Adam Hiscock: “I just wanna be able to stand up on waves.”

Name: Adam Hiscock

Age: 29

From: Coronado and Utah

Location: Coronado Beach

Occupation: Geologist

Adam Hiscock was surfing behind the high rises south of the Hotel Del Coronado when I saw him. He was coming out of the water with no wetsuit.

“I was in for about 40 minutes and the water is freezing cold,” he said, “but back home, it’s in the 30s about now, so this should feel great.”

“We like to come in the winter when it’s cold at home to get out of the snow,” he said.

Hiscock started surfing after he purchased his Wavestorm board at Costco for $149 — almost a year ago.

“Yesterday I got trundled by a big wave since I’m not very good yet,” he said, “I slammed my shoulder on the bottom of the sand, and that hurt me.”

“I just wanna be able to stand up on waves,” he said, “these one-footers should be really easy to surf.”

Hiscock has been snowboarding since he was 8, and now that he’s 29, he’s realizing that for him, catching waves is more difficult than shredding the snow.

“Surfing is harder on your body too, and when you get hit, knocked down, spun around by the waves and hit the bottom,” he said, “you just get beat up a lot.”

His brother-in-law teaches him how to surf.

“Last year we were surfing up by Carlsbad while we were camping on the beach,” he said, “and it's got bigger surf there. I got knocked down by a wave and I tweaked my body, hit my head, and was sore and out for like a few days.”

For now, he’ll stick to Coronado until he gets better.

"The way the surf breaks and the way the waves curl is totally chill today for this beginner to learn,” he said, "and it's a chill vibe here because there's no competition.”

Hiscock was the only one out surfing here at this time of the day.