Gear acquisition syndrome reaches new clinical benchmark in San Diego case study

The Boards Came First. The Wave Came Later. Much Later.

His name is not important. What is important is that he had a 9’6 foam board, a 9’2 epoxy longboard, a 7’6 mid-length “just in case,” a 6’8 funboard described as a “transition board,” a 6’2 fish “for when he got better,” and two shortboards purchased, by his own admission, “because they looked right.” He had surfed seven times. He had stood up twice. One of those times he fell immediately after standing, which he said still counted. It does count. I told him it counts.

The Clinical Picture

Surf shop therapist Dr. Wanda Kellstrom of the San Diego Center for Quiver-Related Disorders has a term for this: Pre-Competency Gear Accumulation, or PCGA. “The patient purchases equipment calibrated for skills they intend to develop,” she explained, “rather than skills they currently possess. The 5’10 shortboard sitting in their garage is essentially a vision board.” She paused. “A very expensive vision board.”

Beginner surfing gear obsession is not a new phenomenon. Every surf shop owner in California has a story. Surfer Magazine’s gear guides, by necessity, include a quiet disclaimer in spirit if not in print: maybe start with one board.

The Interview

I asked our subject what he planned to do with seven boards. “Use them,” he said, with complete sincerity. He has been surfing for four months. His progression rate is normal. His board-to-wave ratio is 7:2. “I’ll grow into them,” he said. This is, historically, never quite how it works. It is also exactly how every surfer starts. We do not talk about this openly.

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