A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. The term denotes a

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

of surfing. As Brad Melekian stated in a 2005 article in '' Surfer'' magazine:

to pursue surfing not just as an athletic endeavor or as a sunny day diversion, but to try to glean whatever lessons you can from the practice. It means being aware of your surroundings, and respectful of the people and places that you interact with. It means being patient, mindful, kind, compassionate, understanding, active, thoughtful, faithful, hopeful, gracious, disciplined and...good.Melekian, Brad. March 2005, "Is God a Goofyfoot?", ''Surfer'', 46/3, p. 115.

The term originates from a 1963 surf instrumental of the same name.

History

The first published mention of the term was in the 1963 surf guitar instrumental "Soul Surfer", by the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

surf guitarist Johnny Fortune. The song was intended to reference the then-current

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

genre. The term "soul surfing" gained popularity in the late '60s, with the phrase most used in the mid- and late-'70s. In 1969 theologian Tom Blake penned an article entitled "Voice of the Wave", which examined the religious elements of surfing. By the early 70s, curious surfers began to experiment with various Eastern philosophies, such as

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and meditation. The concept of the soul surfer was the main focus for the 1987 film '' North Shore'', where the lead character fails to win a major surf competition because someone cheated, yet, unfazed, shrugs his shoulders and remarks that “it doesn’t matter to a soul surfer”. This was also a concept expounded in the 1994 film ''

The Endless Summer II ''The Endless Summer II'' is a 1994 film directed by Bruce Brown and is a sequel to his 1966 film ''The Endless Summer''. In ''The Endless Summer II'', surfers Pat O'Connell and Robert "Wingnut" Weaver retrace the steps of Mike Hynson and Ro ...

'', a documentary which sees two talented surfers go around the world to emulate the original film, ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterranea ...

''. More recently, the phrase was used as the title of a book about

Bethany Hamilton Bethany Meilani Hamilton (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off and who ultimately returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her exper ...

,Hamilton B (2004) Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board Simon & Schuster a young female surfer who continued to surf after her arm was bitten off by a

tiger shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

. The book was made into a 2011 feature film, also called ''

Soul Surfer A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. T ...

''.

References

{{reflist

External links

the_real_soul_surfer_[an_interview_with_rich_peluso
/nowiki>_.html" ;"title="n interview with rich peluso">the real soul surfer [an interview with rich peluso
/nowiki> ">n interview with rich peluso">the real soul surfer [an interview with rich peluso
/nowiki> at BibleDude.net Surf culture Spirituality

History

See also

References

External links