Wakesurf is the first step into the world of big surfing

Do you hear the sound of ocean surf in your ears every morning? Does your hair smell like salt and your clothes are always damp? You must have the spirit of freedom in you. The desire to walk around in flip-flops, drink apple-celery smoothies and show off your “shaka” will follow you everywhere. How do you make your life closer to all that? Try wakesurfing.

For those who spend their “best” summers in the city, even though they’ve dreamed of the ocean, there’s a great way to unwind – go wakesurfing. You don’t have to go far. Advanced users can come to the wake club to practice, and beginners can try to conquer their first wave there.

Surf Like Pro club founder

Talks about the intricacies and basics of wakesurfing.

What is wakesurf?

Wakesurfing cannot be called a mini-surf. The principle of wakesurfing is that a speedboat accelerates, creates a wave behind it and you can ride the wave. There are some overlaps with real surfing, but it’s still a very different story.

I can say that wakesurfing is not so much a sport as it is fun, fun and enjoyment during the summer season. Without being too serious. It is exciting because it is safe and accessible to everyone – from small to large, everyone can ride. You can’t say that about surfing.

What is the specialty of wakesurfing?

Wakesurfing is gaining popularity every year. In recent years especially. In Moscow and in other big cities more and more clubs are opening, as it is quite an easy business to organize. Since this entertainment is very safe, comfortable, pleasant and especially related to the pastime on the water, people are very fond of it. After trying it once, almost everyone has something going for them.

Wakesurfing is good because you don’t have to go somewhere special to catch waves, the only thing you need is a desire and financial ability. It’s not the cheapest of leisure activities.

What skills can be developed?

Any sport involving boards – snowboarding, longboarding, surfing, wakesurfing or wakeboarding – has crossovers. Knowing how to ride one of the boards makes it easier to learn any of the other board-related sports.

For example, if you want to learn to ride on the ocean, on real waves, wakesurfing is a great place to take your first steps. To understand if it’s your thing or not, to learn the stance, to understand what a wave is and to feel the glide on it. Wakesurfing is the safest of all board sports and also the most accessible. It’s the first step to conquering everything else.

Do you need to be physically fit?

No. It is absolutely not necessary to have any physical training at all. You don’t need special stretching or incredible strength. You can start at almost any age.

We put children on the board (so that children consciously start to stand up on their own) from about six years old. We tried to have fun and dabble with smaller kids, three or four years old. When they rode on the board, lying on their belly holding on to the rope, they had incredible fun.

I’ve had adults in their 60s and 70s. Even people with disabilities can ride. If you do everything carefully and according to the technique, as the instructor shows you, there will be no problems.

The falls are very soft, as if you were falling down from the side of the pool. As scary as it looks from the outside: when people are flying up, bouncing on oncoming waves – it’s super soft. It’s the softest and safest thing you can think of.

Another thing is that girls often worry that they won’t make it. On the contrary. The less strength a person has, the easier it’s gonna be. You need to trust the boat, the instructor, do what he says, and do not make any effort. Then everything will work out. Children and women, who have the least strength, have the easiest time. And men, who press 100 kg from the chest, always try to do something at the expense of strength, but strength is not necessary. And trying to pull the boat over, you just get tired faster.

Is wakesurfing a preparation for ocean surfing?

Yes, wakesurfing can be considered a preparation for real surfing. It is the first step towards the ocean. It allows you to understand how much it is yours and how much you are interested in it, to feel the basic technique while being safe and in a conditional comfort zone, to feel the basics of balance, sliding on the board on the wave, to master the stance. All this makes it easier to move to the stage of mastering real surfing.

Surfing is fundamentally a different story. “Tru” sport, which requires constant overcoming of yourself, constant struggle and constant work with fears. Even after learning to ride a wakesurf and realizing that you really want to start surfing, it is not a fact that you will succeed. Progress in surfing is much slower than in wakesurfing.

Unfortunately, many people really start to feel like “surfers” when they ride a wave behind a boat. From the side of an experienced person it looks funny.

Where can you catch Jaws and Mavericks in Moscow?

• Surf like pro;
• NAVOLNE;
• Wake Division.