Surfing

Dive into the waters of professional surfing with Matt Bromley and Ty Roach as they share insights on specialized training, the science of surfing, and cultivating a champion’s mindset.

Riding the Waves: Insights on Mastery and  Mindset.

Professional longboarder Ty Roach and big wave surfer Matt Bromley discuss longboarding, big weight surfing, and how to train your mind and set goals like a pro athlete.

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Join Matt Bromley and Ty Roach as they traverse the dynamic landscapes of professional surfing, revealing the contrasts and connections between big wave and longboard surfing. Matt's pursuit of the world's biggest waves and Ty’s journey from pro longboarding to marine biology and biophysics research unfold, showcasing the multifaceted nature of their careers.  Discover the untold stories and invaluable lessons from these surfing legends, blending sports, science, and personal development.

Longboarder is deeper, short border inside closer to peak. Longboarder catches and is up 5 sec before shortboarder drops in behind. Who's wave is it?

Longboarder vs Shortboarder: Who Owns the Wave?

So, this question involves a hypothetical scenario where there's a long border, who is deeper and a short border who is inside closer to the peak, the long border catches, the wave, and is up five seconds before the short border drops in. Behind the question is, whose wave is it? This is a bit of a gray area. However, in my opinion, if the long border is both deeper and up and riding and doing committed Maneuvers before the short border drops in, then it is undoubtedly the longboarders wave

If the long border is deeper and up and riding before the short border drops in, then it is their wave.

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In this hypothetical scenario, there is a longboarder who is deeper and a shortboarder who is closer to the peak. The longboarder catches the wave and is up and riding for five seconds before the shortboarder drops in behind. The question is, whose wave is it?

While this situation can be subjective, in my opinion, if the longboarder is deeper, already up and riding, and performing committed maneuvers before the shortboarder drops in, then it is clear that it is the longboarder's wave.

Are the skills in moving towards mastering surfing similar on both a longboard and a shortboard?

Mastering Surfing: Common Skills for Longboarding and Shortboarding

Hi, Jack. Great question. So to answer, simply yes, there are common skills that will help you in mastering the Arts of both longboarding and short boarding, the most prominent of those common skills. To me, is understanding the way that the ocean works and the way that waves work and this ocean knowledge and wave knowledge is something that's not just going to help you master your longboarding and short boarding but it really applies to any way writing disciplines such as kneeboarding, Boogie boarding or even body surfing with that said there are also Very specific skill sets which are only for longboarding or only for short boarding. For example, short borders are mostly concerned with moving the board across the surface of the water. For instance, doing turns Barrel, riding or even doing airs, above the lip whereas in longboarding, there's an added component of the surfer moving on the surfboard. For example, walking to the nose in order to hang 5 or hang 10. So in some to answer your question, there are common skills. Which will help you in mastering both longboarding and short boarding. But there are also very disciplined specific skill sets, which set the two apart.

Yes, there are common skills which can help you in mastering both longboarding and shortboarding, with knowledge of the ocean and waves being the most important. However, there are also very specific skill sets that set the two apart.

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Yes, there are common skills that can help you in mastering both longboarding and shortboarding. The most important of these skills is understanding how the ocean and waves work. This knowledge applies not only to longboarding and shortboarding but also to other wave riding disciplines like kneeboarding, boogie boarding, or body surfing.

However, there are also specific skill sets that are unique to each style. Shortboarders focus on moving the board across the water's surface, performing turns, riding barrels, and even doing airs above the lip. On the other hand, longboarding involves an additional component of the surfer moving on the board itself, such as walking to the nose to perform hanging fives or tens.

In summary, while there are common skills that apply to both longboarding and shortboarding, there are also distinct skill sets that set the two apart.

Hi Ty! Tell people about your background, expertise, and how you can help.

