New to Surfing, skated for 14 years...advice.

[Big Barak Obeezy]

I have never been surfing before, but I now live by the coast so I figured I'd start. Now though Ive never been surfing before I have skated for 14 years and I am quite good at it. I don't think I will have many problems with balance or riding the face of a wave after a few trips to the beach due to my background in half pipe and park skating. My question is what kind of board should I start out on. I want to buy it so I want something that will last me a while and is not just for beginners. Any advice would be very helpful!
Also I am 5' 9" and about 75 kg

[drowningbitbybit]

I want to buy it so I want something that will last me a while and is not just for beginners. Any advice would be very helpful!
Also I am 5' 9" and about 75 kg

I'm afraid that you are still definitely a beginner
90% of learning is how to paddle, how to get out back, how to read the ocean, how to catch waves, how to pop up... only after all that will your skateboard skills be relevant.

It takes a while - not just a few trips to the beach. So the advice is as usual, 'go big'. You'll need plenty of volume to start with, so long, wide and thick.
Yes, you might want to change boards six months or a year down the line, but the alternative is getting a small board and not progressing

[dtc]

I don't think I will have many problems with balance or riding the face of a wave after a few trips to the beach due to my background in half pipe and park skating.

This is a serious request - after you get your (longboard), come back to this forum and properly and honestly describe your first few trips to the beach and let us know whether your opinion has changed.

[Big Barak Obeezy]

Im not saying I am gonna be pro after a few trips, but my experience with any board sport, whether it be skating, snowboarding, wake boarding or mountain boarding it has come natural to me. Plus being a strong swimmer doesn't hurt. Im def not saying Im awesome, I just feel that I will be at a certain level soon, and I don't want to spend 350 on a board that I wont use for very long.

[drowningbitbybit]

Oh well, just trying to help.

[dtc]

Why don't you rent a board for a few hours - most surf shops have 'trial' boards you can try out. Then see what you think about what board you need.

You aren't the first person to claim that his (always a 'his'!) skating skills will transfer to surfing, and I very must suspect you won't be the last person to end up realising that the skill sets are quite different, as DBB has pointed out. Its like saying 'I can play baseball therefore I can play golf, they both involve hitting a ball'.

BTW, there is no such thing as a 'board for a beginner'. There are boards that are better suited to beginners, but you can still progress to very high standards on virtually any board. Google Alex Knost, for example, to see what longboarders can do. Now a longboard may not be the style you want to surf eventually, but thats a different issue.

[kitesurfer]

Im def not saying Im awesome, I just feel that I will be at a certain level soon, and I don't want to spend 350 on a board that I wont use for very long.

You don't need to spend 350 on a board. You can easily pick up a second hand board that is the right size at a good price. Do yourself a big favour and listen to the very sound advice given. Don't make the same mistake lots of other skaters, snowboarders and wakeboarders who have asked the same question have made. Most likely you will spend (depending on how often you go surfing) the first 6 months to a year learning to catch and ride waves, then as DBBB says your skating skills may come into play. There's nothing wrong with being keen and enthusiastic but be prepared to be humbled very quickly.

KS

[jay32]

Surfing is not an overnight sport, no matter how good you are skating...

I would Hire boards for a couple of months..

[esonscar]

Big Barak Obeezy . . . I started surfing when I was around the same height and weight you are now as it happens . . . you reckon you'll stick at it then get a 6'2" squash tail thruster 19 3/4" wide with mild rocker and 2.25" to 3.00" thick. Oooh yeah!

[billie_morini]

Hey, I can ride a bicycle! Fast, too. Bet I can go real fast on a motorcycle! How can I get sponsored to race motorcycles like in the Moto GP?

[Big Barak Obeezy]

You guys are all so ignorant. Just because something is hard for you doesn't mean it has to be hard for everyone else. For billie morini you're probably just mad that you've been surfing for a while and people like me would make you look like a fool. I went surfing for the first time on Saturday with my buddies 6'2" fishtail and xxxxx was easy. After my first few feeble attempts I was catching almost every wave and even rode the face of 3 8ft waves. Don't mad bros. This shits easy.

[drowningbitbybit]

You guys are all so ignorant.

You're absolutely right - the combined experience of everyone on here is far inferior to yours.

Please shut the door on your way out as presumably you don't need anyone's advice anymore?

Incidentally, you might like to learn what an 8ft wave is.

[jaffa1949]

You guys are all so ignorant.

You ask for advice, it's given, you think otherwise, the guys had the courtesy to reply to you with sound advice, and you call us ignorant.

[kitesurfer]

and even rode the face of 3 8ft waves.

You claim us to be ignorant but by your own statement i have quoted you show yourself to be incredibly ignorant or just a plain liar.
To claim you were able to surf the face of an 8ft wave on your first outing is so farsickle its beyond belief.
For your future reference before making such claims here is a list detailing how big certain wave sizes actually are.

½ foot = knee high
1 foot = waist high
2 foot = shoulder high
3 foot = just overhead (or 6 foot face)
4 foot = head and a half high
5 foot = just under double overhead
6 foot = double overhead
7 foot = nonexistent (it's either 6 or it's 8.)
8 foot = double and a half overhead
9 foot = nonexistent (it's either 8 or it's 10)
10 foot = a touch over triple overhead
11 foot = nonexistent (it's either 10 or it's 12)
12 foot = almost quadruple overhead
13 foot = nonexistent (there's a big void between 12 & 15 foot)
14 foot = nonexistent (there's a big void between 12 & 15 foot)
15 foot = is the bucket measurement for anything between quadruple and quintuple overhead for the entire length of the wave, and not just the take off)

So perhaps you would care to re-estimate the size of the waves you were surfing.? Probably in the 1 to 2ft range i suspect once you take the truth into account.

KS

[esonscar]

I have never been surfing before, . . . Any advice would be very helpful!

Hey, if you get the chance put up a video so we can see your stance and technique. Might be something in there we could help with.

[Iron Lee]

I snowboarded for 15 years from 1988 to 2003. I was sponsored for that. I skated before that for 6 years. I started surfing at 35 in august 2009, and I found it very hard to learn. The main thing was the pop up, which took me a full week to actually catch a wave and pop up. Paddling out was difficult as well as my shoulders had previous injuries from snowboarding, and they are not developed from years of surfing. I started on a 7'6" mini-mal, a surf shop local factory made board. I knew enough to get that size as I had tried surfing back in Japan in 1999 on a shortboard in 6 foot close outs and got destroyed.
After that I was finally able to catch waves, I found it very similar to snowboarding. So much so that now once I do paddle out and finally catch a wave, I feel like I can do anything on it. Now I ride a 6' board and it's allot of fun. Your skating experience will help you ONLY after you can finally catch a wave!

[Tazza]

Hey dude im 17 and around the same weight but im 6ft

Anyways I just started surfing 4 months ago over the holidays, I used to skate heaps and bodyboard a lot. but if you are as confident swimmer as you say, then maybe buy a fish? yes there are a lot of old salty dogs here who would say get the biggest thing you can find. but from me surfing for only 4 months im already surfing on a 5'10 - 19 - 2 3/8 and loving it, im able to do powerful turns and have alot of control, but i did learn on a 6'4 for a while. so with that maybe borrow a board from someone or get a surfing lesson and ask the teacher on how to read waves. From what I know now it hasn't been hard to read waves. I reckon you could make the transition well.

But please dont get something to short after you have surfed for a while. otherwise your style will be rank. you dont want to skate a surfboard. its all about flow man. just go with it!

[scsurf]

"Sweet potato" by Firewire. Lot's of volume, speed, loose but expensive watch on Youtube.