Lindsey Bowman, She is not the Typical Teenager
It's a beautiful early summer afternoon and a perfect one to spend at the beach. A handful of high school students have already descended upon the Croatan sands, as some teenage boys toss a football while the girls work on their tans. The waves aren't that big on this day, but a few other teenagers have brought their surfboards and they wade out into the ocean hoping to find a couple good ones.
One girl just sits on her board waiting, as wave after wave goes by. Even her boyfriend rides a few of the more decent ones in but she appears content to simply sit and wait for the next big wave.
The other surfers ride their boards somewhat clumsily and awkwardly and this is only magnified when she finally starts paddling in on a wave and stands to ride it. There is something different and almost powerful about they way she commands the water and it isn't until she takes a playful lunge off of her board towards her boyfriend that you remember that she's just another kid at the beach.
While other high school students will be walking the malls and working at fast food restaurants this summer, 17 year old Lindsey Bowman plans to be beginning her surfing career.
Not only will the First Colonial senior be finishing high school this August, she will be surfing in competitions across the country including Nationals at the end of June and Americans and U.S. team trials in July. She has also already earned sponsorship from Roxy (the nationally known surfing company). Other girls put Roxy stickers in their car windows; Bowman is given a “travel fund” by the company.
She is not the typical teenager.
“Surfing is one of those activities that I love doing,” Bowman says, “And it's just kind of turning into, hopefully, a career.” Bowman began thinking seriously about surfing as a career last summer when she placed fourth in a national competition which also landed her a place on the United States team.
From there, Bowman experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity as she surfed with some of the current top professionals like Lisa Andersen, Chelsea Georgeson, and Sofia Mulanovich in Hawaii this past November. “I learned something new everyday from them,” Bowman says, “Just being around them and soaking everything up, they really taught me a lot about contest surfing.”
Coming back home from such an experience forced Bowman to make some tough personal decisions as she had always excelled in other sports at First Colonial as well. “I had to quit basketball and couldn't practice with the track team anymore, I just went to meets.” The lack of practice apparently didn't hurt Bowman as she was still named the track team's Most Valuable Player.
Along with sacrificing other sports, Bowman has seen her surfing commitments affect other areas of her life as well, “It's definitely takes a toll on my social life,” she says, “During the winter I'd be gone two or three weekends (a month) and it was kind of bummer when I'd be home and wouldn't even know who to call.”
Regardless, Bowman feels that the temporary inconveniences are worth it in the long run. “It's so cool going to all the contests around the country and just being apart of it all,” she says, “It just comes with the territory, so you gotta make sacrifices.”
When her whirlwind summer schedule concludes, Bowman hopes to continue working with Roxy, maybe even in the form of an internship at one of their international offices. “The (surfing) industry is getting so big,” she says, “There are so many opportunities to get awesome jobs now.” She also plans to head off to a yet-to-be-determined college and study French at some point in the near future.
In the meantime, Bowman wants to enjoy surfing as much as possible. “I'm gonna ride it as long as I can and I'm having a lot of fun doing it,” she says, “I'd love to be next World Champion and I'm going to work towards it, but if it doesn't happen I won't be devastated.”
After that, Lindsey Bowman will be content to sit and wait for the next big wave.
