A Tale of Two Surfers: Joy and Wellbeing in Mature Participants

Within larger concern over wellbeing at a global level, there is growing interest in the role that sport can play in developing positive wellbeing with a focus on young people. Lifestyle sports that people participate in for pleasure rather than competition are likely to offer opportunity to develop wellbeing but research on them neglects middle aged participants. This article redresses this oversight by focusing on two surfers, with one male and one female, in their forties to explore the role that surfing plays in their lives and its contribution to their wellbeing. Using a narrative inquiry approach it explores the place of surfing in their lives over three decades to identify how its meaning changed as they matured and how it offered a highly effective coping mechanism for dealing with life’s stresses and pressures.

broad range of participatory, informal, and thrill-seeking activities. Vastly different to traditional, rule-bound, competitive, and institutionalised sport, participants enter a particular culture that has been referred to as self-organised epistemic culture (Sävenbom & Stjernvang, 2020). There is now a substantial literature on lifestyle sports (see, O'Connor, 2018; Thorpe & Wheaton, 2017;Wheaton, 2010Wheaton, , 2013) that focuses on young people, but which pays much less attention to people who are not young.
With a few exceptions (see, Wheaton, 2017) this includes research on lifestyle sports. Given our growing understanding of how involvement in sport and other physical activities influences physical, moral, ethical, and social development (see, Light, 2010) this is a significant oversight, and one that we redress in this article.
Drawing on a larger study conducted on participation in lifestyle sports by people in their forties and fifties in New Zealand, this article focuses on the experiences of two surfers to explore the influence of participation in surfing from their early teens, on their lives and wellbeing.

Surfing
When surfing emerged from the counterculture movement of the sixties and seventies it challenged the conservative values of the time and was largely motivated by concern over the growing danger of nuclear war (Grogan, 2013). Since then, processes of commodification (Vamplew, 2018) have transformed it from a challenge of youth to the status quo to a hugely valuable commodity bought and sold in the global marketplace. This transformation from the 1960s to now has been remarkable but surfing maintains much of its counterculture ideals and philosophy that set it apart from institutionalised sports such as football, rugby, swimming, and netball. Like other lifestyle sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding, since its emergence over 60 years ago, surfing has primarily been a sport or activity for young people with youth and young adults the focus of marketing for associated products like wetsuits, beach wear and clothing.
In 1964 Midget Farrelly won the first world surfing championships at Manly Beach, Australia as an amateur event. In 1961 what is now called the Rip Curl Pro (previously the Bells Beach Surf Classic), was held with no prize money offered until 1976 when the winner took home $6000.00 AUS. In 2019 the (male) winner took home over $600,000.00 AUS as one leg in the World Surfing League. As part of the global commodification of sport, surfing has changed but, as our study suggests, it retains much of its formative ideals and offers experiences that can guide life development, explored in this article.
This article focuses on the role that surfing played in the lives of two individual surfers, one woman and one man, over three decades to illuminate the central role that it played in shaping their lives and maintaining their wellbeing. We see wellbeing as a broad reference to a person's positive state of being healthy, happy, and enjoying a general condition of feeling good. We use the term as a reference to a holistic concept of inseparable positive physical, social, and mental states.

Methodology
This study adopted a Narrative Inquiry (NI) methodology to gain an in-depth understanding into the practice and meaning surfing held for participants aged in their forties. It sought to answer the central research questions of: Why do people in their forties and fifties continue with their lifestyle sport as they approached middle age and how does its meaning and practice change?
As a form of qualitative research, NI is concerned with understanding the phenomenon from the actors' perspectives through their personal experiences (Firestone, 1987). Using NI methodology facilitates researchers learning about human experiences through capturing, constructing, reconstructing, and analysing stories. Stories are given prominence as an essential element for understanding human behaviour (Pinnegar & Daynes, 2007). As long-term participants of lifestyle sports ourselves, we both approached the study with open minds and avoided having strong, preconceived ideas or theories that we wanted to prove or disprove. To this end, NI is advantageous, as it encourages the participants to express their stories and give prominence to the details and elements most important to them. In addition, our personal histories with surfing allowed us to connect with the participants through a shared history and form close, trusting relationships that allowed for deeper conversations.

