Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life [Hardcover]

Shaun Tomson (Author), Patrick Moser (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2006

In Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life, world champion surfer Shaun Tomson shares the life lessons he's gathered from decades of surfing-from his boyhood adventures in South Africa to the world tour in the late 1970s to the business world today. For Tomson, surfing is a hobby, a sport, a religion, an obsession and more-it is a way of life. Tomson's life lessons have guided his career to the top of both professional competition and the world of business. Now, he shares these powerful lessons, born on the world's best swells, with all people-including those who might never step on a surfboard. These lessons are born of the collective wisdom of the surf community and are a powerful source of inspiration in the face of extraordinary challenges of every day life. "I tell people that I didn't develop or create the code. I simply wrote down what was out there all the time in my heart and in the hearts of many surfers, always there but sometimes overlooked. I like to think the code was always there, a part of every surfer's life, unspoken maybe, but in our hearts, ever since the ancient Polynesians started surfing so many thousands of years ago." -Shaun Tomson
Just a few of the lessons shared in Tomson's Surfer's Code:
I Will Never Turn My Back on the Ocean
I Will Take the Drop with Commitment
I Will Never Fight a Rip Tide
I Will Always Paddle Back Out
I Will Watch Out For Other Surfers
There Will Always Be Another Wave
I Will Catch a Wave Every Day>br> All Surfers Are Connected By One Ocean

Editorial Reviews

Review

Shaun Tomson provides life lessons to employ on a good break or in business. Tomson's advice was culled from the collective wisdom of the surf community. -- Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, MA), March 4, 2007

From the Back Cover

Shaun Tomson was at the pinnacle of his professional and personal life-a former world champion surfer, a successful entrepreneur of multimillion dollar clothing brands and an inspirational speaker-when his fifteen-year-old son, Mathew, died in a tragic accident. Drawing on the strength of lessons learned from his childhood in apartheid South Africa to competition in the world's most dangerous waves, Tomson provides an inspirational account of facing life's hardest challenges by looking toward the light that shines ahead. Tomson tells a story of terrible loss and miraculous rebirth. Surfer's Code reveals that the lessons of a life spent surfing are the lessons of surfing through life: every moment holds the possibility of failure and tragedy, every moment the promise of success and happiness.

SHAUN TOMSON was born in Durban and went on to become one of the world's best surfers. He competed on the Pro Tour for 16 years, winning 19 professional events including the World Title. During his competitive career he was at different stages both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a professional event. Tomson was listed as one of the 25 most influential surfers of the century (Surfer 1999) and one of the 16 greatest surfers of all time (Surfing 2004). He is a business finance graduate from the University of Natal, and has created two successful multimillion-dollar clothing brands: Instinct in the '80s and Solitude in the '90s.

PATRICK MOSER has written articles for The Surfer's Journal and Surfer. He edited Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing and is currently Associate Professor of French at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he teaches a course on the history and culture of surfing.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1 edition (September 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423600762
• ISBN-13: 978-1423600763
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound Yet Simple Guide to LIfe, November 7, 2006

By 

David C. Lane "Dr. David C. Lane" (Huntington Beach) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life (Hardcover)

I was deeply impressed with Shaun Tomson's new book. It is very easy to read and understand, but it is at the same time deeply moving and filled with pregnant philosophical observations about life..... that transcend the sport of surfing, even if the rules arise directly from the ocean and surfing. Of all the surfing books currently on the market trying to give advice or present some kind of inner wisdom, Shaun Tomson's wonderful text is by far the best of the lot. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to ALL READERS, even if you don't surf or even live near the ocean.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was written for you, December 19, 2006

By 

allan g (La Jolla, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life (Hardcover)

I read and reread this book over the past 3 weeks. It is a must for all surfers. We can all learn from it whether we are mellow old school grey haired longboarders, young charging rippers, or the parents of kids just learning to surf. Shaun could teach us all about surfing technique, but instead, he has written about the dangers of focussing on the destructive element that has crept into the surfing culture. He speaks about a more spiritual positive conciousness that we surfers need to develop, and take into our everyday lives. I loved this book. I love the way it was written. It's easy to follow, the photos are great and the gentle sincerity of the author makes it a really special book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars " a non surfer's view ", May 13, 2007

By 

Rowan L. Stephens "rs ink" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life (Hardcover)

This was one of those books that are impossible to put down until you have reached the unexpected emotional end. I found Shaun's elite level surf descriptions immensely enjoyable. I don't surf, but my beloved husband lives the surfer's code, (both in and out of the water), and now I share an inner understanding.

You don't need to be a surfer to enjoy "Surfer's Code". Shaun's 12 lessons don't only apply in the ocean, they can and should be used in all our lives. The world would be a much nicer place! Thanks Shaun. x Cinnamon Stephens