The Surfing Life of Balaram Between Hawaii and New York

Between Hawaii and New York

He has also had time to develop a strong bond with Pipeline and when asked about his relationship to the wave he says: “ Pipeline can be all at the same time, frustration, spirituality or just fun, it can be everything if you devote enough time to it. ” While he has often flown over the United States and part of the Pacific to reach Hawaii, Balaram has also spent time in Australia, Tahiti and various places on the planet that have shaped his surfing: ” I try to go to places where I know there are good waves and good people, it’s kind of been the idea for a few years. I’m lucky to have friends and family in those places and when they come to New York I welcome them, it’s our way of staying connected.«

While Balaram spends time away from home surfing, he remains very attached to New York and its surfing community. He’s proud to represent New York surfing as much as New York is proud of him. He returns home to Long Island as soon as he can, when a good swell is announced. The temperature variations he sometimes experiences, going from boardshorts to 5’4 don’t scare him. ” I don’t really like missing good swells back home in New York because it doesn’t happen very often. When a swell is announced, I take the plane and I go home. In February I went there for a swell, flew direct from Hawaii, scored for two days and came back. New York’s surf community is much smaller than elsewhere but has grown over the past fifteen years. It is home to talented surfers and everyone has their own surf area. The spots follow one another along Long Island, this arm of land which advances towards Europe in the Atlantic Ocean, up to Montauk, its most easterly point.

An article on the Montauk surf scene is also available in issue 385.

Balaram doesn’t really have a set sports routine, but he always tries to stay active. “If someone is training nearby, I join them, otherwise I surf as much as possible, do yoga and take ice baths. When he’s not surfing, the 31-year-old surfer fishes and spearfishes, two things he’s passionate about and could well be the subject of a future video project.