Surfing appears easy to do, right? You simply have to paddle out there, duck under waves, and ride down towards the face of the waves with a bit of cut backs and some bottom turns. If you had rented a board and had a go you would realize how a real surf experience comes a bit different.

Surfing was brought back to life when Duke Kahanamoku founded the first surfing club in Waikiki. Professional surfing competition was extremely popular in the 1960s, thus giving birth to the best surf experience there is. The main organizing body for professional surfing now is the Association of Surf Professionals or ASP, which has 5 regional organizations. A few pro surfers can earn about $200,000 or more per year from competing but most top professional surfers earn about $20,000 per year. Top professional surfers would earn more than $750,000 over the course of a lifetime purely from competitions alone. More earnings can come from product endorsements and lessons.

So how do you become a professional surfer and have the best surf experience of your life while earning lots of money? The following are a few instructions:

1. Buy some surfing clothes and secure at least a surfboard for yourself so that you can get started. But you may not have much success without the major element in the mix: good ocean waves. Thus obviously it would help a lot if you live near the ocean. You will also need to stay in good physical shape.

2. Offering lessons is one of the most popular means to moonlight for the professional surf teachers, who offer lessons to the newbies. It can be a major expense but it is absolutely worth the investment if you plan to compete professionally. It involves practicing a lot your skills for you to become a surfer and it involves no short cuts. You can locate experienced surfers who offer lessons by visiting surf shops like 2 Mile Surf Shop in Bolinas, California. The shop's program director is Nick Kreiger.

3. To join in a semi-professional surfing event is your next step. Get ready for traveling to other destinations to join events. You will gain significant surf experience if you compete in a couple of events and practice by yourself.

4. To join in the ASP is relatively simple for qualified users. You’ll need to apply and pay membership fees. The ASP World Tour is however intended only for a small group of surfing professionals dominating the sport. Even female surfers are allowed to compete.

5. Travel the world to compete in ASP events and the ASP World Tour.

6. Endorsing surfing products and offering surfing lessons can supplement your income once you’ve “made it.”