Participants and Selection
The subjects in this paper were part of a larger study into middle-aged lifestyle sport participation and meaning. Both Sarah and Paul were recommended to the first author through snowball sampling and selected due to their long-term and dedicated engagement in surfing. Surfing started for them in the mid-1980s and continues to be a vital component of their lives.

Data Generation
Data were generated for the study through unstructured interviews following a life-history approach. Atkinson (2007) identifies life history interviewing as a central element of NI, as it provides the opportunity to understand single lives and the roles they play within society. Each interview lasted approximately 80-85 minutes at a location selected by the individual participant. The interviews were recorded (audio only) and transcribed with a copy of the transcription emailed to each participant for any required changes and signed approval.

Data Analysis
The participant-approved transcripts were coded using a three-phase process. Firstly, we familiarised ourselves with the data to gain a broad understanding and develop a "feel" for the data. Secondly, we underwent initial coding of the interview transcripts through thematic analysis, allowing prominent themes to immerge. Finally, we used focused coding of the interview transcripts by taking the initial codes and clustering them into more selective and conceptual coding headings using theory and literature to develop our understanding. Having a personal history with surfing again proved beneficial www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr World Journal of Social Science Research Vol. 8, No. 4, 2021 63 Published by SCHOLINK INC. during this process. We were able to have discussions about the emerging themes while using our own experiences to aide understanding and discovery. This enabled a more thorough and insightful exploration of the interviewees' stories.

Result
Here we tell the stories of two surfers with a focus on how surfing fitted into and shaped their lives. In doing so we identify the important contribution it makes toward their wellbeing

Paul
Paul started surfing at the age of 13 when his parents bought him a used surfboard and would drive him to the beach to watch him and drive him home. He found it challenging to learn on his own but persevered to become a competent surfer. He also came to love the sense of freedom surfing offered as more a form of leisure than a sport. Over years of learning to surf he developed a strong connection with and understanding of nature, and of the ocean in particular. His growing connection with the ocean led him to join the local surf life-saving club where he was exposed to competitive water sports that appealed to him due to his competitive nature. One of his favoured disciplines was the surf ski (a form of ocean-based sit-on-top kayaking), which then lead him to sprint kayaking on freshwater. As his engagement in water sports deepened, he dedicated himself to surf lifesaving and kayaking, winning New Zealand national titles in both sports and being selected as a New Zealand sprint kayak representative. As competitive sport took over his life and demanded more of his time, he gradually lost interest in surfing.
After retiring from kayaking and surf life-saving Paul concentrated on his business career and returned to surfing to keep his connection with the ocean and to cope with the pressures of business. Surfing had taken him into elite level competitive sport and after retiring from competition, it grounded him and took him back to the harmony and connection with nature he had experienced in his youth. He describes himself as a naturally competitive person, but surfing is one of the few things in his life where he feels no competitive drive and has no desire to compete. Indeed, this is one of its big attractions for him.
[Competitive sports and surfing are] completely different for me. One is a driven by a desire to win and compete, you know, [at] all cost-but morally-but everything within your power to do everything you can to be the best that you could possibly be. Whereas surfing is for me an outlet, a relaxation, pure endorphin, a nature experience, and the most uncompetitive thing that I can think of… it's probably one of the only areas in my life where I'm really not competitive.
Surfing provides Paul with an escape from normal life, the buzz he needs and a connection with nature.
The social elements of surfing are also attractive to him. He enjoys having close friends who are surfers, what he sees as its collegial nature and likes how the individual abilities of his friends is not a factor in the collective enjoyment of surfing. They are not opponents or the enemy but instead, his mates. The experience is often open to all regardless of experience: "it doesn't matter what level you are…providing the conditions are within everyone's ability, everyone will have exactly the same amount of fun and stoke factor".
The experience of connecting with nature and being part of it also provided great pleasure and motivation for Paul. From the time he enters the water, surfing is a deeply meaningful and engaging experience for him. In his own words, it's "only me and the ocean". When he catches a wave, his focus is purely on the sensation and the experience; on being in the moment. "I'm out there with friends…and knowing that they're there is cool, but I actually just like it to be about me. I enjoy looking at the mountain and, you know, the cold or the warmth and the waves and. I actually like just being by myself". This description provides insight into the depth of engagement Paul can experience with surfing and how it is whole-person immersion in the experience. Surfers connect with the ocean and understand it.
They understand how the size and direction on the swell, the strength and direct of the wind, the tide and the changing sand banks all combine to determine the quality of the surf and the individual experience of surfing. The mood of the ocean has a huge influence on a surfer's mood with each surf deeply engaging.
Pauls first few years of surfing made him feel free and connected to nature and its energy as a type of liberating experience but when he immersed himself in the competitive sports of kayaking and surf ski racing, he left his surfing behind. Then, after retiring from elite level water sports he returned to the pleasure of a different world that surfing offered him. At this stage of his life surfing helped him cope with the mounting stress of his business career that he captured by saying how paddling from shore out the back behind where the waves break felt like he was leaving stress and pressure further behind with every stroke.

