Hanging cרש (ten in Hebrew)

by Erik Olsen on

So you’re in LA (which would actually be quite nice) and you want to learn how to surf. But the problem is you’re
Jewish and most of those surf instructors seem so…well, unkosher. Well, here’s a solution. Head down to Venice Beach
(of course) and lookup a gentleman by the name of Norm Shifty Shifren. Shifren, AKA the
Surfing Rabbi, teaches surfing to all denominations, even atheists…well,
that may be pushing it…maybe keep that to yourself. Rabbi Shifren calls his classes a “Kabbalistic Quest for the Soul”,
which may be the first time surfing has been referred to that way. Though he does not yet claim Madonna as a client,
his classes have gotten props from all sorts of surfing luminaries.

If you want to learn more about the rabbi, he even has a book,
wherein he reveals that “G-d not in the synagogue, but in the majesty of Jewish mysticism and the vast power of the
ocean”. Deep, baby.

I wonder if G-d agrees.

Surfing: Finding the Perfect Spot

by Erik Olsen on

Another great NPR piece on surfing.
Reporter Jesse Hardman follows a surfer down Mexico way to a remote part of the country in search of the ultimate
surfer’s quarry, a pristine, perfect beach known to surf pilgrims simply as “The Spot.”

Listen

Surfers Helping Tsunami Victims

by Erik Olsen on

NPR runs a great piece about how surfers
have been helping out in post-tsunami Asia. Adam Kobayashi is a surfer who’s working with Patagonia and others in
Sumatra, Indonesia to bring food, clothing and morale to people in along the coast.

Surfer Girls

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve blogged about Susan Orlean before. She’s the New
Yorker writer who did The Orchid Thief, and whose new book of travel writing has got all sorts of accolades. I think
her stuff rules and read everything I can by her.

One of her profiles way back when was done
for Outside about the
surfer girl  culture in Maui. I dug it up to post it on this Christmas day dedicated to surfing…with its emphasis
on chick surfing.  The article (fairly long, so maybe print it out) was the inspiration for the (great) film Blue
Crush.

The Was a Surfer from Nantucket

by Erik Olsen on

OK, it’s not Oahu. But if you live on the East Coast, it is one
place to learn to surf. Nantucket Island Surf School’s begins its
seventh season next year, teaching people of all ages how to surf. NISS provides opps for private mano a mano
instruction and also group lessons. Classes range in ability from grommet (never been on a board) to ripper(can shred
with the best).