Monday, April 4, 2011

The Surfer: Categorizing the Unknown

Two sides of the same coin, or different species entirely?

In The History of Surfing, Matt Warshaw described attempts during the 1960s at creating a census of American surfers. Rough estimates varied widely: foam-maker Gordon Clark estimated that there were around 200,000 total surfers in the country, while Newsweek generously estimated that there were close to 1,000,000 wave riders nationwide.


According to Warshaw, the reason for the varied numbers was simple: it’s difficult to define exactly what a surfer is. Is a surfer someone who owns a board? Or what about someone who only surfs during the summer? For that matter, what about a sponger or body surfer? Do they even count?

Of the many who have sought to answers these particular questions, no one has offered a more poignant conclusion than the mainstream media.


If you want to read more, follow the link below to Surfermag.com:

My article for Surfer Mag!

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