Mangaluru/Mysuru: Surfing Swami a.k.a Swami Narasingha passed away on Thursday, January 2, amidst his dear disciples, followers, and well-wishers at his spiritual dwelling near Mysuru.
Surfing Swami established India’s first surf club – Mantra Surf Club in 2004. Swami was one of the early members of North Florida’s first surf club, Oceanside in 1963 and was among the pioneers of surfing on the East Coast of the United States. Forty years later He pioneered many aspects of surfing movement in India along with his students with the aim of making surfing a recognised sport in the country.
Those who knew Swami know him as a person who was always enthusiastic about surfing, ocean and holistic living. His energy in water was infectious and he always carried the spirit of aloha. He deeply cared about the ocean and well-being of surf communities. In 2014 Surfing Swami single-handedly began the work of the Surfing Swami Foundation [SSF], funding all its activities personally.
Surfing Swami has immensely contributed towards the growth of surfing in India by establishing the surf club/school model (Mantra Surf Club) back in the early 2000’s, and was also instrumental in establishing of Surfing Federation of India, the National Governing Body of Surfing in India and created other ventures such as Surf Adventure Enterprises, Thundermonkey Surf Gear Pvt Ltd, India Surf Tours Co. which setup the template for surf industry in India. Surfing Swami and his work has been widely recognised in over 300 news publications and magazines around the world from The Washington Post, BBC, Surfer Magazine, India Today, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Sports Illustrated, Der Spiegel, The Inertia, Redbull Media, Economic Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph UK and many more.
The Mantra Surf Club in its condolence message has written, “We are deeply saddened by his untimely demise, it will take us a long time to come to terms with it. He has left a great void in our lives which will probably never be replaced. His legacy will be honoured and continued by all his followers and well-wishers at Mantra Surf Club & Surfing Swami Foundation in the near future. We would also like to thank each and everyone who’s been part of his journey and ours.”
