Christina Koch, 41
Surfer|Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
Texas surfer, NASA astronaut, record holder for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman
MATTHEW B. SHAW
Christina Koch, 41

There are a lot of parallels between spacewalking and surfing. In both surfing and spacewalking, you have to channel any fears or anxieties into focus. Seeing a wave approach and just knowing it’s go-time and that there are going to be ten different things to think about in the space of 3 seconds, you can’t get distracted by any one thing or any fear. I found myself relying on that same technique in spacewalking, where you know you have a job ahead of you, you know things might be risky and things may make you nervous. You have to compartmentalize those fears and also have a plan for what you are going to think about and techniques you’re going to use.

Surfing has taught me a lot about myself that I couldn’t have learned otherwise.

It’s one place where I’ve really had to face fears. I’ve always been a little afraid of the ocean and waves. Just recognizing those inherent fears and pushing past them was a big help for me in my career.

Surfing allows you to maintain your individuality.

Denne historien er fra Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020-utgaven av Surfer.

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Denne historien er fra Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020-utgaven av Surfer.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SURFERSe alt
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We had a whole plan for this year. Funny, right? Surfer's 60 year anniversary volume was going to be filled with stories nodding to SURFER’s past, with cover concepts paying homage to the magazine’s most iconic imagery. Our new Page One depicts something that’s never happened in surfing before, let alone on a prior SURFER cover. And our table of contents was completely scrapped and replaced as we reacted to the fizzing, sparking, roiling world around us. In other words, 2020 happened to SURFER, just like it happened to you.

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
A Few Things We Got Horribly Wrong
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A Few Things We Got Horribly Wrong

You don’t make 60 years of magazines without dropping some balls. Here are a few

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7 mins  |
Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
THE LGBTQ+ WAVE
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THE LGBTQ+ WAVE

Surf culture has a long history of marginalizing the LGBTQ+ community, but a new generation of queer surfers is working to change that

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
For Generations to Come
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Rockaway’s Lou Harris is spreading the stoke to Black youth and leading surfers in paddling out for racial justice

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
Christina Koch, 41
Surfer

Christina Koch, 41

Texas surfer, NASA astronaut, record holder for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
END TIMES FOR PRO SURFING
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END TIMES FOR PRO SURFING

By the time the pandemic is done reshaping the world, will the World Tour still have a place in it?

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
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CHANGING OF THE GUARD

After decades of exclusive access to Hollister Ranch, the most coveted stretch of California coast is finally going public

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
What They Don't Tell You
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What They Don't Tell You

How does becoming a mother affect your surfing life?

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Volume 61, Issue 3 / Winter 2020
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Helpful reminders for the quarantine era

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Volume 61, Issue 2
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How a group of black women are finding creative ways to make diversity in surfing more visible

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Volume 61, Issue 2