Riding Waves, Grinding Rails, Exploring the Fusion of Surfing and Skateboarding with Adam Sendyoni

Introduction and Early Influences

Adam Sendyoni started surfing in 2009 as one of the partners in Surf Camp Egypt. Back then, the surf community in Egypt was very small, with only a handful of surfers. But he was skateboarding long before then. As a kid, they used to be obsessed with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game. Until he went on a trip to Europe and got his first real skateboard. He started skating with his cousin in the street, just fooling around and having fun. Eventually, they started hanging out with other skate dudes and skating at school and in the streets. Surfing came after that.

Skate Surfing in Egypt

Adam was hardcore skateboarding back then. They used to skate all day, every day. The scene was booming, and it was amazing. But over time, he grew more into surfing and started taking it much more seriously. That's what drew him to skate surfing — he could practice his surfing on a skateboard, best of both worlds.

Challenges Faced

They used to face a lot of challenges even till now. They live in a society that's not very open to new things. Adam thinks they are very lucky to be a part of the small community of people who have ventured out of the norm and started doing something very different, whether surfing or skating.

Breaking Stereotypes

When they started, the scene was dominated by males, only a few girls were skating, which kind of set the stereotype that it's only for males. But now Adam is very happy to see more and more hardcore female skaters breaking this stereotype. Especially with the introduction of the skate surf scene and the surfer girls who started surfskating, it made it more welcoming to other girls in Egypt.

Community Support

The best thing out of skating and surfing is the brotherhood and the friendships you make through out the journey. It's not just an activity or hobby, it becomes part of your life when you get introduced to these communities. Even though it's still growing, the people Adam met skating and surfing are one of the most dedicated people and the passion they have for the sport is amazing.

Cultural Perceptions

It's different from skateboarding to surfing. The skate scene in Egypt is more established. It started with Skate Impact, the first skate shop. That made skateboarding more reachable. That's how it grew in popularity over the years not only in Cairo and Alexandria, but in other cities in Egypt. Now it's an established cultural scene in Egypt with a vast audience, which then attracted big companies like Red Bull to organize a skate competition in Egypt.

Empowering Women

Adam thinks that surfing and skateboarding are more than sports, they're ways of expression and very empowering ones, especially to women. Arguably two of the hardest sports to do. So to see more women getting into this harsh environment and being passionate about it and excelling in it shows the rest of the women in Egypt that they can do it.

Educational Initiatives

There's a strong argument for launching educational initiatives and awareness campaigns to shed light on women's skateboarding in Egypt. Initiatives such as Skate Like a Girl and The Skatepark Project, thriving in countries like the US and the UK, not only encourage more women to embrace skateboarding but also boldly challenge the prevailing belief that it's a sport exclusively for men.

Personal Growth

Both surfing and skateboarding are very hard. You cannot just give up because it's not working out. It's not the physical aspect, but they are demanding mentally. The way you learn a new trick in skateboarding or catch your first wave in surfing is to try over and over again till you succeed.

Advice for Aspiring Skaters/Surfers

Adam thinks you should choose what you get out of it. If you're hesitant because society will think that you are doing something not beneficial, they are saying that because they never surfed or skated before. It's the most amazing experience, especially when starting, and to see yourself grow and succeed, it will become addicting in a good way.

Favorite Aspects

Adam's favorite aspect of skateboarding was the freedom of roaming the streets all day with all the boys. He used to take his skateboard everywhere and just skate whenever they could. Friday was a sacred skate day; they always gathered early morning and skated till late.

Differences and Similarities

In the old days, surfing and skateboarding were very similar. The way they skated the streets and bowls was so much alike, but today it's so much different. The new tricks done on a skateboard nowadays are impossible to imitate on the water. Skateboarding derived from surfing. Surfers didn't want to stay put on flat days, so they invented skateboarding.

Surf Camp Origins

Surf Camp was founded in 2010. It was a natural progression since Adam came from the skateboarding scene. The vision was set to spread surfing in Egypt and to build a strong community. Later on, Adam became a partner. With their love and passion for surfing and the waves, they then had a small, strong community of die-hard surfers.

Teaching and Sharing

In Adam's opinion, to teach something, you have to be passionate about it, and that's his main approach. His goal is to really engage with all the students and make the sessions fun. Like skateboarding, surfing in the beginning is intimidating, so supporting and encouraging the students is very important.

Local Surfing Scene

Back when Adam started surfing, the community was really tight. Only a handful of committed surfers who paved the way to what they have today. Today, the community is growing, and more and more people started tagging along with a new generation of surfers really coming along. They're currently trying to build a platform to support the upcoming generations so that the new crop of talented Egyptian surfers can benefit and put their region on the map.

Planning Surfing Trips

Their trips are dedicated to surfing, and they try to focus on that. With their experience surfing here and abroad, they know where is the best location and timing to get the most out of the waves. Another challenge is that their group on these trips can be very diverse, from first-timers to intermediate surfers.

Community Building

Most of the new surfers get introduced to surfing through Surf Camp. They all worked really hard over the years to get Surf Camp where it is now and to contribute to the community. Surfing and skateboarding really rely on a strong community, and in Adam's opinion, it's the way to make them grow.

Impact on Local Youth

Adam can speak about the impact of surfing on the local youth, and he can say he wishes he was in their place. They started surfing and even skateboarding later on in life and missed the good youth years. So to have this opportunity and start really young will pave the way for a lot of talented kids that can go on and take it to the next level. The passion they have for surfing at this young age is amazing.