Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life - Softcover

Tomson, Shaun; Moser, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1423622278 ISBN 13: 9781423622277

Publisher: Gibbs M. Smith Inc, 2011

Synopsis

Powerful lessons for surfing, business, and life from world champion surfer Shaun Tomson.

In Surfer's Code, world champion surfer Shaun Tomson shares the life lessons he's gathered from decades of surfing--from his boyhood adventures in South Africa to the world tour in the late 1970s to the business world today. For Tomson, surfing is a hobby, a sport, a religion, an obsession, and more--it is a way of life. Tomson's life lessons have guided his career to the top of both professional competition and the world of business. These lessons are born of the collective wisdom of the surf community and are a powerful source of inspiration in the face of extraordinary challenges of everyday life.

I will never turn my back on the ocean

I will paddle around the impact zone

I will take the drop with commitment

I will never fight a rip tide

I will watch out for other surfers

There will always be another wave

I will always ride into shore

I will honor the sport of kings

I will pass along my stroke

I will catch a wave every day

All surfers are connected by one ocean

In a new epilogue, Tomson tells about light as a symbol of hope--through his very personal experiences of a wipeout, the loss of one precious son, and the arrival of another son.

Shaun Tomson was 1977 World Champion on the International Professional Surfing Tour. A native of South Africa, he spent fourteen years on the World Tour (1976-1989). He has been featured in more than forty surf videos and starred in the surf movie In God's Hands. He was listed as one of the twenty-five most influential surfers of the century (Surfer, 1999) and one of the sixteen greatest surfers of all time (Surfing, 2004). He is currently Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Surfrider Foundation and owns his own apparel company, Solitude, in Santa Barbara, California.

Patrick Moser is the editor of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing (University of Hawai'i Press, 2008). He collaborated with Shaun Tomson on Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life and has written articles for The Surfer's Journal and Surfer. He currently teaches writing and French language at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri where he also offers a course on the history and culture of surfing.

About this title

About the Authors

Shaun Tomson was named one of the twenty-five most influential surfers of the twentieth century, and one of the sixteen greatest surfers of all time. He has created two multimillion-dollar clothing brands--Instinct and Solitude. He was born in Durban, South Africa, and now makes his home in Montecito, California.

Patrick Moser is the editor of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing (University of Hawai'i Press, 2008). He collaborated with Shaun Tomson on Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life and has written articles for The Surfer's Journal and Surfer. He currently teaches writing and French language at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri where he also offers a course on the history and culture of surfing.

From the Back Cover

Shaun Tomson was at the pinnacle of his professional and personal life--a former world champion surfer, a successful entrepreneur of multimillion dollar clothing brands and an inspirational speaker--when his fifteen-year-old son, Mathew, died in a tragic accident. Drawing on the strength of lessons learned from his childhood in apartheid South Africa to competition in the world's most dangerous waves, Tomson provides an inspirational account of facing life's hardest challenges by looking toward the light that shines ahead. Tomson tells a story of terrible loss and miraculous rebirth. Surfer's Code reveals that the lessons of a life spent surfing are the lessons of surfing through life: every moment holds the possibility of failure and tragedy, every moment the promise of success and happiness.

SHAUN TOMSON was born in Durban and went on to become one of the world's best surfers. He competed on the Pro Tour for 16 years, winning 19 professional events including the World Title. During his competitive career he was at different stages both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a professional event. Tomson was listed as one of the 25 most influential surfers of the century (Surfer 1999) and one of the 16 greatest surfers of all time (Surfing 2004). He is a business finance graduate from the University of Natal, and has created two successful multimillion-dollar clothing brands: Instinct in the '80s and Solitude in the '90s.

PATRICK MOSER has written articles for The Surfer's Journal and Surfer. He edited Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing and is currently Associate Professor of French at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he teaches a course on the history and culture of surfing.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Zambezi sharks are one of the world’s most dangerous predators. Essentially saltwater creatures, they have been known to swim more than six hundred miles upriver in search of prey. They thrive in shallow, murky waters and are particularly prevalent in my hometown of Durban, where they account for a very high percentage of attacks and fatalities. These days large nets strung out three hundred yards from shore protect the beach goers in Durban. But back in 1957, during a month now referred to as “Dark December,” seven swimmers were attacked by Zambezi sharks and five of them died.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gibbs M. Smith Inc
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1423622278
• ISBN 13: 9781423622277
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 163