When You Surf So Well You Make 2 Halls of Fame

Ben Bourgeois is a far cry from a jaded former pro surfer reminiscing about the good ol’ days. At 47 years old, he retains a love of surfing and doing it in new, often logistically challenging places. He once walked 78 miles in a month by himself in pursuit of adventure and uncrowded surf. The locals welcomed him with open arms. 

In this profile video from Erratic Nerve, directed and edited by Micah Cantor, Ben reflects on his early memories, the intimidation of world tour surfers, staying sober, and why he’s enjoying surfing more than ever now, even though it’s not his top priority. 

Some backstory: Benjamin Charles Bourgeois was born in Ocean City, New Jersey, and was already surfing regularly by age 6. But it wasn’t until the Bourgeois family moved to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in 1986, home of the first recorded flight, that Ben began to soar. His father opened up a surf shop in town, and Ben became immersed in East Coast surf culture and, through a lot of hard work, became one of the region’s best.

In the early aughts, movie parts, magazine covers and budget surf trips were commonplace,  and Ben made sure to get his fill. He starred in Taylor Steele’s Momentum Under the Influence and won two Eastern Surfing Association titles in 1993 and 1996. Perhaps just as notably, at age 17, he won the  1996 ISA World Junior Surfing Games in Huntington Beach against several icons of the sport: CJ Hobgood, Taj Burrow, and Andy Irons. Eventually, he did what few East Coasters and nobody from North Carolina had done before (or since): qualify for the world tour. 

By the time Ben's tour run came to an end in 2008, his surfing made such an impact at home he made not one, but two Halls of Fame: The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2010) and the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame (class of 2018). Accolades aside, his highlights were (and remain) a treat to watch. Lights-out carves, 12 o’clock snaps, it’s just really sound fundamentals mixed with electric talent. When he's not living out of a suitcase, Ben resides in his hometown of Wrightsville Beach. He may be retired from the pro surfing scene, but you won’t find him reminiscing. He's too busy in the water.