The Rise of the Hybrid Surfer
The tension between stand-up surfers and bodyboarders has raged since bodyboarding became mainstream in the 80s & 90s when breaks all along the Australian coast became crowded with people surfing prone. No one truly knows when or why this conflict began, but back then, you were either a “surfer” or a “bodyboarder” and there was no in between. Stand up surfers demanded respect and Bodyboarders didn’t feel the need to provide it, they just wanted to have fun and get pitted like everyone else.
Stand up surfing has a history that long pre-dates bodyboarding and has evolved and progressed over the years into a professional and profitable sport. Bodyboarding on the other hand, was invented by Tom Morey in 1971 to bring the joy of wave riding to the masses. It was more affordable, accessible and considered “safer” for those that wanted to feel the stoke but could not dedicate countless hours to the pursuit of stand-up surfing.
Bodyboarding also evolved over the years into a semi professional sport with trailblazers like Mike Stewert, Michael “Eppo” Eppelstun and Guilherme Tamega surfing some of the worlds most dangerous waves on the humble “boogie board” and inspiring a new generation of chargers to seek out the suckiest barrels and heaviest slabs they could find.
Despite the countless disagreements, drop ins, physical altercations and defacing of personal property between stand-up surfers and bodyboarders, both have forged on and carved out their own paths in the surfing world. Which begs the questions- have we come full circle?
This article explores the Rise of the Hybrid surfer. A talented waterman/women who has stepped out of the proverbial box, torn up the labels, ignored the stereotypes and mastered the art of multiple surf craft.
I was lucky enough to sit down with some core lords that have mastered the art of both stand up surfing and bodyboarding. We dive into the relationship between surfing and bodyboarding, the progression of both sports, and how it has shaped their surfing journeys in “The Rise of the Hybrid Surfer”. Join me and the perspectives of Ryan Hardy (professional bodyboarder, Hardy Shapes, Reeflex Wetsuits), Sam Logan, Paddy O’Brien and Matt Lancaster (Local Chargers).
Ryan Hardy
1. How long have you been surfing and which craft did you start on?
I’ve been surfing for 40years! I caught my first waves on half a snapped foamie/Koolite. I then moved onto dads single fin surfboard, before discovering bodyboarding and moving to a Mach 7.
2. At what point in your surfing life did you decide to start riding another craft and why?
As a 6 year old I loved the feeling of flying prone on the snapped foamy. I was lit up the first time I saw the Mach 7 bodyboard. I was 8 years old and when I rode it for the first time and I thought it had such a fun, exciting feel to it!
3. What impact has learning another form of wave riding had on your overall skills in the water?
Probably helps me to understand the intricate forces and curvature on a wave more by exploring different parts of it on different boards.
4. Before you started riding new craft did you have any opinions/ thoughts or animosity towards riders of the new craft?
No, I was fortunate to grow up in an open minded family so as young kids there was no strong influence around animosity or prejudice for either surfing or bodyboarding.
5. Do you have any thoughts on the divide between surfers and bodyboarders in the past? What was the driver? Is this still a thing or have we moved on?
I’d like to think we’ve moved on but in reality I think it’ll always be there to some extent in some places. Ultimately it’s how you react to the hostility that shapes how you feel about it.
6. Where do you think surfing as a whole is headed? Do you think that riding multiple surf craft is the way of the future?
Definitely multiple crafts, you see it with a lot of kids already. Life is for having fun and riding multiple crafts in all kinds of waves is ultimate fun!
7. Any other thoughts on the topic?
Breaks are gunna get crowded, hostility and tension will always be there and it’s your choice as a wave rider what you do with that personally and what you’d like your surfing and ocean experience to look like.
Ryan Hardy Booging “The Right” Image: @maxted
Ryan Hardy Stand up Floater Image: @balibodyboarding
Sam Logan
1. How long have you been surfing and which craft did you start on?
I have been riding a stick since I was 14 years old. It was 2004 and we called it “the ship of steel”. It felt like it was made from metal and hurt like hell when I ran people over.
2. At what point in your surfing life did you decide to start riding another craft and why?
Four years ago my friends told me I was always a booger at heart. I was always trying to tag along with the bodyboarders my whole surfing life. The boogs always surfed more hollow and challenging waves, which I was attracted to. I also developed a knee injury a few years ago and if I’m not tow surfing, laying down on the wave has a lot less impact on my knee.
3. What impact has learning another form of wave riding had on your overall skills in the water?
100% learning to boog has allowed me to sit deeper, take off later and surf waves in super shallow reefs. Learning to boog on the other hand, has definitely given me more of an appreciation for the sport. Its not like I ever thought it was less of a sport than stand up surfing, I just never released how much fun it would be.
