Sunlight breaks through the early-morning clouds and the light scatters across the surface of the ocean. The water’s calm and cool presence calls to those on shore. They strap their leashes onto their ankles, pick up their boards and run. The rush of cold water stirs their senses as they paddle toward their first wave. They feel the water churn as it builds momentum beneath them and suddenly, they feel alive.
Surfing has a 4,000 year-old history in Malibu, dating back to the Chumash Indians who called it “Himaliwu,” which means “the surf sounds loudly.” Malibu influenced Hollywood films such as “Gidget” and “Big Wednesday.” Malibu was the “surf-culture hothouse from the mid-40s to the mid-60s,” author Matt Warshaw wrote in the “Encyclopedia of Surfing.” Malibu Beach, also known as Surfrider, has been a world-renowned surf spot since the 1950s and 1960s.
“We are the most recognized surf beach on the plant,” Jefferson Wagner, founder of Zuma Jay’s Surfboards, said. “Malibu is where (surfing) started as a culture.”
Surfing helps some Pepperdine students connect with Malibu’s community, culture and historical context. Pepperdine offers students surfing opportunities through programs like Surf Convo and the surf team. While not all Pepperdine students surf, those who do said they find it beneficial to their emotional, spiritual and physical health.
“If I’m ever the president or dean of Seaver it would be a graduation requirement that you catch a wave,” said Rob Shearer, a Pepperdine business professor and the current leader of Surf Convocation. “It’s Malibu and I think just from a Convo standpoint, it makes all the sense in the world to me to have an offering for the students that is outdoors and takes advantage of the fact that we are in one of the more widely known surf regions on the planet.” Shearer paused, grinning widely. “It’s just such a blast out in the water.”
Research suggests that surfing may prevent depression and stress. People become more relaxed and appear to be happier after going through a surf program, Ryan Frank Pittsinger wrote in “The Effect of a Single Bout of Surfing on Exercise-induced Affect.”
Pepperdine’s Surf Convo gives students the opportunity to merge the sport with spirituality, leaders said.
“Having Convo in a place with waves breaking in the background really creates an environment of mindfulness and allows people to shut out all of the other worries in their lives,” said Robert Scholz, assistant director of the Pepperdine Counseling Center.
Surfing may help promote spiritual growth.
“It’s a great way of connecting and experiencing God’s creation,” Scholz said. “I think surfing really requires a great deal of vulnerability, flexibility and courage, all important part of spiritual growth.”
Paul Begin, a Pepperdine alumnus and professor of Hispanic Studies, founded Pepperdine’s first Surf Convo, which began as a group of 12 students in Fall 2009.
“Surf Convo was an extension of my Great Books class,” Begin said. “I just wanted to spend more time with these people and I knew they (the students) liked to surf, so I pitched it to the Convo Office and they accepted it.”
Begin used Surf Convo as a way to better connect with his students and get to know them on a more personal level.
“We liked each other and we had serious conversations about important issues,” Begin said. “We’d get in the water and I’d use the time to talk to people and find out where they were in life.”
Surf Convo has since evolved as a larger group of students. Shearer, 46, has been involved with Surf Convo since he came to Pepperdine in 2012. Shearer extends an invitation to join Surf Convo to both surfers and non-surfers alike. The students meet every Wednesday at Zuma Beach Tower 12 at 7 a.m. A group of about 80 students worship together onshore and then break off into small groups, Shearer said.
“The idea behind small groups is just to build and maintain community,” Shearer said. “They get together and do typical Pepperdine things like talk about their highs-and-lows, it’s pretty relaxing.”
The Pepperdine has had a surf team on and off since the 1980s. The team provides another opportunity for students to build new relationships and develop a sense of community within Pepperdine and Malibu as whole. The Pepperdine Surf Team is part of the National Scholastic Surf Association, Southwest College Team Division.
The team’s mission is to “share (their) stoke for the ocean with other surfers on campus through a community of supportive and driven individuals, while excelling competitively,” Surf Team President Michael Moholias said.
The nine competitive members of the surf team host fundraisers and charitable surf events to help raise funds and awareness of the newly resurrected team. The team had previously been inactive due to a lack of leadership, Mohalias said.
“There’s a local surf community in Malibu and surfing could help bridge the gap between Pepperdine and Malibu,” said Amy Johnson, surf team sponsor and Pepperdine business professor. “We could re-engage and let them know we have a surf team and I think they’d love it. I think that it could definitely engage the community at large, as well as the community within Pepperdine.”
Other students and surfers shared positive experiences of the growing surf community.
“I’ve met a lot of people in the community outside of this school through surfing,” said Tim Healy, the Pepperdine Surf Team captain. “And when you tell them that you go to Pepperdine it really changes their perspective and leaves a lasting impression.”
Several Pepperdine students and local surfers agreed that surfing is a social sport.
“It’s definitely a great way to build community,” said junior Jane Humphrey, a member of Surf Convo. “Everyone just comes together and you’re out there with your friends and you just start to bond.”
Reedley Kaplar, a sales associate at Becker Surfboards in Malibu, catches a few waves before work.
“You meet lots of people each time you surf,” Kaplar said. “When I go out in the morning before work, I see 10 other guys who are also paddling out before work and so just you see and meet people all the time.”
The sport also has physical benefits. Surfing promotes general health and fitness, including cardiovascular fitness and strength in the core, back, shoulders and legs, according to the Better Health Channel.
“Surfing is a great way to exercise and have fun,” Humphrey said. “It doesn’t even really feel like exercise, so that’s pretty awesome.”
Talea Lischetzki completed this story in Dr. Christina Littlefield’s fall 2014 Jour 241 class.
