Scott: Surfing, in any of its forms, is the closest thing to nirvana on Earth. You are immersed in a natural environment and all the challenges and joys that nature provides. Ocean water below; the open sky above and often an idyllic shoreline in view while you’re riding the wave. Many times I’ve shared the water with dolphins. Birds fly overhead. I used to keep track of my wave count. That is so me. Now I just let that happen. I’m more in tune with the ocean now; and the experience.
Years of holding my neck up on a surfboard have created some minor issues. Nothing that yoga can’t solve, but I’ve gone back to body-surfing, which is how it all started for me at Zuma Beach. Riding ocean waves naturally makes you keen to your environment. I’m a lifelong adrenaline junkie, but two bouts of Pneumonia and years of working as a singer in smokey venues have taken a toll on my lungs, so I now have to pass up some of the bigger days.
Ocean waters are easily contaminated by untreated run-off. Protecting our air and water is a no-brainer. Surfers know this. My companies Liquid Blue and Planet Blue, are both members of 1% for the Planet, and those in my tribe are all active environmentalists.
Scott: Beaches where I lived and got lots of waves included Zuma Beach in Malibu; Oceanside Pier CA, Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego, Urbiztondo Beach in the Philippines and now Playa Hermosa in Uvita, Costa Rica. I’ve also visited many surfing areas in the Philippines, Australia, South America to name a few. My ex-wife was a strong swimmer, so I taught her how to surf and bodysurf, and within just a few years she won the World Bodysurfing Championship. A few months later she finished 3rd in the U.S. Surfing Championships.