Sarah
Sarah's first sight of the ocean in her early teens amazed her and once she had saved enough money, she bought a board at the age of 15. She traveling to the beach on her own by bus and taught herself the basics of surfing. Her parents were not interested in supporting her and she was the only female at the break she went to. At 18, Sarah started work in a surf shop, which connected her to the surfing community and developed her knowledge of equipment and fashions. She immersed herself in the surfing culture, which was something that her religious parents were unhappy about.
[My] family was really, religious, and we weren't encouraged to do extracurricular [activities]. We weren't encouraged to be part of that surf culture particularly back when the surf culture was more about... it was perceived to be druggies and, you know, real loose hippies, basically. That was the perception of the surfing world. I wasn't allowed to hang out with anyone in that world unless I was in the water obviously.
Surfing provided a sanctuary Sarah could escape to from the structure and pressures of her life. It presented an escape from her strict parents and the expectations of her church community. Surfing also provided a sense of achievement, status, and confidence: "[Surfing] was a sport I could do without any judgement. It was also a sport with no rules. No one was really judging me; it was just me and the ocean and the ability to feel cool for a change, instead of a weird outsider that didn't fit in with anyone".
On a trip to the surfing town of Mooloolaba, in Queensland, Australia at the age of 18, Sarah fell in love with the surfing scene and immersed herself in it. The experience was so powerful she decided not to return to New Zealand but when she informed her parents of her decision she was startled by their response. "They gave me the ultimatum, like, I had to get on the plane and come back or they'd never speak to me again. So, I came back 'cos I was like 'woah, that's pretty intense'". Sarah returned to New Zealand, to her parents and, the church and, under pressure from her parents and the church, she sought a suitable husband so she could leave home and leave home.
Fortunately for Sarah, her new husband was enthusiastic about learning to surf, and she continued to work in the surf shop and go surfing as often as possible. Surfing had come to provide an important sanctuary she could escape to from the pressures of her life but when she became pregnant with pregnancy-related sickness, she was unable to surf, which she felt affected her mental wellbeing.
I wasn't really surfing very much but I really struggled like mentally, just really, mentally bad for my health. I was really upset to be pregnant. I thought I was the fattest person in the world, and I didn't want a baby and I couldn't surf; it seemed all quite bad. Surfing provided a cathartic release from the turmoil Sarah was experiencing, and she used surfing to release her emotions. Reflective of her state of mind, she took extreme risks. Throughout this period, surfing became pivotal to giving her life meaning and regaining her mental health and confidence. She described surfing as "a high" and as an adrenaline kick. A feeling of freedom and being in touch with the universe and nature. It seems to wash away the stresses and the worries and the adrenaline gives you a kick to feel like you can handle more after your surf". After surfing, Sarah feels empowered and optimistic; better prepared to pick up normal life with vigour. "It makes you feel happy," she states. "I recall surfs that I've felt like my heart was going to burst with happiness. I just can't get that kick or adrenaline from a run or the gym or biking".
At this point Sarah discovered competitive surfing and, more importantly to her, a connection to other female surfers. Surfing had always been something she did on her own where she enjoyed the solitude but after beginning to compete, she enjoyed the more social experience. Her surfing caught the eye of another female surfer who encouraged her to join a local competition. Sarah established herself as a successful competitor and embraced the opportunity to take a leadership and advocate role for women's surfing. As her daughters grew older, she started to teach them to surf, and the family spent a lot of time at the beach. Her older daughter is passionate about surfing. Her youngest daughter is less keen and preferred swimming in the ocean. For Sarah, surfing with her child is "the best thing in the entire world.
Absolutely amazing". She loves early morning surfing sessions where the two of them share crowd-free surf breaks as an almost spiritual experience. "There's nothing better...we get up in summer and we'll go out for a before-work surf and the sun's rising and it glassy and you're just out there. Her business is a central part of to her surfing life: "Ideally, you know, you'd retire as soon as possible but actually no; I really love what I do. I'd just like to go to surfing whenever I want". Sarah is proud of the impact she has made on women's surfing. She hopes that she has helped create an environment that is more conducive to female involvement and that other women will not have to have the same misogynistic experiences she struggled with.

