Do You Want To Be a Surfer?
This picture was taken from: popartuk.com
But a professional one, not just the one who surfs in the spare time.
Sam Lamiroy, 32, lives in Cornwall. He was taking part in the surfing competitions for seven years. Now, he’s a professional and member of the Swatch Pro Team.
As all surfing events have place in the summer, Sam complained that the waves then are often too small. Now he travels all over the world and explores the best surfing places. He’s got sponsors and his trips are usually accompanied by the media. He’s away from home for most of the year: he spends about nine-ten months abroad. Sam’s closest plans for this spring are: a snowboarding training trip to the Alps and a charity trip to India.
Sam wonders sometimes how it is to do something that you don’t like doing. He’s got this privilege that he absolutely loves his job. It gives him freedom and lets visiting amazing places. Unfortunately, there are also bad points. The worst is hankering his family and friends. “When you’re away for a long time, it can be quite difficult to have a normal relationship with the people who are closest to you” says Sam.
If you want to do this job, you need to start young - 10 years old is pretty late already! Obviously you need to be fit and adaptive. As the sea changes quickly, creativeness and being able to interpret the surrounding is crucial. You also need to be smart if you want to do surfing your job. It’s not only about surfing every day. You deal with people and you have to be very professional and know what your sponsors want.
What can you expect from the sponsors? As you start, a free board and clothing is the first sponsorship you get. Once you take part in the international competitions, you can earn about £20,000 a year, whereas the top surfers - £1m.
