The seven stages of SUP addiction
1. You are not discontented with your life as you go through the motions of building a career and raising a family, but there is a lost sense of childlike passion; SUP makes no sense to you and is of no interest.
2. You go for a lesson on a SUP and the notion dawns on you that you could catch waves again. The main point about this stage is that it feels good, right and natural to have a board on water, underneath your feet.
3. You catch a small wave and experience the unadulterated thrill of gliding effortlessly across its face. It is like being a grommet all over again. The quest begins to repeat this experience.
4. You buy your first SUP from a local dealer. You begin devouring every possible bit of information you can online about SUPPING. Seabreeze.com.au seems like Aladdin's cave. You have no idea about the differences between the bewildering array of brands and board designs but it is a constant pre-occupation as spare moments are devoted, at work, on the couch at home in front of the TV, with friends and relatives; in fact anywhere and everywhere you are checking up about SUPS online.
5. You trade in your first board for a more challenging one. Then you spontaneously buy a third SUP online because you want to perform more maneuvers than your second one will allow. (You can't believe you just bought something so expensive online but it turns out really well as the board is almost two feet shorter than your original and it is a bargain.) Your quiver begins. Your quiver continues to grow.
6. Friends and acquaintances start asking for your advice about SUPPING. You are only too happy to help as you genuinely want them to enjoy the same addictive thrill you now seek on a regular basis. You appear to have a burgeoning and somewhat authoritative understanding of your favourite pastime. You start demo-ing boards from your quiver to friends and relatives and then selling them as you continue to refine and update your quiver. You have become a dealer!
7. The final stage! You are now known by name by local surfers and the local SUP retailer. It is now normal for you to get to the beach a half hour before sunrise to try and get some waves to yourself. The idea of travelling to Europe or any country where there is no surf or artificial wave pool is now completely out of the question. Your sole obsession is planning surf trips to as many SUP friendly places as possible, with the maximum number of waves and the minimum number of other people. You believe there is little in your life worth thinking about other than SUPPING. You know the next step is a custom designed SUP. It is now something you have to live with for the rest of your life. There is no escaping it. You are happy!
Select to expand quoteSuporator said..
The seven stages of SUP addiction
1. You are not discontented with your life as you go through the motions of building a career and raising a family, but there is a lost sense of childlike passion; SUP makes no sense to you and is of no interest.
2. You go for a lesson on a SUP and the notion dawns on you that you could catch waves again. The main point about this stage is that it feels good, right and natural to have a board on water, underneath your feet.
3. You catch a small wave and experience the unadulterated thrill of gliding effortlessly across its face. It is like being a grommet all over again. The quest begins to repeat this experience.
4. You buy your first SUP from a local dealer. You begin devouring every possible bit of information you can online about SUPPING. Seabreeze.com.au seems like Aladdin's cave. You have no idea about the differences between the bewildering array of brands and board designs but it is a constant pre-occupation as spare moments are devoted, at work, on the couch at home in front of the TV, with friends and relatives; in fact anywhere and everywhere you are checking up about SUPS online.
5. You trade in your first board for a more challenging one. Then you spontaneously buy a third SUP online because you want to perform more maneuvers than your second one will allow. (You can't believe you just bought something so expensive online but it turns out really well as the board is almost two feet shorter than your original and it is a bargain.) Your quiver begins. Your quiver continues to grow.
6. Friends and acquaintances start asking for your advice about SUPPING. You are only too happy to help as you genuinely want them to enjoy the same addictive thrill you now seek on a regular basis. You appear to have a burgeoning and somewhat authoritative understanding of your favourite pastime. You start demo-ing boards from your quiver to friends and relatives and then selling them as you continue to refine and update your quiver. You have become a dealer!
7. The final stage! You are now known by name by local surfers and the local SUP retailer. It is now normal for you to get to the beach a half hour before sunrise to try and get some waves to yourself. The idea of travelling to Europe or any country where there is no surf or artificial wave pool is now completely out of the question. Your sole obsession is planning surf trips to as many SUP friendly places as possible, with the maximum number of waves and the minimum number of other people. You believe there is little in your life worth thinking about other than SUPPING. You know the next step is a custom designed SUP. It is now something you have to live with for the rest of your life. There is no escaping. You are happy!
That's me to a tee... but I've had my first custom SMIK SUP for three months now 
8. Realising you will never be content with just one custom board, you keep having them shaped until you have a quiver that will cover every possible wave, wind and weather condition (as well as demeanour/state of sobriety) possible. Then you try in vain to explain to your wife why this is necessary, all the while grinning like a dopey school kid, not really caring if she gets it or not. You are cold, wet, salty, exhilarated......and content. 
So very true, it has taken over all of my life and has destroyed any sort of interest of other sports
Glad to see I am not the only one. But I guess I knew that.
I am wondering if there is a step 9 where you need counselling about the money spent (and the unwillingness to sell boards), the time spent on the forum, the endless monitoring of webcams, wind, tide and weather conditions. Maybe the first step is to admit you have a problem.
But that's not me, I am still happy and having fun. (Chris, there's denial 
)
I am up to step"4" at the moment ...................I don't think it is going to take long to get through them all! 
Great post!
5.5 You invest in a "SUP Mobile" whose cost dwarfs the amount you invest in SUP gear itself
6.5 You buy boards that you wont use much yourself, but just to lend to friends (inflatables, typically).
Isn't there a step in between where you buy a SUP for your wife in the mistaken belief that she'll share your passion and not begrudge the amount you're spending?
Select to expand quoteGandalf said...
Isn't there a step in between where you buy a SUP for your wife in the mistaken belief that she'll share your passion and not begrudge the amount you're spending?
Haha! I actually did that in real life, although I left it out of step 6 in this post!
Point 3. The reliving the grommet fever - so true and just as well, as my number 2 (not her real name) is a mad keen grommet but on a short board. So that makes for an old SUP grommet and young surfing grommet both frothing for waves.
Never considered leaving surfing, it always ran my life.... but bad shoulders were making it very hard to push up on the board.
Zero interest in SUP, but in a moment of clarity, I cut the line to step 4...
super stoked like a 5 year old.... re-lived the "Shortboard revolution" of the 60's.... in my 60's 
Steps 5 thru 7 were a blurrrrr......
7 stages?
You haven't even mention where the boards start getting bigger as you get into downwinding, 14'ers, unlimiteds, dreaming of Hawaii and Maliko runs etc.
#10....you design & build your own custom boards. Actually that was step one for me as I have always built my own surfboards/sail boards/wave skis/kayaks.
Got into surfing 49 years ago building my first real surfboard. Windsurfing...30 years ago building my first board...8 years ago I built my first HP waveski...why would SUP be any different?
tightlines, you nailed my current predicament; my SUP surfboards went from 9'6" to 9" to 8'6"; and now that I took up downwinding I am going from 14' up to 16', and the boards are twice as expensive 
. A new layer of delightful insanity kicks in .
Select to expand quoteGandalf said..
Isn't there a step in between where you buy a SUP for your wife in the mistaken belief that she'll share your passion and not begrudge the amount you're spending?
Haha! Homer our kindred spirit! Downwinding must be Stage 8. I confess I haven't got there yet although I did get a twinge of enlightenment/temptation/curiosity on a lake near home with a really strong westerly blowing and I got a nudge from a tiny wind swell. I'll endeavour to update as the stage progresses. I reckon my 'Marge' is gonna react the same to a 14' board as Homer's bowling ball though. Oh well it's too late now...
Select to expand quoteChris_M said..
You left out denial???
Is there surf there 
Stage 10 - when the lawyers get involved......who gets custody of the quiver
