There was a strong English accent on the other end of the phone saying , “so you think you can get an old bloke like myself up on a surf board?” “Of course, ill see you this afternoon!” Chris was excited to have his very first surf lesson. He rented a board and tried surfing earlier in the day with no success and had a nice bruise on his ribs to show from it.
After a some on land safety and coaching we hit the water ready to surf. Despite the fact he was up for about 2 seconds Chris was up to his feet on his first wave! Probably an hour into the lesson I asked Chris and to my surprise he told me he was 77 years old. He surfed the entire lesson and surfed multiple waves to the beach with a huge smile on his face. (photo) He was in love with surfing and told me that he would continue to surf whenever possible.
I spoke to his friends during our break and they told me they met Chris in London 20 yrs ago and they have been trying to “kill” the guy ever since. They have taken him across the globe fulfilling his bucket list and in Thailand the locals nicknamed him “iron man”. He works out every day, rides his bike to work, and has the most positive mind set I have every seen. Every time he fell off the board he would come up laughing and tell me not to worry he is going to get it on the next wave!
Who knew, I’ve been teaching people how to surf for 6 years now and I’ve taught kids as young as 3 years old and now as old as 77 years old! If Chris can surf at 77 I believe anyone who puts there mind to it can surf! Who’s willing to take the challenge?