I am mildly compelled to explain my long writing hiatus, but let’s just say: I’ve been busy and move on. This is where I’m at today:

Something unexpected happened when I started publishing this blog; lots of people began to read it. And thanks to my well-spent advertising dollars at Gulfster, many of my readers are local surfers.Local support is wonderful, even heart-warming at times, and I’m ever grateful for the connections I’ve made through writing about my surfing experiences (Hi, Evy!). But not all readers are fans. In fact, some downright hate me. I handle this pretty well—theoretically. I enjoy getting emails from readers, even the hate mail; I didn’t flinch when my old BMW was keyed in the Lido lot (could’ve been coincidence, right?) But a few months ago, a man I didn’t know hissed “worksurfbitch,” pushed me over in the parking lot while I was half-peeled out of my wetsuit, then ran away while I tried to pick the little pieces of parking lot shell out of the palms of my hands. I’m sure he’s reading this right now and feeling super proud of himself, and perhaps a few of you are raising lukewarm cans of natty light in salute to his triumph, and that’s fine, I get it, you don’t like me.

But, to take Marshall Mcluhan grossly out of context here: the media is the message. This blog isn’t about surfing, its about the blog. About my drive to write and the future success of my book. What has become clear is that by narrowing my subject matter to surfing, I have created an audience that is misaligned with my goals.

In order to correct this branding flaw and simultaneously enable me to enjoy surfing locally again, I am abandoning the misnomer of ‘surf blog’ and will be exploring what I’m learning about life through all of my daily endeavors: design, CrossFit, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, (and surfing, too, sometimes).

My hope is that, by broadening my focus, I will stop angering the folks who feel that I am, to quote a reader email, “pissing on the altar of surfing” and will begin to build an audience that isn’t only interested in reading about surfing, but one that is interested in reading, period.

I look forward to this new journey, and I hope many of you will stick around for the ride. Additionally, I have made a commitment to publish once a week, so mark your calendars and help keep me honest.