose.

Besides adding flavor without additional sugar, some research suggests cinnamon may help support healthy blood glucose regulation, although its effects are relatively modest.

Banana supplies quick-access energy

The banana serves a different purpose.

Its carbohydrates are absorbed more quickly, providing readily available energy shortly after eating, while its potassium contributes to normal muscle and nerve function.

Although cramps have many possible causes, potassium remains an important electrolyte for active surfers.

Eggs add complete protein

The two eggs complete the protein profile.

Eggs naturally contain all nine essential amino acids, including leucine, which is particularly important for stimulating muscle protein synthesis.

Even though surfing isn't traditionally thought of as a strength sport, hours of paddling place significant demands on the shoulders, chest, upper back, and arms.

Blueberries provide antioxidants

Blueberries bring more than color to the bowl.

Rich in anthocyanins and other antioxidant compounds, they help support the body's natural response to the oxidative stress generated by prolonged exercise and exposure to sunlight.

While no single food dramatically accelerates recovery, regularly eating antioxidant-rich fruits contributes to a healthy overall diet.

Nuts and seeds provide healthy fats

Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds provide healthy unsaturated fats alongside magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, and plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

These nutrients contribute to cardiovascular health, muscle function, and recovery.

The quantities remain modest because excessive fat before exercise can delay stomach emptying and leave surfers feeling sluggish.

Don't forget hydration

Many surfers unknowingly arrive at the beach already dehydrated. It happens more frequently than you might think.

Time spent driving to the coast, early morning starts, warm weather, and even cool-water sessions can leave the body short on fluids before the first paddle.

So, drinking around half a liter of water with breakfast helps start the session properly hydrated.

On particularly hot days or after heavy sweating, adding a small pinch of salt may help replace some of the sodium lost through perspiration.

Timing is almost as important as the meal

For most surfers, eating this breakfast about one hour before entering the water strikes the right balance between digestion and energy availability.

If you're planning a particularly large breakfast, allowing closer to two hours gives your body more time to digest comfortably.

On the other hand, if dawn patrol calls and you're paddling out within half an hour of waking up, reducing the portion size and skipping the nuts and seeds makes the meal easier to tolerate.

We hope it works for you. Let us know.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

It's surprising how much professional surfing and professional tennis have in common.

Both sports travel the world, both reward athletes with ranking points based on their results, both use rankings to seed competitors and determine entry into elite events, and both also rely on a development pathway that allows rising talent to earn a place among the world's best.

On top of that, both sports share a similar tournament ladder format at each event that takes place in different countries with different conditions (beach, point, or reef breaks, and clay, grass, or hard courts).

Yet one very important difference separates them.

Tennis celebrates the player who performs best over an entire year. Surfing no longer does.

That difference has become one of the biggest talking and controversial points in competitive surfing since the World Surf League (WSL) introduced the Finals format in 2021.

The change created a dramatic finish to the season, but it also changed the meaning of the world title.

Instead of recognizing the surfer who performed best across every event, the championship is now decided in a single day between the top five surfers in the rankings.

Looking at how professional tennis handles rankings and championships offers a potentially interesting alternative that could eventually be worth exploring.

Tennis separates rankings from championships

Modern tennis has no official world champion. And that could maybe shock surf fans. But let's see.

Instead, the sport recognizes the ATP and WTA World No. 1 players. 

Those rankings are built over a rolling 52-week period and reflect consistent performance across dozens of tournaments, something surf fans were praising about the pre-WSL finals era.

At the end of the season, the top players also compete in the ATP Finals and WTA Finals. Winning those tournaments is a major achievement, but it does not determine who finishes the year as World No. 1.

The distinction is simple.

One title recognizes excellence over an entire season. The other rewards the player who wins the final tournament.

Fans understand both achievements. Neither diminishes the other.

So, in tennis' case, there are not men's and women's world champions getting crowned every year.

Surfing once operated in a similar way.

For decades, the surfer who collected the most points over the season became world champion.

That changed when the WSL introduced the Finals, where the top five surfers compete for the title regardless of how large the points gap may have been during the regular season.

But does this format truly reflect what a surfing season means to dozens of athletes?

Consistency deserves recognition

Surfing is one of the few professional sports where athletes compete in a changing natural environment.

