It’s impossible to overstate the health benefits of surfing. The ocean is a kind of medicine that washes away stress and anxiety. On a wave, quotidian concerns disappear – it’s just you and that bending, beautiful water. And the more you surf, the more you come to depend on that daily baptism.

The novel coronavirus threw surfers for an unprecedented loop. Beaches were closed, and in some places surfing ­was not only a crime but a breach of civic duty. There was no such thing as a fuck you to the man, because there was no man. The man was the insidious virus; hence we were all in this together.

Most beaches have opened back up now, and surfers are gorging on waves with a vengeance. But what did they learn in their time away from the water? Did it renew their stoke? And what exactly is that stoke? These are some of the questions we explored with these devoted surfers from across the globe.

A Los Angeles native and a taekwondo black belt, Mr Christian Troy is the executive director of Waves For Water, a non-profit organisation that works on the frontline providing aid and clean water solutions to communities in need around the world. He rides mid-length longboards, and never wears a wetsuit.

“What strikes me upon returning to surfing after three months is how seamlessly things resume, same as they ever were,” he says. “Sense memory instantly overrides time away and familiar sights, sounds and smells ordain my permanent connection to the place.”

Mr Troy’s local spot is Malibu, where he alternates between First and Third Point. “First Point is near-perfect most of the time; and has the crowd to show it. Third Point is less predictable and requires more moving around. Malibu breaks often, doesn’t give as easily to wind, is rideable on a wide range of tides and a lot of corners go a long way.”

Describing surfing as “an all-systems engagement, an activation of all the senses, which brings us into the present, is an exercise in simultaneous thrill and calm – in concentration and in the subconscious. It’s both centring and aligning to catch a wave and slip into the groove of a good ride. To manoeuvre body and board to jive with the motion of water – there’s no better euphoria when that dance goes well. A regular dose keeps me invigorated and right. I always say, ‘Life is better when we’re surfing.’”     

Born in Greece and raised in Canada, photographer Mr Taki Bibelas lives between Paris and the French Basque Country. He recently made his first film, The Still Point, which gets at the heart and soul of what it means to be a surfer. 

“Not being able to surf was just a part of not being able to go in the ocean,” he says, reflecting on the lockdown experience. “We live just next to the beach, so it was really in my face. I have never taken surfing for granted, but it was a reminder of what a privilege it is just to be able to go in the ocean. At first, I felt it was unfair, why can someone go jogging for an hour a day, but I can’t walk to the ocean and swim or surf?”

He lists Parlementia, at Guethary, as his favourite local spot. “It’s the wave that breaks the furthest away from land near where I live (not counting Belharra, of course). That distance gives a feeling of peace and a deeper connection to the vastness of the ocean. There is also a sound that is hard to describe when a set comes in and you hear the waves breaking and watch the spray from the wave in front of you – it’s like everything moves in slow motion. It was interesting to see empty waves and think about what the locals saw and thought about watching those waves 100 years ago, before anyone was surfing them.”

For Mr Bibelas, surfing has always been more about mental wellbeing. “It’s the rush of connecting to the element of water that makes the mind feel so smooth and relaxed. Sure, there is the feeling of just being in the ocean that feels good, but when you mix that with the feeling of riding a force of energy that has been forming from perhaps thousands of kilometres away, and then that energy becomes a part of you for a few moments, it’s much more than a physical experience; it’s a mental connection to that force. When I lived in Paris and I had to work out a problem or needed inspiration, I went to the swimming pool and it always provided solutions. So just being in the water is also a positive force for mental wellbeing. 

“It’s important to respect the ocean, to treat it as a living thing. The ancient Hawaiians used to ask the water for permission before they went in. Respect is a big part of surfing.”

A photographer and filmmaker, Mr Soens specialises in up-close, visceral water shots. He’s worked on many seminal surf films, among them A Brokedown Melody, New Emissions Of Light And Sound, Come Hell Or High Water, Shelter and Sprout. An adept wave-rider himself, he lives in Southern California with his family.

“Not being able to surf wasn’t a huge transition for me at this time in my life,” he says of the period out of the water in recent times. “I injured my knee a few years ago and surfing agitated it, so I had been only surfing when the waves were really good. Also, having two young children had slowed down my surfing life before Covid-19 hit. During this time, though, I had the opportunity to really work on rehabbing my knee, which I did. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in about 10 years – and my knee feels amazing.”

Surfing, he says, gives you different things at different times in your life. “At this point, when I get to surf by myself it gives me a moment of solitude that is pretty rare. Riding on a wave by yourself and being in that moment truly is a moment for you. Don’t get me wrong, I love surfing with my family and kids, but that moment of solitude is something needed as well. A lot of the time you didn’t know you needed it as much as you did.”

