VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Carter Baum, 14 years old, a student at Virginia Beach Middle School and a resident of the North End, already has a well-established love for the ocean and surfing. Carter lives with his parents, Liz and Kevin, and younger sister Ava, 12 years old. After living abroad in Spain for four years, they recently moved back to the North End in Virginia Beach, and Carter has been chasing the next swell ever since.

Carter began surfing at just 6 years old under the influence and direction of his father, Kevin, who is also a life-long surfer. Kevin has always been Carter’s surfing partner as well as mentor. They love paddling out together after dawn patrol and being surrounded by water. Kevin quite literally taught Carter everything he knows about the sport. Virginia Beach offers an array of well-known surf camps each summer through Wave Riding Vehicles and other surf shops, and Carter speaks highly of them for younger children who want to get involved in the sport. However, he never felt the need or desire to participate because he worked so closely with his Dad.

When Carter was 8 years old, he began competing in local events, including the East Coast Surfing Competition (ECSC) which takes place at 5th Street each August and the Eastern Surfing Association Competition (ESA). Carter also competes in stand-up paddle (SUP) contests and longboard surf competitions as well. He has a few trophies proudly displayed.

Surfing stance, regular-footed or goofy-footed, determines which foot is in front of the other when standing up on the surfboard. Regular-footed surfers ride waves with their left foot forward, which is how Carter pops up on his board. Regular-footed surfers tend to prefer waves that are breaking towards the right, which holds true for Carter, but he doesn’t discriminate. Any good wave, left-breaking or right-breaking, is his next opportunity to feel the rush, even if the water temperature is a mere 44 degrees in the dead of March. He is dedicated to the sport year round. 

Locally, his favorite surf spots are the pier at 15th Street and the 1st Street break. However, when living abroad in Spain, he was able to explore some of the most popular surf spots worldwide. Carter has experience surfing 10-12 foot waves in exotic locations, such as Portugal and the coast of Africa. He even had the opportunity to surf next to the professionals in Portugal during a World Surf League Competition. Italo Ferreira, a Brazilian surfer and also the 2019 world surfing champion, is Carter’s favorite surfer for whom he has great admiration. 

Each surfer has a list of reasons they are so irresistibly drawn to the sport. For Carter, surfing is simply addictive. Surfing makes him feel alive, and each wave he surfs brings a new and unique challenge. His adrenaline feeds off the feeling of being present in the water at that moment. Surfing will continue to be a huge part of his lifestyle, and he has plans to seek out waves in every corner of the world in the future. Until he can book that next surf trip, he will continue watching his favorite surf film “View from a Blue Moon” and living vicariously through the dynamic surfers featured.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.