[FlyingSideKick]

Most of the best boards don’t come off factory presses instead they are built by someone with great passion in a small warehouse or garage. These guys are happy just getting by and sharing the stoke with customers they know. Moreover, once you become addicted to surfing that’s all one cares about. True surfers don’t care about the hype around the latest thing, once you buy your board and a wetsuit all you care about is getting that glide. If I didn’t have a family to support I’d make the yearly circuit from Sri Lanka, Peru, etc and just live on the beach for less than $10 a day and would be perfectly satisfied. I feel sorry for my office mates who don’t have any hobbies or escapes and instead are focused on the next bonus or promotion either for their egos or so they can buy more stuff. I just want more time off to travel with my family and surf. After 3 startups and 23 years in tech and many, many 12 hour days I can tell you the whole system is empty. Despite recognition or financial success there’s nothing in the system that brings true long term happiness, but the natural meditation when waiting on the wave or for the next set does.

[brudgers]

True surfers

Consider the statement: "A true surfer would be surfing, not commenting on Hacker News." No True Scotsman is fallacy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

[lotsofpulp]

Everyone knows that, but everyone, like you I suspect, is playing the game to optimize their children’s (or family’s) position in the social order.

Desire to secure their future resource/financial security really throws a wrench in “letting it all go”.

[brudgers]

In the social order of surfers, optimization is living at the waves so the kids can surf with mom and pop. And with grandma and grandpa when there are grandkids. Locals are always the top of every surfing pecking order.

[john_cogs]

Have you read "All our waves are water" by Jaimal Yogis? Based on this comment, I think you would enjoy.

[jandrese]

That's great, but from a capitalist standpoint it doesn't seem surprising that a company would struggle when they have a labor intensive product and their customers are largely cash poor. Worse, they set up shop in expensive coastal cities. It's kind of a miracle the companies survived at all. I get that the guy who runs it is passionate and is willing to also be cash poor, but the city has got to be breathing down his neck about the property taxes in a town where half a duplex goes for over a million dollars.