In other words, no two heats are identical.

Wave size changes, wind shifts constantly, tides rise and fall, peaks move, some heats offer several excellent waves, while others produce long periods of waiting with very few scoring opportunities.

So, those Nature-dependent variables make athletic consistency even more valuable.

A surfer who repeatedly reaches quarterfinals, semifinals and finals at different waves around the world demonstrates an ability to adapt to many conditions. That's indisputable.

Therefore, that achievement tells more about performance and talent than a single day of competition.

A season-long world ranking reflects that body of work.

It also rewards surfers who perform well at reef breaks, beach breaks, point breaks, challenging barrels and small waves.

Excelling across that variety has always been one of the strongest measures of competitive surfing.

However, it doesn't feel like pro surfing grabs the spectator the way tennis does.

A ranking fans could follow every event

Tennis rankings are part of the sport's identity.

Fans know who is climbing. They know who is defending points from last year, and they know what it means to become World No. 1.

Surfing could create the same kind of narrative, eventually merging the Championship Tour (CT), the Challenger (CS), and the Qualifying Series (QS) rankings and event points distribution (similar to Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500, ATP 250, ATP Challenger Tour, etc.).

Imagine a season where every single event - CT, CS, and QS - reshapes the race for the top ranking.

A victory at Bells Beach moves one surfer into first place, then a strong finish at Jeffreys Bay closes the gap, and a surprise result at Teahupo'o changes the standings again.

The (unified) ranking itself becomes part of the story, putting athletes from all tiers in a single list.

Instead of focusing only on who wins each contest, fans would have another reason to follow every stop on the tour.

The season would feel more connected because every event would influence the race for the top position.

You could say it already works like that, but the WSL Finals and the points attribution system are not as volatile as with professional tennis.

History would become easier to compare

Professional surfing has evolved through many different competitive systems. We at SurferToday.com have highlighted the different eras the sport lived through.

Initially, early world titles were decided by single events. Later, champions were determined through season-long rankings. Today, the Finals decide the title.

It's as simplistic as that. Nevertheless, those changes make it harder to compare surfers from different generations.

A continuous world ranking would provide a stable reference across every era. If we're dramatically changing the rules every decade, we lose that comparison perspective.

Statistics such as weeks at World No. 1, consecutive seasons finishing first, or total year-end No. 1 rankings would become meaningful records, much like they are in tennis or even golf.

It's these types of achievements that would add another layer to surfing's history and appeal without changing the character of the sport itself.

The Finals could still matter

Now, here's where we could build a bridge between old school, die-hard fans, and the commercial and industry side of the business.

None of this requires removing the WSL Finals. In truth, the event could remain one of the biggest competitions of the year.

So, how would it work?

Only the best surfers would qualify. The winner would earn one of the most prestigious trophies in the sport.

The difference would be in what that trophy represents.

The Finals would crown the champion of the season-ending tournament, while the world rankings would identify the best surfer across the full competitive year.

Tennis has shown that fans can appreciate both accomplishments without confusing one for the other.

The ocean makes rankings even more important

We need to frame the formula proposed above within the following assumption: tennis takes place on standardized courts, surfing does not.

Every location presents unique challenges - Pipeline is nothing like Margaret River, and Teahupoo bears little resemblance to Lower Trestles.

A surfer who succeeds across all of them proves an exceptional range of skills.

Because the ocean introduces so much uncertainty, judging a season rather than a single contest arguably provides a fairer picture of overall performance.

Now, the elephant in the room.

Luck always plays a role in surfing. We know that for a fact. And some surfers seem to be a swell magnet.

A poor wave cycle or an unexpected change in weather patterns can also influence the outcome of any heat.

But across an entire season, those moments tend to balance out.

And that is one reason many fans and former competitors continue to value season-long rankings so highly.

Fair enough. The ocean's unpredictable ways must not be a prevailing factor when ranking surfers.

A simpler story for new fans

Surfing has always faced the challenge of explaining its competitive structure to people discovering the sport.

The relationship between the several rankings (Championship Tour, Challenger Series, and Qualifying Series), the regular season, the rankings, and the Finals is not immediately obvious, even for those who follow the sport on a regular basis.

A straightforward ranking system would be familiar to millions of sports fans.