Discussion
Surfing can be viewed as an "extreme sport" in which daredevils take dangerous risks in a hostile fluid environment within which a single mistake could result in serious injury or death. This might apply to www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr professional big wave riders but not necessarily to the huge numbers of surfers engaged in it as a past time, leisure activity or lifestyle sport across the globe. The two surfers in this article enjoy the thrills of surfing, but their motivations and the benefits it brings them go far beyond just excitement. For them, the ocean provides a connection with nature and even a sense of spirituality. It is also an opportunity for introspection, engaging in a completely immersive experience and a retreat from life stresses. Sarah had far more pressure and stress to deal with than Paul, but surfing performed the same role for them.
For Sarah and Paul, surfing enriched their lives and provided a way of coping with life's pressures. The way in which surfing helped Paul wind down and find himself has clearly been helpful for him but the role surfing played in Sarah's life is profound. Indeed, it is worrying to imagine how she would have fared without surfing.
The beach and ocean provide a location for adventure and connections with the ocean that started early for these surfers. Paul and Sarah's stories tell of instant wonderment the first time they saw the beach and contrasted it to everyday life for most people and as a place full of possibilities. From their first exposure to the beach, they were inspired to learn to surf. So strong was their inspiration that they both taught themselves to surf without any help or coaching. They had little knowledge of what they were doing, and progression was slow, but they were fuelled by excitement, challenge, adventure, and pleasure.
The experiences of surfing for these two surfers went beyond the benefits of just physical exercise that they rarely mentioned during their interviews. They regularly articulated their enjoyment of surfing but their experiences of it went deeper. The words they used to define their experiences were steeped in emotional and spiritual terms. Their accounts of surfing almost suggest an experience of moving from the profane to the scared and with almost religious tones (see, Durkheim, 1915) that has been applied to other sport (see, Light, 2000). To them, surfing is not simply another sport with Sarah describing it as an other-worldly experience; "a high; an adrenaline kick. A feeling of freedom and being in touch with the universe and nature". There is more to these experiences than just catching a few waves as Paul conforms when recalling one of his best surfing adventures in detail during his interview. During this part of the interview themes of connections with nature and being in another place emerged strongly: "I can still talk about this one day with a full moon when it was at [local surf spot] and…it was epic surf, and you know we can feel it and smell it and touch it; it was that good". Paul had successful elite-level sporting career but did not see surfing as a competitive sport. He is naturally competitive, but surfing is completely non-competitive for him. Sarah did surf competitively but focused far more on community connection with other female surfers and how it saved her life, than on competition. For her, surfing was often an isolating experience with males dominating her surfing community, which is not uncommon (see, Olive, McCuaig, & Phillips, 2015). These two surfers do not consider surfing to be a sport in the traditional sense but instead, as an uplifting, spiritual-like experience.
For these two surfers there is a strong link between surfing and mental wellbeing but, more so for Sarah.
For her, surfing functioned as a coping mechanism for dealing with stress in life (see Matos, Santos, Fauvelet, Marta, & Evangelista, 2017). A surfing session inspired positive feelings and the two surfers spoke of post surfing highs. It also provided space and a time for reflection and introspection with both surfers describing times where they used surfing to improve their mental wellbeing. Connecting with nature has been shown to have a positive effect on health and wellbeing (Martin, White, Hunt, Richardson, Pahl, & Burt, 2020) and for the two surfers in this study it was very deep and significant with Paul describing coming back from surfing being as in "the most amazing mood".
