How perpetual surfers get by: inheritances, benefits and surf
Nine out of ten surfers live off inheritances, according to a close-up analysis. Spain's minimum income scheme and surf camps complete the economic puzzle.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Perpetual surfers: inheritance as the foundation of their economy
What does someone live on whose résumé amounts to a surfboard and whose schedule is set by the tide? The report from Somo beach, in Cantabria, portrays these leisure professionals who have turned the sea into their office. The economic puzzle remains: while some see them as heirs in training, others point to the welfare state as the payer of last resort.
The answers circulating share a surprising underlying consensus. Those who know them well estimate that nine out of ten live off inheritances, anticipated or final, with the family bank as their main financier. It is not the only route: Spain's minimum living income (ingreso mínimo vital) is cited ironically as the miracle that makes the contemplative life possible. And a third line of thought recalls that some worked a few months in the mines and collect a small lifetime benefit, an old strategy of industrial Spain.
The business hiding behind the board
Not everything is rent. What are known as surf camps have turned the hobby into an economic model: teaching beginners, renting out gear and organizing trips. The picture is completed by the landlocked surfers of Madrid's southern outskirts, who prove the lifestyle can exist apart from the ocean, even if the paradox only deepens the mystery of their income sources.
The sea charges no rent, but it pays no wages either. The question remains where it was: floating.
What does someone live on whose résumé amounts to a surfboard and whose schedule is set by the tide? The report from Somo beach, in Cantabria, portrays these leisure professionals who have turned the sea into their office. The economic puzzle remains: while some see them as heirs in training, others point to the welfare state as the payer of last resort.
The answers circulating share a surprising underlying consensus. Those who know them well estimate that nine out of ten live off inheritances, anticipated or final, with the family bank as their main financier. It is not the only route: Spain's minimum living income (ingreso mínimo vital) is cited ironically as the miracle that makes the contemplative life possible. And a third line of thought recalls that some worked a few months in the mines and collect a small lifetime benefit, an old strategy of industrial Spain.
The business hiding behind the board
Not everything is rent. What are known as surf camps have turned the hobby into an economic model: teaching beginners, renting out gear and organizing trips. The picture is completed by the landlocked surfers of Madrid's southern outskirts, who prove the lifestyle can exist apart from the ocean, even if the paradox only deepens the mystery of their income sources.
The sea charges no rent, but it pays no wages either. The question remains where it was: floating.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (37 replies).
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