The surfer with the most points becomes World No. 1, while the season-ending event crowns its own champion.

That is a model already understood in tennis and several other individual sports. It would be easy for broadcasters to explain and easy for new audiences to follow.

It would also give surfing two compelling stories instead of one.

Every contest would shape the race for the world rankings, while the season would still build toward an elite championship featuring the year's best performers.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com

Whether you've played it or not, "TransWorld Surf" is one of the most overlooked surfing games ever made.

However, it arrived at an unfortunate moment - released almost simultaneously with "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer" - and was eventually overshadowed despite introducing several ideas that were surprisingly ambitious for 2001.

Activision's heavily marketed "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer," powered by the proven "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" engine and carrying the sport's biggest name, dominated the spotlight.

Many players bought only one surfing video game, and Kelly Slater usually won. 

Yet more than two decades later, "TransWorld Surf" has quietly become a cult classic.

Browse online discussions among surfers and retro gamers, and a pattern quickly emerges: many believe it delivered the most authentic surfing experience of its era, alongside another one, "Sunny Garcia Surfing."

Its realistic waves, faithful recreations of famous surf breaks, memorable soundtrack, and distinctive atmosphere left an impression that has only grown stronger with time.

Perhaps the game's greatest irony is that it was built by a studio that would soon become one of the most influential developers in the gaming industry.

Here are some very curious and interesting facts about "TransWorld Surf."

Developed by the studio that became Rockstar San Diego

The game was developed by Angel Studios, a California company later acquired by Rockstar Games and renamed Rockstar San Diego.

That means the same studio that eventually produced the "Red Dead Redemption" series, "Midnight Club," and contributed heavily to the "Grand Theft Auto" series once built one of the most realistic surfing games of its era.

It wasn't trying to copy Tony Hawk

While almost every extreme sports game after "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" became an arcade combo-fest, "TransWorld Surf" tried to reproduce actual surfing mechanics.

Developers wanted players to paddle correctly, position themselves in the lineup, generate speed by pumping, stay inside the pocket, and use the wave instead of simply riding on top of it.

Players noted that this realism created a steep learning curve, but also made it feel closer to real surfing than previous games.

The water was considered revolutionary

When previews first appeared in 2001, almost every article focused on one thing: the water.

At the time, Angel Studios built one of the most convincing real-time ocean simulations seen on consoles up to that point.

The Xbox version was even nominated by GameSpot for Best In-Game Water of 2001, losing only to Nintendo's "Wave Race: Blue Storm."

For an original Xbox launch title, that was remarkable recognition.

Steve Rotenberg, Angel Studios' director of research and development, explained in a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times that the team initially experimented with fluid dynamics to generate wave motion.

They created ripples using computer models based on the physics of fluids. However, they quickly discovered two major problems.

The first one was that it was too computationally expensive.

In 2001, the original Xbox had a 733 MHz Pentium III processor and 64 MB of unified RAM.

True fluid simulation - solving the equations governing turbulent water - was simply too demanding for a real-time surfing game.

Even today, realistic ocean simulation is one of the hardest problems in computer graphics.

Then, physics didn't give designers enough control, and this was the more surprising reason.

"Game designers want precise control over how the wave breaks, how fast it is, how large it is..." Rotenberg explained.

A real wave behaves according to physics, but a game wave has to behave according to gameplay.

For example, break at exactly the right moment, produce a barrel long enough to surf, generate launch ramps for airs, and remain fun every single run.

If they had based everything on real fluid dynamics, designers would have had to modify the virtual seabed every time they wanted to tweak the wave.

And that wasn't practical.

Instead, Angel Studios built what Rotenberg called a procedural animation system.

Rather than simulating every water particle, algorithms generated the shape and motion of the wave while allowing designers to specify:

• Wave height;
• Breaking point;
• Steepness;
• Peeling speed;
• Barrel size;
• Frequency;
• Timing;

In modern graphics terms, it was closer to a parametric wave model than a fluid simulation.

Why did it look so convincing? The illusion came from layering several techniques together.

Several technologies combined to create one of the most convincing digital oceans of its generation.

The wave itself was constantly deforming rather than simply scrolling beneath the surfer.

Animated geometry created pitching lips, hollow barrels, peeling shoulders, and collapsing sections that evolved naturally along the wave.

