This study analyzes how surfers engaged in organic farming translate their unique perceptions and understanding of nature into concrete practices. It specifically focuses on how these practices develop through interactions with local communities.
Previous research on lifestyle sports has revealed the exclusionary logic inherent in these cultures while exploring alternative approaches for practitioners. However, how practitioners develop specific practices in relation to their local communities has not been examined sufficiently.
At F Farm in Town X, Chiba Prefecture, five surfers maintain a ‘half-farmer, half-surfer’ lifestyle while practicing organic farming on 0.56 hectares of land. Their practice has three key features. First, they apply the ‘Waiting Body’ sensibility developed through surfing to their farming practices, enabling a sustained dialogue with the environment. Second, they engage in a DIY approach to the body through agriculture, establishing a cyclical process of testing the effects of organic crops on their surfing performance. Third, their flexible time management based on wave conditions enables farm operations that align with natural rhythms. Their initial practice created tensions with landowner G. However, over time, they discovered common ground in their shared value of “caring for the land.” This case demonstrates that social transformation attempts by lifestyle sports practitioners can develop as creative practices emerging from multi-layered relationships with local communities, rather than through opposition or disconnection. The study advances lifestyle sports research by highlighting the importance of everyday community negotiation and collaboration.
View full abstract