At Black's you can cut off the foam board guy

• Name: Isaac Lickona
• Age: 19
• From: La Mesa
• Interview location: Mission Beach Jetty

Isaac Lickona was washing off his board at the showers after a long surf session .

“I was taught how to surf by my best friend in high school. He took me out and it sucked the first couple times. The first five times you are gonna suck. You’re probably not going to catch a single wave and even have trouble paddling out. But my friend said to stick to it and I did. The best advice was to remember where your center of balance is.”

“I surf Mission, Scripps, and Blacks. Scripps is the easiest because it’s generally a relaxed break, but it’s right next to the Shores so the beginners kind of bleed into the Shores. Black’s is the best beach, but you can’t go mess around at Black's. I went there one time on a foam board and being on a foam board means universal disdain, especially at a place with a great break. There wasn’t any eruptions but there was this unspoken rule that everyone was allowed to cut off the foam board guy, and I got cut off a lot.”

“I had a sea lion come up right next to me and bark loudly at me. Sea lions are 300 pounds, they move fast and they can get aggressive. Another time my buddy and I went out surfing at Mission and we had six dolphins circle us. You could see their teeth and stuff.”