The longer I surf, the more convinced I am that getting older does not have to mean getting worse. In fact, I think age can become one of our greatest advantages if we know how to use it. Look at Peter Mel getting one of the best barrels ever ridden at Mavericks at 51. Look at Clyde Aikau competing in The Eddie at 66. I’ve shared heats with legends like Ross Clarke-Jones in his late 50s, still charging with more stoke, better positioning, and commitment than surfers half his age. Bianca Valenti at the 2018 JAWS Challenge at Pe'ahi. Richard Hallman / WSL / Getty That does something to you. It makes you question the story we’ve been sold. What if surfing does not have to be a slow decline? What if the experience we gain, reading the ocean, managing fear, knowing when to go, knowing when not to go, understanding our bodies, can actually make us better? That is the heart of surf longevity . Not surfing harder. Surfing smarter. Not trying to be 20 again.…