In Surfer’s Code, world champion surfer Shaun Tomson shares the life lessons he’s gathered from decades of surfing—from his boyhood adventures in South Africa to the world tour in the late 1970s to the business world today. For Tomson, surfing is a hobby, a sport, a religion, an obsession, and more—it is a way of life. Tomson’s life lessons have guided his career to the top of both professional competition and the world of business. These lessons are born of the collective wisdom of the surf community and are a powerful source of inspiration in the face of extraordinary challenges of everyday life.
I will never turn my back on the ocean
I will paddle around the impact zone
I will take the drop with commitment
I will never fight a rip tide
I will watch out for other surfers
There will always be another wave
I will always ride into shore
I will honor the sport of kings
I will pass along my stroke
I will catch a wave every day
All surfers are connected by one ocean
Shaun Tomson was at the pinnacle of his professional and personal life—a former world champion surfer, a successful entrepreneur of multimillion dollar clothing brands and an inspirational speaker—when his fifteen-year-old son, Mathew, died in a tragic accident. Drawing on the strength of lessons learned from his childhood in apartheid South Africa to competition in the world’s most dangerous waves, Tomson provides an inspirational account of facing life’s hardest challenges by looking toward the light that shines ahead. Tomson tells a story of terrible loss and miraculous rebirth. Surfer’s Code reveals that the lessons of a life spent surfing are the lessons of surfing through life: every moment holds the possibility of failure and tragedy, every moment the promise of success and happiness.
SHAUN TOMSON was born in Durban and went on to become one of the world’s best surfers. He competed on the Pro Tour for 16 years, winning 19 professional events including the World Title. During his competitive career he was at different stages both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a professional event. Tomson was listed as one of the25 most influential surfers of the century (Surfer 1999) and one of the 16 greatest surfers of all time (Surfing 2004). He is a business finance graduate from the University of Natal, and has created two successful multimillion-dollar clothing brands: Instinct in the ’80s and Solitude in the ’90s.
PATRICK MOSER has written articles for The Surfer’s Journal and Surfer. He edited Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing and is currently Associate Professor of French at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he teaches a course on the history and culture of surfing.
