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Big wave visionaries
I have never been surfing before but I have always had some odd fascination with surfing and surf culture. Last night I think I identified why that is. I was watching a surf documentary on Discovery HD called Riding Giants. The documentary profiles the pioneering legends of big wave surfing like Greg Noll who invented modern big wave surfing and Jeff Clark who rode the perilous big waves at Mavericks for 15 years before anyone else would dare to join him and Laird Hamilton who is considered the best all around big wave surfer to ever grace the ocean.
As I sat watching this film admiring these giants it dawned on me that these guys are just like the visionaries of the business world today. There are a lot of people who surf and there are a lot of people who start businesses. However, only a few ever achieve that big wave visionary status. I like to think of guys like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs as the big wave riders of industry. Very few ever venture down their road. Here are some parallels to draw:
- Though most people continue to play it safe and ride the same waves, big wave surfers are constantly chasing the largest waves with new techniques and equipment for the job. Similarly, most entrepreneurs ride the same waves over and over again while the business visionaries create new industries and redefined old ones.
- Riding big waves is about life and death. Similarly, visionaries operate way outside of the bounds of business safety.
- Big wave surfers are more comfortable in big surf rather than the safer smaller surf. Similarly, visionaries are more comfortable on the bleeding edge rather than hanging with the crowd.
- Big wave surfers are a small elite group. Business visionaries are a small elite group.
- Every surfer dreams of being as cool as a big wave surfer. Every entrepreneur dreams of being a visionary.Â
- When most people say it can’t be done (surfing, business, etc), visionaries prove it can be done. Â
To them it was all about “living life to the fullest.” I love this quote from Greg Noll:Â
“My dad asked me what I was going to do - I had just graduated from school. I said I’m going to the North Shore to ride big waves and find out who I am.”Â
I admire visionaries. Big wave surfers, visionary entrepreneurs, astronauts, pioneers of the old west and many others set the pace for the rest of society.
Bonus Material…
Here’s a two minutes video of Laird Hamilton riding the most hairy wave ever. Its not the largest but the circumstances of this ride made this one of the hardest waves ever formed by reef, wind and water. Very cool video (caution swear word alert):
Here’s the preview for Riding Giants:
You can watch the whole documentary here on Google Video.