CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Surf legend Shaun Tomson signed one of his books for Aaron Ponce, 11, at the Waikele Borders store Sunday. Aaron was purchasing the book as a gift for his Nanaikapono Elementary sixth-grade teacher Andrew Ratke.
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Lessons learned on the water
By Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Shaun Tomson is a surfing legend with a résumé that includes years of competing around the world, winning the world championship in 1977 and taking the victory stand at the biggest contests, including the Pipeline Masters. Long retired from competition, he's now a successful businessman with varied ventures in the industry.
'Surfer's Code'
Book signings with writer and surf champion Shaun Tomson.
Tomorrow: Noon, Borders Pearlridge
Sunday: Noon, Borders Ward Centre
Wednesday: 7:30 p.m., Patagonia, Haleiwa
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But it's not the past championships, nor his successful clothing line, that most fulfill him. Instead, it's the quick yet purposeful read that he penned, and that is already in its third printing: "Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life."
"I've been surfing for over 40 years, and there is much more to surfing than learning how to ride waves well. I think surfing can teach you some incredible lessons about life that sometimes people can overlook, and the book is really an examination of what you can learn from surfing," said the 51-year-old Tomson.
"For me, I think it's the best thing I've ever done with my surfing. It's a very pure message, a message that comes from the ocean, and people can read into it beyond what I've written. Surfing has an image that other sports don't have -- that image of freedom, and being on the cusp of life and death, totally tuned with the environment -- and it gives you an appreciation of life."
A few years ago, Tomson started including these lessons on laminated cards attached to apparel from his line, Solitude. He also shared them in public talks, and that's where he met Drury (Mo.) University language professor Patrick Moser, who encouraged him to put the lessons together in a book, and became his co-author.
There is no particular hierarchy for the 12 lessons, no special reasoning for their order in "Surfer's Code" or why they number exactly a dozen. Provided as separate chapters, the lessons include: "I Will Never Turn My Back on the Ocean," "I Will Take the Drop with Commitment" and "There Will Always Be Another Wave."
Tomson maintains that these lessons not only apply to surfing, but also transfer successfully into business and personal relationships. As with most of any surf publication, the book also includes action photos of Tomson to further punctuate his points.
In Chapter 7 -- "There Will Always Be Another Wave" -- Tomson writes about nearly getting into a full-scale brawl with another surfer over a wave. According to the sport's widely understood etiquette, Tomson was the rightful rider, but he poses the question -- "What would've happened if I had let him take that wave?" He provides his own answer with another anecdote involving two different surfers, one of whom advises, "Plenty more waves, relax."
"Surfers are connected to nature and the world in a way very few other people are; surfing gives a sensitivity and appreciation that is very rare," Tomson said. "Surfing is the metaphor for life, of riding through life, and we certainly wanted to appeal to not just surfers, but also a mainstream audience.
"The purity and essence of surfing really resonates with people: Being out there in the ocean next to a guy in the lineup you probably don't know, is really a microcosm of society -- you need to coexist and be respectful of the other people in the lineup and your environment, and I think surfing teaches you that. A lot of the fundamental problems in the world today can be traced back to people not respecting each other and their environment. The book is simple, but it's not simplistic."
Tomson, originally from South Africa and now living in Santa Barbara, Calif., has been viewed for many years as a great ambassador for surfing. He is in town to promote "Surfer's Code" and to provide color commentary during the Pipeline Masters.
If there is one lesson in his book that supersedes the others, he says it's the last: "I Will Honor the Sport of Kings."
Like surfing's first ambassador, Duke Kahanamoku, Tomson feels a particular responsibility to perpetuate what he considers an invaluable cultural activity -- more than a sport -- and its life lessons.
"When I think of honor, I think of Duke, and when I think of aloha, I think of Duke -- even though I grew up a world away," Tomson said. "I think Duke is right up there with the other people who've changed the world. I'm from a different country, but I'm still passing on that spirit of aloha and that spirit of being stoked -- as Duke did."