Bodysurfing at Katsura Chiba Japan/Photo by Daisuke Takanashi
Text and photos by Pedro Gomes/All RIGHTS RESERVED
Japanese Version by Nana
Body surfing might be the oldest and most genuine kind of surfing. Using just a pair of swim fins, ride the wave without any kind of board, feeling all the energy generated by the wave in your entire body is one of the best feelings someone can feel in the ocean. I bodysurfing since I know myself, and it was one of my favorite things to do when I was a little child. I remember doing it next to my mother, we say to each other we were the “alligators”. Back in the days we did it very close to the shore and didn’t use fins or anything else, just used our bodies and strong strokes, trying to connect on perfect timing with the waves.
Photo by Nana
Nowadays body surfing got more popular, and it started to get featured on media and even in movies, which is kind of cool I think. In my childhood in Brazil, only the kids who didn’t have a board for surfing were bodysurfing, but now many people are doing it and somehow getting some recognition for it.
Photo by Taguchi Yudai
To my surprise a couple of months ago, I was asked by Oceans Magazine to tell few words about bodysurfing to them and provide some photos of me doing it. I am the one who is always behind the lens inside the water, so it was kind of a funny situation to have other photographers shooting me riding a wave. The day we took the photos the waves were kind of small but super fun and all the crew involved were super stoked on doing it.
I would like to thank Patagonia for keeping me warm with their wetsuits and Viper fins for providing me with the best swim fins in the market. For those who would like to try bodysurfing one day, all I can say is jump in the water and have fun because that's what is all about it.
Photos by Nana and Taguchi Yudai/Empty waves photos by Pedro Gomes
At the end of the bodysurfing session, as the maniac photographer that I am, I couldn’t hold my self and I grabbed my water housing and took some photos in the evening golden light.
Beautiful Katsura Evening by Pedro Gomes