Surf Stronger: The Surfer's Workout DVD, hosted by trainer Scott Adams is the newest product to hit the shelves that caters to the surfing lifestyle. As far as instructional surfing dvds go, there has been little on offer other than How To Surf videos and the popular Yoga For Surfers series by Peggy Hall. Surf Stronger symbolizes the growth of surfing as a sport and a culture, as it is the first surf video to focus on strength training specifically for surfing.
Competitive surfing, at both the professional and amateur levels, is no longer a matter of natural ability. Professional surfers from Tom Carroll to Kelly Slater to Taylor Knox have long known what athletes and trainers in every other sport know: every competitive athlete needs an edge. While it may still be some time before the larger surfing community recognizes this, it's apparent that competitive surfers need to up their game to get to the top...and stay there. Quiksilver may be the leader in this field, as they've been working with trainer Rob Rowland-Smith for a number of years to get their amateur, WQS and WCT surfers in top shape. It's a wonder that more professional surfers don't work with trainers, but this is probably a function of economics as much as it is of the fact that surfing is a highly individual endeavor.
Since it's release several weeks ago, Surf Stronger has had, at best, a lukewarm response from surf shop buyers. Conversely, it's proving to be one of the best-selling surfing dvds we've ever offered on Surfline. How telling of the state of the surf industry at the retail level. While consumers (i.e. everyday surfers) are snapping up copies of this instructional dvd, the mom-and-pop stores are mired in the golden days of yesteryear.
Surf shops can't seem to keep pace with the technological advances of the broader market as is, which is why we're seeing corporate flagship stores opening left and right, but if they can't even tune into products that will keep the sport that keeps them alive in the first place healthy, both physically and economically, how can they expect to survive the shakeout when the big surfwear manufacturers are going public and have shareholders to answer to?
Surf Stronger is adequately produced, although it would be nice if there were a pro surfer or two featured, at least for credibility's sake. More importantly, it's a step in the right direction for a sport and an industry that's traditionally prided itself on a counter-culture stance, but needs to adopt some new ideas if it wants to be perceived as a legitimate sport. Naysayers will continue to deride anything that moves surfing into the mainstream, but a younger, hipper generation is coming up and they see the possibilities that surfing holds as a both a lifestyle and a career.
Take care of your body and it'll take care of you. Take care of the sport and it will most likely do the same. Surf Stronger. Surf Smarter.
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