Is India the Surfing Powerhouse of the Future?

With a population greater than 1.4 billion, the largest on Earth, and a coastline of over 4,000 miles you would think that India would be home to many, many surfers. That coastline--in case you had never thought about it--is exposed to, yep, the wave-making machine that is the Indian Ocean.

While India is not likely to replace the Maldives as a bucket list surf destination, it is far more likely to produce phenomenal surfing talent. If the below film is any indication, the groms of Mangalore are hungry and driven and hope to someday surf like John John Florence. To support the future of Indian surfing, donate here.

The film was sent to me by a friend on Instagram, Shahjahan Shah, who is helping to support the local children get their hands (and feet) on better equipment so they can progress. Shahjahan works in the Indian the prolific and famed Indian film industry, aka Bollywood, and discovered surfing while on location in the area for a production. Once he learned, he was hooked.

Like a true positive vibe warrior and all-around stoke lord, he quickly got involved by putting his skills to use to help others. "This tiny documentary speaks the story of these kids who are talented enough but with lack of appropriate surf equipments and surf boards. The surf association of Karnataka, India is working hard on getting them the right amount of funding to support them. Kindly please reach out if you would like to know anything more."

Some may scoff at the idea of India of ever becoming a surf powerhouse, I would say it is only a matter of time. As more equipment flows in from travelers that are generous enough to leave boards behind, the kids will progress rapidly. Once a domestic surfboard industry develops, well, then it will really be off the races.

It won't be long until India enters the chat.