How to Beat the Crowd

"Man... where did all these people come from?"

If you've surfed for any length of time, you've probably asked yourself that question.

Crowded lineups aren't new. They've always been part of surfing. Even decades ago, the best waves attracted the best surfers. But somewhere around COVID, it felt like surfing exploded overnight.

Soft tops disappeared from surf shops. Parking lots filled before sunrise. Waves that used to have a handful of surfers suddenly looked like contests.

It left a lot of us asking the same question.

How do you beat the crowd?

After more than thirty years of surfing, I've come to a simple conclusion.

You don't.

At least not completely.

There will almost always be someone sitting next to you in the lineup. If the waves are good, someone else has probably noticed too.

The goal isn't to find an empty ocean.

The goal is to avoid the crowd.

Over the years, I've found there are really three ways to do it.

Wake Up Before Everyone Else

The easiest way to beat the crowd is also the hardest for most people.

Get out of bed.

There is something special about a dawn patrol.

The air is cooler. The wind is usually lighter. The ocean feels untouched, almost like it belongs to the people willing to sacrifice a little sleep.

Will you have the lineup to yourself?

Probably not.

But showing up an hour before everyone else can be the difference between sharing waves with five surfers instead of fifty.

Sometimes the simplest answer really is the best one.

Learn to Read the Ocean

Most surfers wait for someone else to tell them where the waves are.

They check a surf report.

Look at a webcam.

Open social media.

Then they drive to the exact same spot as everyone else.

The surfers who consistently score don't rely on someone else.

They learn the ocean.

They watch the buoys.

They pay attention to swell direction.

They notice which reefs need west swell and which ones wake up with north swell. They learn which tides bring a wave to life and which ones make it disappear.

Eventually, they stop chasing reports and start trusting what they've learned.

That's when they begin showing up at the right place before everyone else even realizes it's breaking.

The Real Secret: Friction

But neither of those is the biggest lesson surfing has taught me.

The real secret is something I've started calling friction.

Think about Pipeline.

On a good winter day, some of the best surfers in the world might spend three hours in the lineup and catch only two waves.

Why?

Because it's one of the best waves on Earth.

But it's also one of the easiest to reach.

You drive to the beach park.

Walk a short distance across the sand.

Paddle out.

When you're finished, there are showers nearby and food just down the road.

Now imagine something different.

Imagine Pipeline required a two-hour boat ride.

Imagine there was no parking lot.

Imagine there wasn't even a trail.

Imagine it only broke a few days each year and nobody could tell you exactly where it was.

Would people still surf it?

Absolutely.

Would there be hundreds of people?

Probably not.

That's when I realized something.

The crowd isn't just chasing good waves.

The crowd is chasing easy waves.

Easy parking.

Easy access.

Easy forecasts.

Easy decisions.

The more convenient something is, the more people you'll find there.

Look Where Other People Don't

One lesson surfing has taught me is that the crowd usually values the same things.

Everyone wants offshore wind.

Everyone wants the perfect tide.

Everyone wants the famous break.

Everyone wants the forecast that says, "Epic."

That's exactly why those places become crowded.

But every now and then you'll discover a wave that doesn't follow the rules.

Maybe it likes an odd swell direction.

Maybe it only works on a strange tide.

Maybe it actually gets better when the wind turns onshore.

Most surfers never even check those places because the forecast tells them the conditions aren't ideal.

They've already decided there isn't any value there.

But the ocean doesn't always follow the forecast.

Some of my favorite sessions have come on days when everyone else stayed home.

Not because the waves were supposed to be good...

...but because I had learned that one particular break came alive in conditions most people ignored.

While everyone else was sitting at home waiting for perfection, I was surfing head high waves with just a handful of friends.

Those sessions taught me something I'll never forget.

Sometimes you find the greatest value where everyone else has already decided there isn't any.

The Crowd Avoids Uncertainty

I've also noticed something else.

The crowd doesn't just avoid hard work.

It avoids uncertainty.

Most people would rather surf a guaranteed six-out-of-ten than spend an hour searching for a wave that might be a ten.

They all check the same buoy.

The same webcam.

The same forecast.

Then they all drive to the same parking lot.

That's why crowds happen.

Not because there aren't enough waves.

Because everyone makes the same decision.

More Than Surfing

I've realized this idea reaches far beyond the ocean.

The best waves usually require a little more effort.

The best experiences often ask you to leave your comfort zone.

The best opportunities in life are rarely sitting in the easiest place to reach.

Most people choose convenience.

Most people follow the crowd.

But every once in a while, if you're willing to wake up earlier, work a little harder, accept a little uncertainty, or simply look where no one else thinks to look...

...you'll find something special.

Maybe that's the real secret to beating the crowd.

Not finding a wave that nobody knows about.

But becoming the kind of surfer who's willing to look where most people won't go.

Daniel Sole
Founder, Sole Surf Company

Image Note: The featured image was generated using AI.