Beau Cram’s the kind of guy that makes surfing look fun. And it’s pretty refreshing when it can be just that simple to appreciate a person’s talent. It’s also just as refreshing to hear how a person with world-class talent works to protect and nurture their love for such a thing.
Growing up the son of a guy who “f***ing rips it to pieces,” made it pretty tough to live anything but a life devoted to riding waves. Only Beau didn’t follow the path his father did. Richard Cram was ranked #10 in the world in 1984 and he clearly passed those genes on to his son, he just didn’t pressure him to compete. And just like any other one-of-a-kind free surfer, Beau has a clear memory and story of the day he found himself surfing terrible waves, hassling for scores, and realizing the whole competition thing wasn’t for him.
Obviously, that’s all worked out pretty well. Beau Cram wouldn’t be surfing the variety of watercraft he does if he were chasing QS points or protecting CT rankings. He wouldn’t have the same freedom to travel that he enjoys. And for all we know, this style and flow unique to Cram probably wouldn’t exist as it does today.
