Hey Dibi: What Does It Mean To Pay Dues In Surfing Today?

Editor’s Note: Have a question for Dibi Fletcher? After a life under the sun, she’s definitely got answers. Or at least a perspective. Don’t hold back, shoot her a DM on Instagram and ask away. Here’s this week’s dispatch from surfing’s most radical mom…

Hey Dibi…. How do I keep surfing without burning out or selling out? - Trying to live the Dream
Hey Trying to live the Dream… If you’re trying to support yourself through your surfing, it’s a job that includes travel schedules, deadlines, paperwork, self-promotion, contests, equipment, promotional appearances, just to name a few of the things that will be expected of you for “selling out” to receive sponsorship dollars. If these responsibilities sound too onerous, you might be better off getting a job in some other field and surfing before or after work and on the weekends for pleasure. If you’re lucky enough to have a choice, pick wisely.

Hey Dibi…. Everyone told me to “follow my passion” now I fold T-shirts at a surf shop and can’t afford rent. Was that just nice lie? - EX-QS Qualifier
Hey EX-QS Qualifier…. I’m kind of curious who the “everyone” is you listened to when making what you now understand is life defining decisions. Obviously, you listened to people who reflected what you wanted to hear. I’m sure there must have been a few who were more cautious thinking about what your future would look like if you didn’t finish 99% of the time on the podium. It doesn’t matter now, but you should give it some thought while you’re strategizing your next move. To surf at the level to compete in the QS you learned a lot of valuable lessons about how to become good at something, it’s time to take those qualities and turn them into another job skill that will enable you to support yourself. I’m sure you must have friends in skilled trades, speak with them, find out about any local apprenticeships, vocational programs and or trade schools. These skills are crucial to keep the community infrastructure humming, and I don’t think they’ll be obliterated by AI in the near future. Do your own research, but I think it’s worth a serious look.

Hey Dibi… I have two boys 4 and 7 who don’t want to surf. My husband tries to bribe them, and they won’t have it. They like to play in the water on boogie boards but will not step foot on his board or the boards he’s bought for them. He’s hurt, the kids get upset, do you have any advice? - Exasperated Mom
Hey Exasperated Mom… I’d leave the kids alone and let them enjoy boogie boarding. They’re learning about the waves, current, rips and paddling, all things they’ll need to know if they decide to switch to a surfboard, which in time they may do. But they need to be allowed to make the choice for themselves, and your husband needs to be stoked that they’re at the beach enjoying themselves in the ocean and they can share the stoke of wave riding whether prone or standing up.

Hey Dibi…. Are there real heroes in surfing or were they made up by the media? - Hero’s Journey
Hey Hero’s Journey… I’m not sure what you mean by “hero”. Of course, there were heroic watermen in surfing’s long past who accomplished amazing fetes that were spoken about with reverence. There have been shark attack survivors that have had amazing careers in surfing. There have been people who turned a pair of trunks into a global phenomenon or made a movie that changed the way people lived around the globe. There have been people who shared the oceans healing with others suffering severe disabilities, all of these and more would be considered heroes by their actions and I’m sure have been written about in surf journalism, and all being human have had their amount of negative publicity as well, which seems to be the nature of the press.

Hey Dibi…I keep hearing about “paying dues” in the lineup. What does that even mean? - Pass the Collection Plate
Hey Pass the Collection Plate… It means spending time and earning respect from your fellow surfers, not just in the lineup but with all your interactions. The top surfers in the lineup waited their turn to be in the priority position, it’s about safety, it’s about patience, it’s about survival in the impact zone. With the small number of waves for the huge amount of surfers in the line up it’s a tribal form of regulation to assure everyone makes it out alive.