The flame at the Olympic stadion in Beijing has burned out. All the athletes from around the world are flying back to their home countries. TZ is also traveling. He lands at Hainan as a hopeful young man looking to start his life here. The streets are clean, almost polished, the shops are carefully curated to fit the stream of tourist that comes here for shopping. The economy in China is rising and more Chinese are choosing to have their vacations here. They travel here during winter for some warmer weather and beach life. This is where TZ starts working, at the beach, taking photos of tourists that have been riding horses. Working long days he was soon to realize that there were several people out in the water. Not just swimming, but surfing on the waves. First, he was watching them from afar, then he started to get to know them, and not long after he started to loan their boards. Testing it. Loving it. At the moment he didn’t know how much this would change his life, he was just enjoying the water.
As a dropout from school, his camera was helping him get the ends to meet. Not the most purpose-driven job, but it gave him an income. Even though he didn’t know what he would do with his life, he got to enjoy being outside, at the beach. These people that he observed surfing were a group belonging to Surfing the nation, some Christian missionaries. As all surfers know, the beginning is more struggle than surfing, and this was true for TZ as well. The thrill and excitement made it all worth it, as it does for most surfers. These Hawaiian surfers came back year after year, and they gave TZ a board. He started the first year with a 10” longboard. That board was easily mastered and he progressed to a regular shortboard within the first couple of years. Year after year he got better, but he was mainly surfing by himself. There were not a lot of other people surfing the beaches beside him and tourists from abroad. His English got improved by engaging with the International surfers that started to explore China as a surf destination. He still surfs a lot, but now are focusing more on coaching other surfers. There are a lot of Chinese kids that are discovering surfing and TZ gets to be a role model and a coach for them. Being a part of the growing surf culture in China has brought him so many places around the world, Australia, Japan, Bali, Indonesia, France, Spain, and the Philippines. Surfing all these different waves has given him a great experience and he keeps growing as a coach, he has coached Zhejiang Provincial Team back in 2019.
Lang Lang is his cat's name and it means waves. With a love for the ocean and surfing the name was almost a given. Romantic love is a bit harder to find. Growing up in China as a queer person was not the easiest thing, most Chinese are not vocal about their sexuality, it's not in their culture. Despite his good relationship with his big family, he hasn’t felt the need to tell them. His close friends know that he is gay, they have met his (now) ex-partner. His Australian boyfriend. One could think that they were this amazing surfing couple, but somehow TZ found one of the few Aussies that do not surf. It was great when they were at the same place, but living in different countries made it too hard to keep up with the relationship. Boys, TZ is singel.
With the growing numbers of young surfers TZ knows that there are so many gay people, they might not speak loudly about it, but they are there. China is progressing and it is easier for them than it was for him. But they are lucky to have a role model in TZ, both as a great surfer and person.
He still enjoys the beach life even though he uses it differently now to when he first set foot on the beaches of Hainan. Surfing has become an integrated part of his life and the joy of helping others master the sport is great. While figuring out the next steps for his business, he is shaping boards. A skill and handcraft that he learned staying in Australia. He is working with a factory to have his board produced, which he is excited about. Maybe it will become a surfboard brand, maybe it will be a surf shop, all we can do is to keep an eye out. He knows at least that the days of charging with a shortboard are over and he only rides his favorite board, a hand-shaped 9”4 single fin from an Aussie. It is a board that allows him to be one with the wave. Running up and down the board. Dancing on water. That is his happy place. Even spending a lot of time with his business as a coach and selling surfboards, he still makes time for a surf with friends. He will always come back to the beach, that’s where he found his purpose, his life, his career.
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