Adventure Out Guide Profile-Lead Surf-Michael

Name: Michael Smith

Age: 28

Birthplace: Palo Alto, CA

Position with Adventure Out: Lead Surf Instructor













Why I love Surfing:
I love surfing because the feeling of flying along the face of a wave is like no other. Surfing is based on working with, understanding, and immersing oneself in nature and harnessing her energy in pursuit of a moment or two of pure exhilaration. The whole thing still seems so improbable to me sometimes, like walking on water. And on the paddle back out, I always appreciate just being in the open air and beautiful ocean water.

Make us laugh:
My first time ever surfing, I was a freshman in high school. A buddy and I had only enough money between us to rent one surfboard and no wetsuits. Undeterred, we headed out to The Hook in Santa Cruz, where we decided it would be a good idea if we took turns after each wave, with one guy on the surfboard and the other guy treading water (in swim trunks) out in the line-up. Needless to say, our adventure ended with both of us shivering on the beach after about half an hour. We wound up splitting a single slice of cheese pizza and laughing about the whole thing all the way home.