Zulu Surf Riders

The re-emergence of black surfer-dudes in South Africa

The sun-basked coastline of South Africa boasts a large number of surfing hotspots, from the untamed waters of Kwa-Zulu Natal, to the picturesque beach havens of the Western Cape. And yes, surfing has been misconstrued as a, “white” sport for decades, in South Africa particularly. However, as the popular book, Swells, Spots and Surf African Culture, by Steve Pike, illustrates (amongst countless other pearls of wisdom on South African surf Culture), this misconception is simply that; a misconception.

Swells, Spots and Surf African Culture is an awesome book on the history of surfing in South Africa, the “Surfrikan,” culture and how a “lifetime of being stoked,” is highly possible. It outlines how South Africa’s grim (and utterly clichéd, if I may say so) history of discrimination, prevented black surfers from taking to the waves as well as their re-emergence after liberation. However slow this process of re-emergence has been, it is happening; an example of which is illustrated by the documentary, Zulu Surf Riders.

First aired on, ETV, on Sunday 21 November, the documentary, Zulu Surf Riders, has done nothing but cause waves (excuse the well-intentioned pun). Directed by Andre Cronje and Carlos Francisco, whose names have become synonymous with the, “Umzumbe Surfriders Club,” the film documents the lives of two Zulu twins who have made a name for themselves in the Zulu surfing community.

Zulu Surf Riders, is captured in Zulu, with English subtitles (“Nooit bru!”), so unfortunately this movie entails “lank,” reading for most of the “china’s,” but is certainly worth watching. The black youngsters in this film, attack the waves of the South Coast with the same kind of athleticism and agility as can be seen in your average extreme surfing video clip. However, the documentary has made a very clear statement that appeals not only to the South African surfing community but to society as a whole.

Surfing is just as much a sport as cricket or rugby, yet projects (like the Umzumbe Surfriders Club) receive no support or financial aid from the government (surprise, surprise). And so a new kind of discrimination has come to the fore, where in sport, it is no longer about black or white, but about which sport is the most lucrative. The appeal therefore goes out to the corporates of South Africa, in an attempt to raise funds and acquire resources to expand the sport of surfing, especially in poor communities such as Umzumbe, Kwazulu Natal – where Zulu Riders, is set.

Look, the days when black surfers had to, “kick a path open,” in order to get to the beach to surf, are long gone – we know this; and surfer dudes like the Zulu Surf Riders continue to show the “groms,” how to “ride the Zulu wave.” Big ups to them. Let’s face it, Summer in South Africa just wouldn’t be Summer without all those Cape Town surfing missions to the beach and the sunburn to prove it. You gotta dig it.