Multiple animated texture layers added ripples, reflections, foam, and subtle surface disturbances.

Moving independently, these layers prevented the repetitive appearance common in early 2000s games.

Also, particle systems generated convincing spray whenever surfers carved through turns, floated across breaking sections, or struck the lip.

Dynamic lighting produced shimmering reflections and translucent barrels that looked extraordinary on contemporary hardware.

Even the PlayStation 2 version, despite graphical compromises and occasional slowdowns, retained the impressive wave shapes that reviewers consistently praised.

Ultimately, "close to one-third to half of the [central processing power] is allocated to the ocean, in terms of physics and rendering. That makes sense for a surfing game," added Rotenberg.

Surfing still obeyed physics

Although the ocean itself was procedurally animated, the surfer's interaction with it depended on a sophisticated physics model.

Board angle, rail engagement, gravity, momentum, pumping, and acceleration down the wave face all influenced movement.

That combination created a distinctly different sensation from the arcade movement of "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer."

Success depended less on memorizing trick combinations and more on understanding the shape and energy of the wave itself.

The result occasionally frustrated newcomers, but many experienced surfers appreciated the authenticity.

A digital world built around surf culture

Then, authenticity extended well beyond the wave mechanics.

Instead of fictional beaches, "TransWorld Surf" recreated more than twenty iconic surf breaks, including Pipeline, Backdoor, Teahupo'o, Jeffreys Bay, Kirra, Hossegor, G-Land, Todos Santos, Tavarua, Huntington Beach, and Witches Rock.

For countless players, the game became their first virtual visit to some of surfing's most famous locations.

The professional surfer roster now serves as a time capsule of early-2000s surfing.

Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, Shane Dorian, Christian Fletcher, Dan Malloy, Rochelle Ballard, Cory Lopez, Chris Ward, Tylor Knox, Tim Curran, Fred Patacchia, Shawn Barron, and Jason Collins all appeared as playable characters, capturing a generation that helped redefine progressive surfing.

How cooler could it be?

Rather than chasing prize money, players progressed by earning the cover of TransWorld SURF magazine itself.

Photographers stationed around the lineup rewarded perfectly timed maneuvers, reinforcing the importance of style, positioning, and wave selection over pure point accumulation.

Interestingly, Chris Coté, the co-founder of the surf magazine with the same name, once revealed that "all of us at the mag were heavily involved with the making of the game."

Unlockable real-world surf videos further blurred the boundary between video game and surf magazine, making players feel immersed in the culture rather than simply competing in sporting events.

You don't see this much in console video games anymore.

Dolphins, photographers... and sharks

One of the game's most unusual features was its Karma Meter.

Players could interact with photographers, dolphins, bodyboarders, and fellow surfers. Their behavior affected an invisible karma score that subtly influenced gameplay.

Among the system's strangest consequences was an increased likelihood of shark attacks for players with poor karma.

So, with no surprise, the shark quickly became one of the game's most memorable features.

Years later, gamers would still ask online about "that surfing game where the shark drags you away," often discovering that the answer was "TransWorld Surf."

Music without stereotypes

The soundtrack also resisted convention.

Instead of relying exclusively on surf rock, Angel Studios licensed music across punk, alternative rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, and downtempo genres.

Contemporary reviewers noted the unusually broad musical selection that reflected the increasingly diverse tastes of early-2000s surf culture.

The GameCube version had a different title

For GameCube, rather than simply porting the game, Infogrames renamed it: "TransWorld Surf: Next Wave."

Although largely the same game, the title change has confused collectors for years.

Critics liked it more than many players expected

Review scores were stronger than many people remember.

Typical scores included an 8/10 in GameSpot and 76/100 in Metacritic for the Xbox version.

However, there were generally favorable reviews for Xbox and PlayStation 2 across the internet.

Most criticism centered on difficult controls, repetitive competitions, and niche appeal. But reviewers consistently praised the wave physics, atmosphere, authenticity, and water effects.

Despite becoming a cult video game, especially among surfers, "TransWorld Surf" wasn't a huge commercial success.

"I think 'Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer' was marketed a bit better than ours," added Chris Coté.

"Sales-wise, 'Transworld Surf' wasn't promoted well. We tried to do what we could in the magazine, but it was only played and promoted on the coast."

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com