Surfing Scientist: World Champion Longboarder Making Waves in Research

Hi Greg, thanks for the question. I'd be happy to tell you a little about myself. So my name is Ty roach. I'm a professional longboard Surfer and an adjunct research professor at the viral information Institute for my undergrad. I attended North Carolina State University on a wrestling scholarship where I graduated number one in my class while triple, majoring in biology botany and chemistry and minoring in genetics. I went on to receive a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from, San Diego State University, where my research mainly focused on the role of bacteria. And Viruses, and human health, and ecological Health, mainly focused on Coral Reef ecosystems as a surfer. I won four consecutive East Coast titles before going on to win. Two US men's longboard national titles. I was also a former ASP professional Surfer and I'm currently on the WSL qualifying series with aspirations to maybe one day when a world title as far as what I'm about. I'm really just about sharing Stoke and love and hopes to have a positive impact on the people around me and living every day to its absolute. Salute fullest.

My name is Ty roach, I'm a professional longboard surfer and adjunct research professor with a PhD in cellular and molecular biology. I've won several titles in my sport and aspire to be the world champion one day. I'm passionate about sharing stoke and love and making a positive impact on people around me.

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Hi Greg, thanks for asking about my background and expertise. My name is Ty Roach, and I have a diverse range of experiences. I am a professional longboard surfer and also work as an adjunct research professor at the Viral Information Institute.

In terms of education, I graduated from North Carolina State University on a wrestling scholarship, where I achieved the top rank in my class. I triple majored in biology, botany, and chemistry, with a minor in genetics. I then pursued a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from San Diego State University, focusing my research on the role of bacteria and viruses in human and ecological health, particularly in Coral Reef ecosystems.

As a surfer, I have achieved significant accomplishments, including winning four consecutive East Coast titles and two US Men's Longboard National titles. I have also competed as a former ASP professional surfer and currently participate in the WSL qualifying series, with dreams of winning a world title someday.

Overall, my passion lies in sharing stoke, love, and positivity, aiming to have a positive impact on those around me. I strive to live each day to its fullest potential.

Surfer's Close Encounter: 18-Foot Great White Circles Him

What was my closest shark encounter. So I actually got a pretty good story for this one. My closest shark encounter was in a contest in North Carolina at Fort Fisher and Curry Beach. We were in the finals of the event, me, and another surfing Surfer Dylan Andrews from Florida. And I remember looking at Dillon and saying what was that fin out there? That thing was absolutely huge and and Dylan looked at me and said I was too big to be a shark and we convinced ourselves that it was a single wing from an array that had come out of the Water and about that time. I start to hear the horns. Blow on the beach, they're throwing up the red flag and it became quickly apparent that this was not a man array that had come into the surf zone shortly. After the red flags, go up the shark appears right next to me. I'm so close to me. I could touch it and it was a 16 to 18 foot, great, white shark, she came right next to me. We actually made pretty good. Eye contact, and then she began to Circle me one full Circle around me another half, circle around me and then she disappeared down below me. And in my mind I'm thinking I've seen that GOI know how this ends I was fully prepared for like an air draws attack coming from below and I was trying to picture how I was going to hold myself out of its mouth. If this thing came up to attack me from from below and luckily once she went under she just disappeared and swam off down the beach. They called everyone in from the final we went into the beach for About 15 minutes. Or so, eventually, there was lifeguards down, the beach said that they had spotted her about a half, a mile down the beach, and they send us back out in the finals. And that up, finishing second, the event. And that was that as a close second, a little less scary. But one time also, in North Carolina, I was sitting on my board talking to someone in the lineup, and I had about a 45-foot spinner shark. Jump out of the water and land on top of my longboard. That one was also A pretty startling but not quite as scary as the great white experience that I had in Fort Fisher and I'll say that you know there's so many sharks out there. You're probably having really close encounters without even knowing it all the time.

My closest shark encounter was at a contest in North Carolina at Fort Fisher and Curry Beach. We were in the finals of the event when I spotted a huge fin out there. It turned out to be an 16-18 foot great white shark, who circled me one full circle, then a half circle before disappearing down below. We were called back in, but eventually were sent back out and I finished second in the event. Another time I had a 45 foot spinner shark jump out of the water and land on top of my longboard.