When asked what advice he’s passing along to new surfers, Mr Soens suggests going out without a board. “Just swim fins. Figure out how waves and currents work without a board first. It helps in so many ways. Like many things we all do, we try and skip ahead and learn things too quickly. Learning to catch waves without a board first can prepare you for not only learning how to catch waves but also how to avoid getting beat down when you do fall off your board. I can’t stress this point enough. Learn how to read a lineup whether it’s a point, reef or beach-break. Know where people are sitting and how to avoid them. Ask for help if needed. And smile and have fun out there. It’s meant to be fun – don’t forget that on your journey of becoming a surfer.”

When he’s not tearing apart the waves on one of his many stubby, high-performance boards, the Bondi Beach-based Mr Rielly can usually be found writing snappy pieces for the website he cofounded, beachgrit.com.

“Most parts of Australia had a tacit, don’t ask, don’t tell arrangement when it came to surfing during the lockdown,” he explains. “The only beach that was in total lockdown was Bondi, and that was only because of a late-summer heat wave that had the entire town frolicking on the sand and posting the photos on Instagram while thousands of old people in Europe were suffocating in their beds. Bad optics, as they say. To see Bondi empty for weeks, something that wouldn’t have happened since European settlement, filled even my flat, timid eyes with tears of joy.”

What has been Mr Rielly’s happiest moment in the water? “A little after sunset on the foredeck of an 85ft cat in Sumatra,” he replies. “Beer in hand. Skin prickling with sunburn. I’d surfed till dark, each wave punctuating its barrels with blessed sprays of healing mist. Not strictly_ in the water_, but the sensation I felt post-surf was overwhelmingly sensual. Surfing casts quite a glow.” He adds. “It’s an everyday baptism that wipes clean my soul. And the lineup ain’t democratic or egalitarian. It’s the last great meritocracy on earth. Best surfers, best waves.”

A Rio de Janeiro native, Mr Fink is a kick-ass surfer and skateboarder, although he’s best known for his highly imaginative skimboarding; where he rides waves as if he were surfing. Last year he was crowned the 2019 United Skim Tour (UST) champion, making him the first Brazilian skimboarder to win a world title. He discusses his frustration at looking out onto the beach in Leblon and “seeing the waves empty”, but also says that he knew “it was for a bigger cause”. While Rio was closed, he travelled to Buzios, a beach town further north, where surfing was both safe and legal.

Mr Fink describes skimboarding, which he first encountered as a child, as a mixture of surfing and skating. “It mixed elements from both sports that I loved; it was love at first sight. It’s pretty cool being able to do tricks from two sports; and since it’s a small sport, it’s a small community as well. When you meet new people in skimboarding, you talk to them like they’re your brothers.”

His favourite spot, he reveals, is Vidigal, near where he lives in Rio’s Zona Sul (south side). “It always has shore-break, always. It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be big, small, east, west, south swell; it’s always going to be breaking on the shore. That’s pretty much the spot that made me become world champion because it has waves where I could practise and be on the level of the rest of the world. You’ve got to work hard to be a good skimboarder. It’s definitely harder to learn than surfing. You’ve got to learn how to drop, and how to get in the water with speed, and how to turn on the wave – and then you start riding a wave with a skim. Skimboarding just keeps renewing. It’s so innovative, and the possibilities seem infinite.”

With a list of achievements that includes winning the 2014 Billabong XXL Tube of the Year, 2016 Performance of the Year and the 2017 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, Mr Rothman, who was born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, seems most at home standing tall inside a giant Pipeline tube, as can be witnessed on his YouTube channel This Is Livin’.

He readily admits “we got so lucky here in Hawaii. They didn’t ban surfing or anything like that, and we randomly had the best late-season swells that I’ve ever seen on the North Shore. Some of the best waves happened right when quarantine started. My local spots are Rocky Point, Pipe, Sunset Beach and Gas Chambers. But definitely my favourite spot is Pipe.

“I feel like I would go crazy if I couldn’t surf or be in the ocean. It’s something I grew up doing, and no matter what’s happening in my life I can always just run out there and forget about everything and just have fun, be close to Mother Nature and just relax.

“My favourite session would have to be a couple years ago in October. We got an early season at Pipe and we surfed literally all day, the entire day, and it was definitely the best day of my life. Lots of barrels. Getting barrelled is like being so close to Mother Nature; it’s like you’re inside of something created by nature but you’re not falling. You’re not underwater, but you’re inside of this thing that you’ve worked really hard to catch and it’s come across the ocean to get there. It’s really, really, hard to describe. But it’s magic.”