Life is Better When You Surf® - Peri Grandone

From time to time we come across people who inspire us. Their love of surfing has changed their lives, so many stories are just wonder-filled. We came across Peri Grandone on Instagram. She isn’t a teenager and that is what intrigued us to ask her a few questions about her surfing. We fell in love with Peri’s spirit, I am sure you will too. Enjoy this edition of Life is better when you surf personified.

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GSI: Hi Peri, please tell us about yourself and where you live
PG: My name is Peri Grandone. I’m 65 years old. I grew up in East Hampton, NY and lived most of my life on the East End of Long Island. I am married to a wonderful man named Don and have two grown children. I was a Planning Director for a local land trust before retiring and moving to Florida’s Treasure Coast in 2013. I love to paint in watercolors and to sew but my main passion before discovering surfing is working out. Don and I have always been athletic; in fact we met at our local gym.

In addition to lifting weights, I love yoga, pilates, barre, fusion and really anything but running! I am also a breast cancer and transverse myelitis survivor. Despite these challenges and quite a few surgeries, I never let those setbacks deter me from being as active as I am able.

GSI: What inspired you to learn to surf at this “fun stage” of life?
PG: Don surfed a lot when he was young, but like many people, a busy life got in the way. I knew that he really missed surfing. In 2022, I urged him to take it up again as our life seemed calm enough for him to really put in the time to revive his skills.

We were also looking to retire by 2024, and so in 2023, I decided that I would really like to learn to surf so that we could do it together. The more I watched him surf and saw how happy and excited he was, the more I was intrigued to try it.

Despite all my health issues, I thought maybe I could do this and how awesome it would be to feel that sense of freedom gliding along a wave. I had recently lost my mom and two of my sisters within a two year time period. Those experiences in addition to my own, really brought into focus just how precious life is and to make the most of it. I didn’t want to regret not trying to learn to surf. Don was all for me giving it a go and so he became my surf coach.

GSI: When did you know you were hooked?
Well, I first had to start getting used to ocean water touching me. The nerve damage from the transverse myelitis made it painful for water to touch me unless it was at a specific temperature.

I took baby steps in the ocean, first my ankles for a while, then slowly moving up; training my brain to rewire itself to stop feeling intense pain in the water. After a few months, I could bear it, though it took over a year to be pain-free. Then I began with boogie boarding in the whitewash, and it was such fun.

I also discovered that I had a real fear of putting my head under water and a fear of lined-up waves! It took months before I was comfortable enough to try surfing. It was all worth the feeling the first time I caught the whitewash with a surfboard and finally popped to my feet. I felt like I was flying! I felt like a kid. I knew at that moment I couldn’t stop.

Now I can catch green waves, pop up and ride to the beach! I even go out with Don in 4 ft ground swells, and while I still have some anxiety in bigger waves, I usually manage to get a couple.

GSI: Have you always been a water person?
PG: Growing up, I spent much of my childhood in and around the water; swimming, fishing, clamming and boating. I had a very scary experience in the ocean when I was 16. I got rolled by a wave in the shore break and hit my head on the bottom.

I had to be helped out by a lifeguard, and while I still went to the beach and swam in the bay, that was the last time I really swam in the ocean till I was 63.

GSI: What has been the most surprising part of learning to surf?
PG: Actually, this is a two-parter for me. One is how hard it is! I knew that I was rather late to the party, but I didn’t realize how much I needed to learn before even actually surfing. We surf an open beach break, so it’s not an easy place for a beginner. The shore break can be intense, and the currents and rips can be crazy!

Don was a great teacher, but rather tough on me, or so I thought at the time, but he helped me to become a good, strong paddler with excellent endurance. I know how to negotiate the lineup, keep control of my board, handle wipeouts and the impact zone; you know, all the skills we really need out there to keep ourselves and others safe. It also took me a very long time to catch green waves.

Two is that just the act of paddling out, especially early in the morning, is so restorative. It truly heals us. I have read that surfing can help us deal with trauma in so many ways, and I believe the power of surfing has helped me deal with my health-related trauma. I don’t think I realised how much fear, anxiety and negativity were steering my life previously. It’s also the fountain of youth. I feel better and look better. I’ve never gotten so many compliments and mostly from young women. It’s awesome!

GSI: What is the best tip you have for anyone learning to surf?
PG: Be prepared to learn a lot about yourself. I came face-to-face with old fears I didn’t know were so paralysing. I also learned just how tenacious I could be. I learned that in spite of all the physical limitations, I could still do this. But on the flip side, I also learned patience with myself and others, how to manage my expectations, meet myself where I am, celebrate my wins, and let the bad days go.

GSI: Tell us about a session that really sticks in your mind.
PG: That’s an easy one! It was a glassy, glorious morning session about two months ago. Small 1-2ft waves just the way I like them. Don and I were getting ready to come in and said we’d get one more and get out of the water. We caught the same wave at the same time.

I was riding my 7’4” Salt Gypsy Mid Tide Epoxy Soft in Dusty Pink that day. I was his mirror image. We did everything the same, and while he was facing away from me and didn’t see it, I will never forget it. It looked like a choreographed dance.

So many of our fellow surfers saw it. A friend on the beach remarked on it. It was so, so special and such an awesome experience that day.

GSI: What is your favourite surf spot?
PG: I don’t want to say because everyone will go there, haha! But I can say I like my local break at Stuart Beach a lot too.

GSI: What is your favorite GSI board at the moment?
PG: Wow, that’s tough. I have six Salt Gypsy Mid Tides and love them all. My surfing really took off after I got the Mid Tides. Before that, I was churning through boards and nothing clicked for me.

I guess right now I am favoring my newest board, a 7’8” Salt Gypsy Mid Tide PU in Beautiful Blue. It’s such a stable board and a great glider. I also really like my 7’4” Salt Gypsy Mid Tide PU in Peach Fuzz too and use that when getting out the back is more challenging.

I’m certainly never the best surfer in the line up and usually closer to the worst, but I almost always have the prettiest board! I also love to put decorative vinyl flower stickers on them. I really am in love with my Salt Gypsy Mid Tide quiver.n Don even build me a great surf rack for them. They hold center stage in the living/dining area!

GSI: Our company mantra is ‘Life is Better When You Surf®’. How does that statement resonate with you?
PG: Life IS better when you find your true passion! While there are so many things in life that make me happy, I have to say that surfing is my passion and frankly, my addiction. Just ask my husband, Don. His surfing has improved because I am so relentless, I drag him to surf even the tiniest waves!

We often have really small waves in Florida in the summer, but if it moves, I’ll try to surf it. I joke that I am “Queen of the Microwaves”, and it’s true. We’ve had so many fun sessions all by ourselves in tiny waves. Happiness is truly a daily surf. Even if I get one wave, it makes the day so special.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend time in our beautiful ocean and just be with nature. All people need that connection to the healing power of nature. We are a part of the natural world, but in many ways, we are very disconnected.

Surfing has the power to re-establish that connection for me, and it’s so powerful.