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My closest shark encounter is quite a story. It happened during a surfing contest in North Carolina at Fort Fisher and Curry Beach. I was in the finals with another surfer named Dylan Andrews from Florida. We noticed a large fin in the water and initially convinced ourselves it was a wing from an array. However, when the red flags went up and the horns blew on the beach, it became clear that it was not a harmless object.

Soon after, a 16 to 18-foot great white shark appeared right next to me. We made eye contact, and she began circling me, completing one full circle and half of another. I braced myself, expecting a possible attack from below. Fortunately, she disappeared below me and swam away down the beach. Lifeguards spotted her later, about half a mile away.

After a brief pause, we were sent back out to finish the finals. I ended up finishing second in the event. Another memorable but less scary encounter I had in North Carolina was when a 45-foot spinner shark jumped out of the water and landed on top of my longboard while I was talking to someone in the lineup.

These experiences have made me realize that there are likely many close encounters with sharks that we may not even be aware of while we're out in the water.

Master the Pop Up: Land Exercises and Flexibility Tips

This question says, how do you train to pop up better? So there's lots of different exercises that you can use to train your pop up. Of course, you can go get yourself a surfboard and lay it in the sand and work on doing your pop up on the beach. But some exercises that I incorporate into my own workouts that I really think do help you pop up better are things like burpees. So you're just dropping to the ground into like a pushup position, going all the way down, pushing back up and pulling your feet back under you. And I do some variations of those where I actually kind of stand up into a surf stance, then I'll drop back down and stand up switch stance and I'll do those over and over again. You can add in a jump at the top of that to kind of give you some extra explosion and work your legs a little extra. I've also found that adding a weight vest to your burpees can really help to improve the strength and explosiveness with which you can pop up. And then of course, there's also flexibility issues that some people have. And if you find that you're having trouble with your hip flexion or knee flexion in your pop ups, then there's certain stretches you can do. Things like pigeon pose really helps the hips, deep sumo squats can really help you be able to bring your legs up under you and pop up from that loaded low position. And then of course, things where you can kind of keep your knees good and flexible can also help a lot. And also things just basic things like pushups and squats will help you with your pop ups as well. So I would say really train on land with things like burpees, pushups, squats. You can add weight if needed and also just work on general flexibility in the hips, quads and knees.

To train to pop up better, incorporate exercises like burpees, squats and push-ups into your workouts, and focus on increasing hip flexion and knee flexibility by doing stretches such as pigeon pose and deep sumo squats. You can also add weight, such as a weight vest, to increase strength and explosiveness.

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To train for better pop-ups, there are various exercises you can incorporate into your workouts. One effective exercise is burpees, where you drop to the ground into a push-up position, push back up, and pull your feet back under you. You can add variations to simulate a surf stance and switch stance, adding a jump for extra explosiveness and leg work. Using a weight vest during burpees can further enhance strength and explosiveness.

Flexibility is also important. If you struggle with hip or knee flexion during pop-ups, certain stretches can help. Pigeon pose is beneficial for the hips, while deep sumo squats can improve your ability to bring your legs up under you from a loaded low position. Maintaining flexible knees is also advantageous.

In addition to burpees, exercises like push-ups and squats can contribute to better pop-ups. Training on land with these exercises, focusing on explosiveness, strength, and flexibility in the hips, quads, and knees, will help improve your pop-up technique.

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Ty Roach holds multiple East Coast and National Longboard titles. He was the 6th best wrestler in the U.S. coming out of high school earning a scholarship to wrestle for North Carolina State University where he became the university’s valedictorian. After graduating from N.C. State, he chased pro longboarding for years, but after a surfing injury, he decided to pursue his Ph.D. at San Diego State University where he helped lead the university’s surf team to a national title. Today, Dr. Roach continues to compete in some WSL longboard events and is an active researcher in the areas of marine biology and biophysics.  