The connection between psychedelic drugs (such as LSD and psilocybin mushrooms) and extreme sports is nothing new. In fact, it has been first recorded in ancient Polynesia. These psychedelic plants can offer some positive effects when it comes to modern medicine as well. They can help treat such diseases as alcoholism and depression among others – OCD, etc.
At the same time, they are used in other ways by sports extremists to enhance their performance as LSD can increase your reflex time to lightning speed, improve your balance to the point of perfection, increase your concentration and make you impervious to weakness or pain.
Let’s take surfing for example. Going back to the ’60s, Laguna Beach has been a haven for LSD and other psychedelic drugs. The surfing community was thriving, like it is today, and LSD was and has been a popular drug of choice among surfers.
SAFETY CONCERNS
Anyone who isn’t aware of LSD must know that a single dose is extraordinarily potent, effective on human
physiology in the millionths of grams (mcg). We do not recommend the consumption of psychedelics, instead, the focus of this article is to inform some interesting facts about surf history.
*The contents of this website do not constitute advice and are provided for informational purposes only.
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Quick Facts
*Surfers have played a role of psilocybin mushroom spread by carring the mushrooms pores from many popular and secluded surf spots.
*Kelly Slater (11-time world champion) states that a psilocybin trip helped him to achieve a miracle of information that opened up “opened up some sort of doorway in my future.”
*Consuming Psilocybins have been used among the ancient Polynesians.
Psilocybin, surfing, and the history of extreme sports
Surfers have played a major role in psilocybin spread by carrying the mushrooms’ pores on shoe soles from many popular and secluded surf spots.
These surfer enthusiasts have gained a lot of momentum in the last 50 years. Nowadays, championships, cash prizes, and technology have massively changed the world of surfing. All of this has only grown each year as new surfers hit the beach and paddle out into the ocean to catch their first wave.
With all of this though one of the things that hasn’t changed much is the use of LSD. As mentioned before, these psychedelic drugs help enhance the performance of the surfers who take it to the extreme. It’s almost as if they need the extra boost of energy to take them to that next level. Not only do they want the high of catching a massive wave, but also a high that will make them feel almost invincible. The combination of two rushes such as these can have an intoxicating effect.
Extreme sports such as climbing, heli-skiing, surfing, snowboarding, mountain biking, freeride motocross.
What a lot of people may not realize is that the relationship between extreme sports and psychedelics has been there for the longest time. It’s almost as if they both go hand-in-hand.
When it comes to surfing though, I always think of a particular movie that was released in 1992 called ‘Point Break’ which revolved around a group of surfers who were also bank robbers. It was such, and still is, an exhilarating movie that shows you a side of surfing that is rarely seen when it comes to movies.
“LSD can increase your reflex time to lightning speed, improve your balance to the point of perfection, increase your concentration…and make you impervious to weakness or pain.”
Most people, unless you live near the beach, never get a real taste of what surfing is about.
This movie though helped shine a light on the surfer lifestyle as well as MTV at that time with their show MTV Sports which glorified the sport of surfing. Only a few years after that X-Games rolled out and a whole new generation was introduced to the world of surfing like never before.
“This entwined relationship between the cultures of psychedelics and extreme sports has in fact been there since the beginning, with what is perhaps the original extreme sport, the much-mythologized sport of surfing.”
As the competition of surfing amped up around this time the use of LSD among surfers increased as well. While using LSD, the stamina and performance of surfers would improve drastically. From their performance to balance to their speed, all of it would be enhanced with being in a psychotic state.
“To surf, you had to remain sober and be more in tune with nature. Don’t get too screwed up, because the surf may be good tomorrow.”
There are some surfers who would partake in the use of LSD say that they would demand an overall high-quality lifestyle thanks to the drug. Such as the food they ate or the people they surrounded themselves with. To be a surfer or at least a great surfer, you want to be such things as sober and be more in tune with nature. Things along those lines. The use of LSD helped make these surfers more capable of doing this.
Gets you in sync with nature
Another thing about taking LSD is that the trip can typically last for 10 to 14 hours, which can be too much for most people. Especially if it’s taken a night.
However, should it be taken in the morning, one can usually have a more expansive mindset of their surroundings whether it be the ocean, desert, or the mountains. They will be more likely to make better use of their trip because they are more focused on getting the most out of the trip. The extreme sports enthusiast doesn’t want to waste time by having bad trips where nothing good comes from them. They want to take that euphoric high and hit the beach and catch some gnarly waves or scale some high peaks. Whatever their sport may be.
When it comes to surfing though it can be more of a spiritual experience for them. Being out there on the ocean and being one with nature. Taking on wave after wave as nature comes barreling at them over and over. It’s adrenaline for some that can’t be found anywhere else.
Origins of surfing
The idea of surfing actually originated in the tropical oceans of Polynesia. History shows that what started out as riding waves on canoes evolved over generations until the northernmost Polynesian islands – the Hawaiian islands – began crafting wooden boards similar to today’s surfboards. From there surfing started to take on a whole new meaning.
There were ceremonial rules designed to oversee surfing as it grew to a popular event among the Hawaiians. They began to turn it into a sport and create rules such as what trees the boards could be made from and praying to the gods for protection out on the ocean waves.
So, you can see that the sport of surfing has a very long history and has become a part of our civilization for those who love being out on the ocean. For some, it can just be something to do to pass the time and for others, it can be their way of life. To be out there on a massive body of water and be one with nature.
The art of surfing has been around for a very long time and will continue to be as long as we can venture out into the ocean waters. When you factor in the use of LSD though, the surfing experience is taken to another level. Whether the surfer is doing it as part of the extreme sport in them or because of spiritual aspect or both, it definitely has made surfing that much more exhilarating.
James Oroc
One such person who did a detailed study on how LSD affects extreme sports enthusiasts was James Oroc. This journalist, who is also an athlete themselves, has been involved in extreme sports since the 80s. Given his knowledge of extreme sports, he has been very vocal about the use of LSD with such athletes. In his studies, he explains how effective LSD can be and even quotes, “LSD can increase your reflex time to lightning speed, improve your balance to the point of perfection, increase your concentration…and make you impervious to weakness or pain.”
I think it’s safe to say that as long as LSD and other psilocybins exist, extreme sports athletes will continue to use them to their benefit. While most people would frown upon the use of such substances when you’re taking part in extreme sports such as surfing or mountain climbing or whatever suits you, a little extra endurance always helps. Not only that, but until you actually take part in such an event you really don’t know what it takes to take yourself to that level mentally and physically
Sources
Original Post & Text Images – https://maps.org/news-letters/v21n1/v21n1-25to29.pdf
Tower Paddle Boards – https://www.towerpaddleboards.com/standup-paddle-board/Thomas-Jefferson-Syphilis-and-LSD-A-Bizarre-Brief-History-of-Surfing
Timothy Leary
“Deemed by President Nixon to be “the most dangerous man in America.”
Leary claimed that he had learned more about his brain, its possibilities – and psychology in the five hours after taking mushrooms than in the preceding 15 years of studying and doing research.
More controversial topics:
Surf History during the World War II
UFC Looking Into Research on Psychedelics For Brain Trauma
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Hey! My name is Nick and writing is my passion and have been writing for over 20 years. The material I write ranges from screenplays to blogs to copywriting, just to name a few.