4. Before you started riding new craft did you have any opinions/ thoughts or animosity towards riders of the new craft?
Ha Ha, there was always a bit of a stigma around lying down or standing up when I was a grom growing up on Phillip Island. I literally looked up to all the boogs around me at the time. They always scored the best waves at the secret spot that sticks never surfed. When I moved to Warrnambool in 2010 there was a lot more bodyboarders and I knew that eventually I would be joining them.
5. Do you have any thoughts on the divide between surfers and bodyboarders in the past? What was the driver? Is this still a thing or have we moved
I never got caught up in what other peoples opinions were on individual passions. For sure there was always some clown in the water that had something to say. From memory it was always a stick dishing it out.
6. Where do you think surfing as a whole is headed? Do you think that riding multiple surf craft is the way of the future?
So many sticks now boog and so many boogs now surf. There is a wave and a place for both. I recommend everyone trying new things. It keeps you young at heart and makes life more interesting. I think once Nathan Florance starts riding a boog the bridge will well and truly be mended.
7. Any other thoughts on the topic?
Hot tip- If you want the best and most hollow waves, follow the boogs. Ha ha! Cheers!
Sam Logan in the Barrel
Sam Logan during West Coast Bodyboard Comp Image: Rodney Harris
Paddy O’Brian
1. How long have you been surfing and which craft did you start on?
I was in and around the water from a young age. I probably had a go at surfing early on but didn't really take it up because of other sports. I'd say I actually began riding on a bodyboard when I was around 10 years old. I would occasionally get to tag along with my brother and his mates Will Carter and Michael Clancy. I got right into it around 12 when I could ride my bike to surf the shorey and 4 X 4's with a few mates and eventually progressed from there.
2. At what point in your surfing life did you decide to start riding another craft and why?
I predominantly rode the boog up until I was around 17 where I started to slowly convert to the stick for a couple of reasons. I was pretty lucky early on as I got lifts up the coast with my brother and his mates and met some of the older boog legends like Worm (James McAnulty) and Jacko (Mark Jackman). This meant I was going to spots that most of my school mates weren't. I realised once a lot of the older bodyboarders left town, I was the odd one out. My mates mostly rode surfboards, so I guess in an effort to fit in, I joined them riding stand-up.
I also began to realise that I was getting in the water more with surfing and could surf in more conditions than I did on the boog. I was certainly getting a bit picky and was really only happy with the surf if it was pumping so I thought a new challenge might change this. Too much standing around looking at the water isn't ideal haha.
3. What impact has learning another form of wave riding had on your overall skills in the water?
I don't think the actual technical skills of bodyboarding or surfing compliment each other that much. A good surfer jumping on the boog for the first time probably couldn't hold a rail and vice versa, kinda like skiing and snowboarding. In terms of reading waves and choosing lines though, there is plenty of crossover. I think in that sense bodyboarding had a positive impact on my surfing. I also paddle racing mals (or clubby boards) as some may know them. I think this has had a big impact for me, maybe not so much with wave riding, but definitely with navigating the surf.
4. Before you started riding new craft did you have any opinions/ thoughts or animosity towards riders of the new craft?
Yep I did have a few. At the time I for sure had some bias, but I strongly believed surfers didn't get deep enough and had the tendency to dodge barrels and blow sections, haha. I also thought and still think that surfers underestimate the difficulty of bodyboarding.
5. Do you have any thoughts on the divide between surfers and bodyboarders in the past? What was the driver? Is this still a thing or have we moved on?
I think a driver was and still might be due to the bit of frustration when the waves are more suited to a particular craft. For example, at a point break that isn't really tubing I see how surfers get frustrated with bodyboarders and on the other hand, at a wedge or slab where surfers are shoulder hoping I reckon boogers would be thinking the same thing. Other than that and a bit of bias, I think it isn't really a thing and most crew get along nowadays. Particularly around the Warrnambool area it is pretty amicable.
6. Where do you think surfing as a whole is headed? Do you think that riding multiple surf craft is the way of the future?
The first question is a big one... on the global scale, who knows everything seems to be growing. Like the wave pools are getting pretty skitz, places are getting busier and so on. However, I don't see this really changing the direction of surfing. I still think it is different to other mainstream sports in that most people will still generally be more entertained by a good surf clip over the WSL and would certainly much rather be scoring waves of their own than watching it. It fits more in that kind of adventure sport or lifestyle category which is a good direction and I doubt it will ever stray from this.
