Looking Back/Facing Forwards: With VW Sands

Submitted by Persia Bravin
Photos: Leanne Mordue and from the VW Sands archives

The fast-paced nature of Second Life often means that places, people and sometimes even communities are subject to frequent change and the SL surfing scene is no different. SL surfing has massively evolved from a decade ago when there was just a smattering of surf sims, a couple of wave options and barely any board choices. But scroll forward to 2019 and you can spend an entire day visiting the many varied surf sims while rezzing your surfboard du jour. To quote ex UK Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, us SL surfers “have never had it so good.”

Someone that has been at the heart of SL surfing for well over eleven years and who has witnessed these changes up close and personal is VW Sands. An affable, patient and realistic man, VW is synonymous with SL surfing and he has accomplished a lot since he first took to the virtual waves back in July 2007. In his time, VW has been a SLSA Director and judge, a multiple surf sim owner and the instigator of the famed Surfari events as well as a surfing champion and teacher. So, who better to ask about the evolution of SL surfing – and what surfing means to him – than the legendary VW?

“It´s never easy to summarize the past but let me see…” reflects VW, as we sit on the sun bleached decking at his current sim, Kia Kaha. “I soul-surfed for a year or so before I hopped into SLSA competition surfing scene in around 2008. At the same time, I was the Estate Manager back at Bishara and Majini. After the Majini sim was taken by a huge storm (I just keep telling myself that) and Mori Pwani and alliance suffered the same fate, I bought a homestead sim and turned it into a haven for surf-junkies, family and friends. We had surf classes, windsurfing comps, paddle and kite surfing comps – and HUGE parties” he adds, laughing.

I remember those heady days myself: watching VW out on his board at Bishara or him kindly offering words of surf wisdom to newcomers at the much missed Majini sim. Even as far back as 2008, VW was deeply committed to SL surfing so, it seems that fortunately some things don’t change. But what does he miss – if anything – about that time? “I suppose like a lot of people that have been around a while, what I miss most is the whole tight-knit gig we used to have going on,” he explains. “There were so fewer surf sims and so fewer boards and waves that we were all kinda forced to surf at the same spots on the same gear. That made for pleasantly crowded surf breaks and a much more tight-knit community. I miss that.”

It’s true to say that the SL surfing scene can feel more fragmented these days, but for most of us, our love for the sport helps us endure the natural ebb and flow, the dislocation of community and the various surf spots that rise and fall, as VW confirms: “If there is an emotion that SL surfing sums up for me, then it would be: Home. The way you feel when you return to where you are most ‘at home’. The scene is what you make it… I suppose we all view the scene depending on who we surround ourselves with. For me that scene is Ocean people, laughing, goofing off, surfing together. Hippies, pot-heads, surf-rats. Good people!” VW grins, “the kind of people you will meet in the parking area of any surf break the world over. That is SL surfing. And RL surfing for that matter.”

With so many surf years behind him, VW is a veritable walking, talking, SL surf legend, but his warm demeanour, fast wit and positive outlook equate to a friendly character. Spend any length of time in his company and you soon discover that he is eager to share his many memories of SL surfing over the past eleven years. So, what has been his single, most memorable experience in his vast mental catalogue? “Why, oh, why did you have to ask for single most memorable?” he jokes. “This is so tough! Ok…the final heat at Rad Twangs Boneyard! A way cool surf sim with a real shallow reef bottom and NASTY lava rocks that I SWEAR could move! They were stationary of course but.... that was an epic day of surfing. Boy was that fun stuff!”

Despite many years spent on top of SL surfboards, VW’s passion for the waves remains undiminished. Most days, he can be found paddling out, and even though he owns a surf sim with his partner, Meka, he still visits other sims. “Without Meka’s help and love I would have logged out years ago. I´m so grateful to her for putting up with me!” says VW with genuine feeling. “We wanted to create a lusher, more Bohemian feel at our current sim, like a rain forest that was partially cleared a couple of hundred years ago by some ancient surf-tribe type dudes. But I visit surf sims all the time! I’m a firm believer in spreading the stoke. We use Surfari for exactly that. There are some really great surf spots out there right now.”

Looking to the future, how does VW see the SL surf scene evolving? He thinks carefully, before replying: “Well there is - and always has been - a couple surf scenes I suppose. SL surfing overall with tons of surf sims, loads of wave types and all kinds of fun boards to ride is better than ever. I’m having more fun than ever before. But don’t get me started on the competition scene... I don’t wanna go there and you don´t wanna get me started!” he adds, with a wicked glint in his eye. So how about attracting new surfers to help maintain the current, thriving surf community? “My words of encouragement have always come with a strong warning. From back in 2007 and until today I have had the very same pitch: a few hours of surfing, preferably alone, is all it will take to either find yourself or drown. If you find yourself, be warned that you will never be able to quit. Paddle hard or die. Either way you’re gonna have a blast!"

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