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Adaptability is the theme that comes to mind as I come to write a newsletter this week.
I hear the word a lot at the moment. to survive and thrive we must learn to adapt. A changing climate, the world of AI, the cost of living, industry changes and social behaviours, It's said that in the history of humans things have never changed so fast.
Depending where you sit thats different levels of exciting and scary.
In a loose way our little bubble of watersports is possibly a good metaphor or at least an example of this new world pace.
As kit rapidly changes a hot cake product has a shelf life of just a few months before it's forgotten to gather dust on a shelf.
Is it consumerism, commercialism or genuine progress in our field?
One thing is for sure, the new stuff sure tastes good, but there's only so long the industry can keep writing off the cost of throwing away the old.
From a business perspective, it's interesting to see more brands switching to the D2C (direct to customer) sales model, cutting out distributors and shops. "It's cheaper for the customer" they shout, but ask yourself - if your kit comes blindly from a warehouse in who-knows-where, in 5 years times who's going to be there at your local when you need some spare parts, want some coaching or advice, or need backing to stand up to the council who start talking about banning the sport at your spot.
Adapting to me means changing for the better and as old fashioned as it is - surely progress is togetherness and togetherness is community.
From a riding perspective, what a time to be alive! Foiling has opened up a whole can of fun. It seems crazy to think back to the times of waiting and searching for all the wind energy needed to ride, when nowadays the slightest bit of push from the wind, swell, wave or lithium is enough to put an ear to ear smile on your face.
Personally I've never loved riding a board more than I have now, the ability to adapt to conditions with different and equally exciting disciplines means every day can be a play day. The froth never stops.
That hasn't come without graft though, every new discipline presents a new ladder to climb and often the struggle can be demoralising.
I count my lucky stars that I see the joy in learning. Those progression hurdles at the beginning are so close and obtainable there are so many little wins.
The weather this last 6 months has been crazy and it's been interesting seeing the whatsapp groups fire up or clamp up depending on conditions.
I find it funny hearing the prone guys curse prime 20 knots side shore wind and struggling paddling into it when they can't find shelter.
Or the wind guys cursing no wind, when theres glassy 2-3 foot rollers pushing into the local.
Learning new stuff can be tough but as I started out saying - adapt to survive. Because what's a few hours of pain for the countless hours of pleasure which follow.
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