For bodyboarding it is similar, competition at a professional level hasn't been very big for a while, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing.
I doubt that riding multiple craft will become mainstream, but there will always be some exceptions to the rule i.e Dan Ryan, Noa Deane etc. Having said that, people are always going to want to try new things or get injured or older and have to change things up.
7. Any other thoughts on the topic?
Not really... I've enjoyed answering the questions and I'll leave it at both are fun and worth trying!
Paddy O’brian Surfing Image: Boolboard
Paddy O’Brian bodyboarding a slab Image: Sam Logan
Matt Lancaster
1. How long have you been surfing and which craft did you start on?
I’ve been surfing for over 35 years, I’m now 41. My dad is a keen surfer so I don’t really know exactly how old I was when I caught my first wave. I got right into it when I was about 8 or 9 years old when we moved from Roaring Beach to near Hobart. The surf was heaps safer and there was a rad crew of groms. Then we moved to Port Fairy when I was in grade 6 and I was in the water constantly from then on.
2. At what point in your surfing life did you decide to start riding another craft and why?
It’s a pretty long complicated story as to why I started bodyboarding. Basically, I have a degenerative bone disease. The doctors said I couldn’t do sport when I was about 7 but I could surf, so that’s all I did. My body started to let me down when I was about 16 and I ended up getting super pissed off. So, I decided to bodyboard full time when I was probably about 18 years old. It was a pretty tough decision, and I lost my sponsors and copped a bit of shit from people who didn’t understand what it I was dealing with. I didn’t ride a surfboard for over two years from that stage. I always preferred riding bodyboard waves though, so it made that transition easier. There were a few lidders in Port (Fairy) at that stage (even though the local breaks weren’t really boog waves). So once I’d learned to boog, (which took longer than I thought) we’d travel to hunt down decent waves.
It took probably six months to get proper edge control, and at least another twelve months to do proper airs and decent tricks (that I can’t do anymore haha). I was putting 100% into it then and in the water all the time. Once I surfed for the first time after the two-year hiatus, I never went back to bodyboarding full time even though I couldn’t surf exactly how I wanted. I realised I liked it way more in most conditions.
Then I started riding a 7.6 mini mal and got pretty hooked on that. I moved onto tow surfing and now that my body is getting really cooked, that’s my preference. We are probably almost as annoying as paddle boarders haha. But kinda riding everything these days.
3. Before you started riding new craft did you have any opinions/ thoughts or animosity towards riders of the new craft?
As far as animosity to other surf craft, yeah it still shits me when I see a booger on a fat point break doing nothing and stand-up paddle boarders hogging all the waves and doing nothing, just looks shit to me. If they are ripping or going dk or something, it’s cool otherwise it just looks wasteful in my opinion. But in proper heavy waves or shallow slabs or wedges, I love seeing the boogs charge. It’s way better than seeing surfers pulling back or getting pitched. I find that when proper bodyboarders and surfers don’t mix they are generally looking for different types of waves. Unless your Mason Ho or Nate Florence. When crew like that get together, respect has to be shown because it’s dangerous and it doesn’t matter what your riding, if your paddling into a 10-footer at Chopes that shit demands respect.
4. Do you have any thoughts on the divide between surfers and bodyboarders in the past? What was the driver? Is this still a thing or have we moved on?
I think there will always be a divide, but only in certain waves like fat point breaks and weak Beachys. (everyone hates paddle boarders the most anyway they’re fucking dangerous these days).
In my experience, in proper bodyboarding waves there is heaps of respect shown on both sides. Because most of those waves take serious skills and generally balls to ride and the bodyboarders found most of them. I was often the only surfer in the water with bodyboarders growing up and they seemed to be stoked to see a stick riding there waves as long as you didn’t pull back all the time! And just like anywhere, ya gotta show respect to earn respect. If your not being a dick usually everyone gets along.
5. Where do you think surfing as a whole is headed? Do you think that riding multiple surf craft is the way of the future?
I got no idea where surfing is headed. It seems like the WSL is trying to flush it down the shitta! Hopefully they do a live tour one day, like golf. I’m more excited for the shark island challenge than any of the surf comps now that pipe is over, (unless Chopes turns on!)
I reckon people are riding way more types of different craft these days than they ever have. I suppose half of it didn’t even exist 20 years ago. My biggest problem these days if I’m not towing, is fitting 5 different boards into my car and which ones to take.
Matt Lancaster Stand up surfing
Matt Lancaster Bodyboarding
Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed this exploration into surfing and bodyboarding and the ultimate rise of the Hybrid Surfer. Blog collated and edited by: Kylie Palmer
