La Jolla Shores

Tools of the Trade

I've been getting a couple messages from other amputees wanting to surf and videos of them getting out there.  I love it!  Makes my heart smile.  The question I always get is what prosthetic I use.  I'm going to break it down here for all of you shredders.

My surf leg (that I also skate, rock climb, hike and camp in) is made from old parts that I had lying around.  Nothing fancy.  I'm on a budget and I know what I need to get the job done.  That's the ability to trust my prosthetic.  That's crucial when you're out there in the water.  It's hard enough to surf with one real leg.  I don't want to worry about it falling off or the knee unexpectedly breaking on me.

My surf leg is a basic hinge knee that I had locked in an athletic stance.  The "knee" is locked with casting material.  For the knee, you can just go to a hardware store and rig it up if you don't have access to one.  The leg is bent at the knee and ankle.  For the ankle, you'll need an angle adjuster(I don't know if this is the proper term but I'll have pictures).  My surf leg is shorter than my everyday walking leg.  Surf leg stands at 79cm.  Walking prosthetic is 89cm.  Having it shorter is crucial.  It allows you to crouch down somewhat.

 Here is my surf leg.  I wrapped the pylon and knee with pipe insulation and electrical tape.  It helps prevent destroying your board.

 Angle for the ankle.  I don't have anything to measure the degree.

 The knee.  It's attached with a pyramid set up.

 Front view.

Front view 2.

Here's a view of the angle adjuster I was talking about.  Not the best picture but I couldn't get past the duct tape without my foot coming apart ;).  The foot on there was one I had lying around.  I've been using it on this leg for two years and it's finally kicked the bucket.  I rarely have issues with the foot slipping off the board.  I forget the name... sach or satalite... I don't know.

This is a comparison of my everyday leg(c-leg) and my surf leg.

 For all my sockets, I use the lanyard system.  I love this method because it's quick and easy to remove and put on the leg.  I sweat a lot so that crucial.  Besides that, I trust it more than having something like a suction system in the water.  I've never tried the pin system because my residual limb is too long.  That's also an Iceross Liner from Ossur.

Edit: I should mention that you should have a separate liner for surfing.  There's some gnarly stuff in the ocean that you don't want in your everyday walking liner.

 That screw is awesome.  I only have a couple that I've been using for years.  It has a wide, flat head so the velcro strap never comes off.  That was an issue I had in the past with other screws.

This is how the system works.  I've also used the KISS system which was amazing.  It's double suspension that eliminates all rotation of the socket.  I'm sensitive though so the placard irritated my stump.  I'll only use that method now when I snowboard.

When I surf I always wear a wetsuit.  If the water's warm, I'll wear scuba shorts.  This is because the leg will start to come off a little.  I've never had it completely come off before but when it starts to slip, it hurts.  A wetsuit folded up or even cut on the side of your prosthetic up to the knee is a life saver.

I'm missing my right leg and I'm regular foot so I wear my leash on my left(front leg) to prevent pulling on my prosthetic.

Well, that's it!  Easy Peesy, right?  Please send me videos and pictures of you out there ripping.  I love it and I hope this helps!

Thank you, Michael Stull and RGP Prosthetics for all your love and support.  Thank you Challenged Athletes Foundation, Adaptive Action Sports, Symbiotechs USA, Hawaiian Pro Designs, Chris Grant, JettyGIRL online surf magazine, Ryan Levinson, Oscar Loreto, NMCSD, and my amazing friends for... everything.

Now, get out there! ;)

Been a minute...

Life's been crazy lately... but it's finally settling down.

I graduated San Diego State University with my Bachelors in Kinesiology Pre Physical Therapy and now I have a break before I go back for my Doctorate in Physical Therapy.  My main focus now is to continue volunteering with Navy Medical Center San Diego at their Physical Therapy Critical Care Unit and Wounded Warrior Clinics.  I also see a lot of surfing and snowboarding in my future so I will update on a more regular basis... hopefully.

Currently, my prosthetic foot on my surf leg is holding on by a thread... and some duct tape.  I need to get it fixed but don't want to give it up to my prosthetist yet.  I'm too impatient.

I've gone snowboarding once this season.  Barely any snow though.  I received a new prosthetic to snowboard in, Symbiotechs USA XT-9.  It was the first time I used it and it is bad ass.  Such an improvement from my last one.  The only problem was that I forgot to put lock tight on my screws so my foot fell off every three runs I did.  Can't wait to go again.  Below is also a video from last season at Mammoth Mountain.

Empty Mammoth Mountain Run video link

Surfing is going great and my love for it is ever growing.  I got an HPD 7'0 Scorpion with a DT2 tail.  I love it!  I tried riding a 6'3" egg but my prosthetic foot would always get snagged when trying to pop up.  I have less of an issue with the Scorpion.  Those extra inches make a huge difference.  Once I get more comfortable on that, I'll go down a little more.  Also, below is a picture Chris Grant from Jettygirl Online Surf Magazine took a bit ago.  And no, I didn't pearl.  ;)

Symbiotechs USA, Challenged Athlete Foundation, Chris Grant, and Hawaiian Pro Designs, thank you for the continued support.  And thanks for reading, guys!

Duke's Festival Oahu, HI

In August I went to Oahu, HI for a vacation before school and support my girlfriend in her longboard competition.  Surfing at Queens was definitely an experience.  Warm, clear waters but small waves and way too many people out.  By chance, I was told that there was an amputee competition the next day so of course I jumped at the chance to surf an uncrowded Queens.  The competition was being held by Access Surf and I was able to register for the amputee division.  This was my first competition that has made me want to do more! I received third place and can't wait to try and improve that next time.  Big thanks to the Duke's festival, AccessSurf and Kaitlin Maguire for giving me the heads up!

Surf shots taking by Hawaiian Water Shots.  Please visit their site to view more at this link.

Wounded Warriors

Throughout the summer I volunteered with exercise physiologist, Betty Michalewicz.  Every thursday I would go out and surf with the Wounded Warriors.  It was always a great experience.  The first time I ever surfed was with Betty so it was even better to go back and show her my progression.

On one of the last Thursdays of this summer, Victory2Victory was there giving out wetsuits and new boards to the program.  Russel Pierre from Surf Action took some surf pictures and I did an interview with Paul Higgins from Aimsports.tv.  Beautiful day at Del Mar!