tim bessell Q: What’s something you know about happiness now that you did not know at 25 years old? TIM BESSELL: Life is whatever you make of it. If you fear things, then you’re going to be afraid. If you embrace things, then you’re going to embrace them. And you have to think beyond doubt. It’s like surfing. You can have fear about surfing, right? Everybody does. And when the surf gets bigger and bigger and bigger, your fear level goes up and up and up, because it’s natural. It’s natural to be afraid of something so powerful and potentially life threatening or disabling. But, if you ignore that, and focus on the task at hand which is one step at a time: getting in the water; getting out there safely; getting yourself in the right position for success; taking off; not falling; not being freaked out; not being afraid…you usually don’t eat it. And if you do, you’re going to eat it with a good attitude. If you eat it with a good attitude, you’re
not as likely to get hurt or make bad decisions. I think it comes down to attitude. I really do. There are so many different factors that come into play with happiness but if you appreciate what you have, you will be happy. If you value the things that you have and the things that you do – that’s the road to happiness. I think also you need to know when to say “no” to life choices that are wrong for you – that are super critical in your future. My suggestion is to decide what makes you the happiest and do it well. Q: What are your favorite surf spots? TB: I love Windansea, and I love Black’s. And I love Chasms and Little Macaw. Those are my favorite breaks in Southern California. But I love Pipeline, Cloudbreak and Uluwatu. There are a lot of places I have surfed that I just absolutely loved. Hanalei Bay is one of my favorite waves. There are so many. They are like women – there are so many to love.
able to have a good time stoking people out… yeah, that’s pretty happy.
bird huffman Q: What is your definition of happiness? BIRD HUFFMAN: Happiness for me, in simple terms, is a good open communication with God. In a nutshell, that’s it. If you’re comfortable with your creator, whatever you want to call him, her, it, whatever, higher power, for me it’s God. If you can be comfortable with him and know he has your back and that everything happens for a reason, that’s pure happiness in a spiritual sense. In an emotional sense, or a human sense, having my wife, having a woman who shares my life and who has raised kids with me for 30 years. That’s another source of happiness, being able to share that with somebody is pretty amazing. And then, just being able to pretty much live a healthy, productive life doing something that I want. I’m not making a lot of money doing it, but it was never about the money for me. That’s pretty happy. Coming to work and being
Q: What does “stoke” mean to you? BH: Stoke…it’s funny, because it’s an old term that was used when I was a kid. It’s a surf slang term that went out of fashion for a long time and somehow it sort of came back in somewhere along the lines. But, to me, stoke may be another word for energy, and maybe positive energy. You can’t use stoke in a negative way. It’s positive. It’s putting out good vibes – putting out good energies and sharing in a lot of ways. Stoke and sharing, sharing and stoke it’s kind of the same. So it’s just another way of saying sharing, maybe or happiness. Stoke is stoke. Q: What is your advice to those trying to find their way? BH: Number one again, I don’t want to sound like a bible thumper or what not, but think about God, about a higher power. And take some of the pressure off yourself. Realize that we’re only here for a short while, and there’s a reason why we’re all here. Go with the flow sometimes. If it gets too hard to do, it’s probably because you’re not meant to do it. That doesn’t mean roll over and shy away from a challenge. But if you feel like you’re forcing something, sometimes it’s best to take a step back and reassess where you are and make some serious decisions as to if where you’re going is really where you want to go. Breathe deep, take life slow, and stay happy and stoked.
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