Writer/Surfer
This guy? 100% pure stoke. Photo: Vimeo

This guy? 100% pure stoke. Photo: Vimeo


The Inertia

Kade Matson talks like your average surf-obsessed 13-year-old. But as the youngest surfer ever to win an NSSA Open Mens Division title, he’s already proven himself as one to watch.

I had the chance to speak with Kade over the phone while he was between heats in Huntington Beach for the 2016 NSSA West Coast Championships back in May. When I asked him about strategy and headspace, Kade put it simply: “I just want to catch the best waves I can.” It’s clearly working for him. Kade went on to place 2nd in the Open Mens division, win the Open Juniors division, and place 6th in the Explorer Juniors division.

At such a young age, Kade’s already living a life worthy of envy. He’s travelled to Nicaragua and Australia, splitting waves with friends and fellow Quiksilver riders. He hails from San Clemente, calling Lowers his home break. And being homeschooled gives him the flexibility to get in the water as much as possible.

Kade’s daily routine is straightforward: wake up, surf, go to school, surf. And if there’s time to squeeze in more surfing, he does. But what’s most inspiring about Kade is that in spite of his success, he seems motivated not strictly to do well in a competitive sense – at least not completely. Instead, he emanates the purest stoke. His primary motivation is to have fun and improve his surfing for his own sake.

This came through when I asked him about his goals. Most kids Kade’s age competing in the NSSA might articulate their dream to qualify for the world tour. Instead Kade said he’s taking things contest by contest. And maybe that’s what makes him such a deadly competitor: his honest and enthusiastic focus on the present.

It was incredible for me to see that in someone so young.

Back in May, I was fraught. I was on the precipice of moving from New York to Los Angeles. I was knee deep in finals mode for a masters degree. And, above all New York was still unseasonably cold.

I was focused on the future – Am I going to pass my classes? Will I graduate? Will I find a place to live in LA? What am I going to do with my life?

I didn’t unload any of this in my conversation with Kade, though. He was just a grom trying to win a contest in HB while I’m freezing my ass off back east. But to listen to his desire to live forth in the pursuit of passion, not for the sake of winning but for a love of surfing, was refreshing. It put things in perspective. It made me want to get in the water, honestly – pursue passions recklessly and let the details take care of themselves.

Kade’s a grom. It remains to be seen whether he’ll qualify for the world tour in the future, but he’s certainly on his way with his competitive success. But beyond results, the hallmark of a truly great athlete is their ability to inspire. I don’t know if he’ll join the rank in file of surfing greats. What I can say is in our short conversation he inspired me – a guy twice his age. And that’s pretty rad.


 

 
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