Sarah had struggled with a very strict and constraining upbringing, the breakdown of her marriage and her exile from her church community with surfing acting as a type of therapy or coping mechanism for her to deal with these challenges. As she said, the ocean can "wash away the stresses and the worries and the adrenaline gives you a kick to feel like you can handle more after your surf". Through surfing, she can create space, protect herself for the stressful elements of her life, recharge through the activity she loves, and then re-enter society renewed and refocused.
Drawing on Dewey's experiential learning theory (1938) we identified several key themes. Dewey identifies the importance of the environment on the space where the interaction of the experience occurs, as it influences "agreeableness or disagreeableness" (p. 16) that shapes future experiences in an experiential continuum. For these two surfers the ocean provides challenge, adventure, freedom, and the experience of moving into another world-another reality. Over their lifelong engagement in surfing, they learned more than how to surf or even how to adapt to its physical demands as they matured. They learned about themselves, about life and developed a strong sense of meaning in their lives.
The meaning that surfing held for the two participants suggests the influence of the values of surfing when it emerged during counterculture movement in the sixties and seventies. In particular, the search for freedom and meaning in life which involved rejecting social structure and seeking agency, as a reflection of its roots in the counterculture of the sixties and the wholesale rejection of the status quo (Booth, 2013;Grogan, 2013). Dewey (1938) identifies structure as social control, the rules and expectations of the wider public that govern what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This helps us recognise that for these two surfers, surfing is not only participating in an activity or sport, but an important part of their development of identity and a challenge to social conformity and control changed but sustained, for over three decades.
The larger study involving 12 participants was designed and conducted to answer the central research question of why people in their forties and fifties continued with their lifestyle sport as they approached middle age and how its meaning and practice changed. Two of the factors we identified across all www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr twelve participants were how the meaning it held for them intensified as they approached middle age and the role it played in coping with the pressures of life. We chose to focus on two surfers to provide the depth we were after from deeper inquiry into the place and function of surfing in their lives.
Focusing on only two people and their experiences means that we cannot generalise from the findings we use, but this was not our aim. The larger study that focussed on 12 participants would also be difficult to generalise from, even when linking with similar, current research, but we aimed at depth and not breadth to provide deep insight into human experience. The narrative inquiry methodology we used and our focus on two people provided the depth of understanding, from a humanistic perspective, to illuminate how meaningful surfing was for Paul and Sarah. It also highlighted the significant role that surfing played in contributing to their wellbeing, which was particularly marked with Sarah.
The findings for these two surfers strongly suggest the importance of surfing in their lives far beyond being a mere form of enjoyable physical exercise or competition. With growing interest in the contribution sport can make toward wellbeing that have been accentuated over the Covid-19 pandemic, our findings contribute to knowledge about how surfing can promote happiness and the wellbeing of people approaching middle age. For the two surfers we focus on, surfing over their lives combined connecting with the ocean and tapping into its energy to experience combinations of sensuous movement that changed their lives for the better and offered a valuable escape from the stresses of modern life. In this study, the physical environment was of central importance to the findings.