Interview with Dan Reiter, author of “On a Rising Swell”

May 27

Dan Reiter is a “surfer, author, and general contractor.” His writing has appeared in Surfer’s Journal, The Kenyon Review, and McSweeney’s, among other places. His new book, On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories from Florida’s Space Coast was published by University Press of Florida in April 2025.

In "Surf Lit" you mention the rise in the term "surf literature," but you seem a little skeptical. Can you say a bit more about that genre? Also, I'd assume everyone puts Barbarian Days in that category, what else do you think qualifies?

The genre is pretty thin. Surfing tends toward the esoteric, and most surfers aren’t particularly literary-minded. That said, ‘outsiders’ have been scribbling bits of surf lit as far back as the 18th century. Jack London and Mark Twain wrote excellent sketches of the surf scene at Waikiki. And Gidget stands out as a sort of embarrassing archetype. A whole book about surfing that keeps a general audience engaged is a rare bird, which is why Finnegan stands out as the Grand Vizier of the Dubious Canon.

While good, long-form surf-themed books do exist––Gerry Lopez’s autobiography, Surf is Where You Find It, Alan Weisbecker’s novel In Search of Captain Zero, and David Rensin’s profile of Miki Dora, All for a Few Perfect Waves to name a few––I think the best surf lit is delivered in short bursts; you can look to magazines like Surfer and The Surfer’s Journal for the pinnacle of the form. In modern times, with print magazines on the decline, some legendary underground surf writers, like Matt George and Scott Hulet, are releasing hard-bound collections of their surf lit, and introducing a whole new generation to the genre.

Do you have a top five for surf movies?

1 – Longer (1999) – simply the best surf footage ever stitched to song
2 – Morning of the Earth (1972) – a kaleidoscopic mind-trip
3 - Endless Summer (1966) – the all-time classic surf safari
4 – The Seedling (1999) – an art house genre bender
5 – Point Break (1991) – even with the cheesy, poorly edited surf scenes, this is a standout

In the book, you mention how you got into construction and reference being a contractor, how did you get into writing?

When I was twenty, I moved to Paris with the dream of becoming an artist. I figured if I could just learn to paint photo-realistically––that is, put a picture to canvas exactly as I saw it with my eye––I would finally understand the truth of color and texture, and be ready to move on to impressionism. I took a partially-finished painting of a Manhattan street scene with me, and worked on the granular details of the Sherry Netherlander clock for three weeks. During my breaks, I would go to a café and read Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. When I finished the book, I started writing down my own impressions of Paris, little poems, journal entries. I never could capture the exact gleam of the green fluted metal on the Sherry Netherlander clock, but I found I could describe the colors of the Seine in great detail. When I came back to the States, I took a road trip from New York to San Francisco and wrote an 800-page road trip tome. I guess you could notch those pages toward my million words, as the saying goes. When I moved to Florida and got into construction, I wrote at night, impressions from the jobsite, or else short stories, which I started sending out to literary journals. I adhered to the same concept as the painting: try to put something down exactly as I saw it, then slowly move away from realism. I started with flash fiction, and progressed to longer stories. The surf pieces happened in-between the fiction, and this book is a sort of accidental accumulation of those.

What are your recommendations for potential or emerging writers?

Say something old in a new way.

Better yet, say something new in an old way.

Are you a big reader, what do you love to read? And do you have any books that you frequently recommend to people?

Joan Didion is my favorite essayist. The White Album and Slouching Toward Bethlehem especially. Also in non-fiction, there’s Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, Hunter S. Thompson, David Foster Wallace, George Orwell, and Charles D’Ambrosio. My taste in fiction is more old-timey… Cervantes, Tolstoy, Steinbeck, Kipling, Twain, London, Kerouac, Bellow, Vonnegut, DeLillo. Ian Fleming, Douglas Adams. More modern varietals are Lauren Groff, Joshua Cohen, Karen Russell. As to short stories: Lydia Davis, Gogol, Chekhov.

Your book makes a strong case for why Florida has produced so many excellent surfers, despite not being known for excellent waves. Are there aspects of life off the water that you think make Florida special in a way that gives locals some kind of competitive advantage?

Cocoa Beach is a small town of about eleven thousand people. It’s easy to bike around, there’s beach access at the end of every street, warm water, sand bottoms, gentle, playful waves almost year round. A young kid can get out in the water every day, at an early age. When there’s a good swell, the whole town is surfing. It’s a safe, supportive atmosphere. And when the kid gets a little older, they can go out to some of the more competitive breaks and ride alongside some of the top surfers on the planet.

I'm sure every area where there is surfing has its own "local legends," but do you think surfing culture is especially good at helping people connect to place and have a sense of belonging to a place?

Definitely, in my experience. I’ve met some of my best friends through surfing, and connected to a really tight-knit community here on the Space Coast. Surfing has its own culture and history, and being a part of it feels like being in a secret club. Especially here on the Space Coast, which was hometown to world champions like Kelly Slater, Caroline Marks, and CJ Hobgood.

You are a contractor, a surfer, and a writer... Surfing is a passion you have devoted a lot of time and thought to, but, especially initially, it wasn't bringing any money in, some now if you count the writing that is related to surfing... How significant is it to have a passion like that? Everyone these days seems to be looking for a "side hustle" but your passion for surfing is kind of an end in itself. What does that add to life that you wouldn't otherwise have?

I like that, passion as an end in itself. Surfing is a lot like a martial art; you strive to balance the physical with the meditative. The end goal is attaining perfect peace while being in a state of flux. Like martial artists, surfers carry their practice with them in their day-to-day lives, and it affords them a sense of serenity and strength others might not have.

Many philosophers have written about the significance of leisure, not just in terms of relaxing but in terms of time for contemplation and reflection and non-productive work--it seems like surfing can fit that very well. Do you find that to be the case? Do you think you have a better take on things because of time spent on the water?

It charges your neurons, being out there. There’s a quote early on in the book from ion particle researcher Michael Terman, PhD, who theorizes that exposure to the sea breeze can actually make a person happier. “The action of the pounding surf creates negative air ions, just as immediately after spring thunderstorms, people report lightened moods.”

Sitting on the outside, between sets, in those escapist moments of beauty and grace, far from screens and the honking, hurrying drone of dry land, is pacifying and centering. I try to find a revelation or two each session, even if it’s just a couple of words to describe the effects of the clouds, or the flight of a pelican. I’ll remember it and bring back with me. Every session takes you to a secret, special place, and when you get back you’re walking on a cushion of air.

Are there any other hobbies or interests that you think are equivalent to surfing?

Skiing and snowboarding are about as close as it gets. The glide, the weightless feeling of skimming just above the surface. The ephemeral phase change between water and wind.

What is something that you think non-surfers get wrong about surfing?

There’s a particular way surfers look at the ocean and waves, taking into consideration the nuances of wind, tide, depth, and swell angle that is completely unintelligible to a non-surfer. It’s like listening to a foreign language. Some people understand it, while to others it’s just so much beautiful noise.

What is something that you think non-Floridians get wrong about Florida?

The biggest misconception is that Floridian culture is a single, uniform construct. In reality, Cocoa Beach people are as different from Ocala people as Arlington, Virginia people are from Fresno, California people. Same thing can be said of the Keys versus Tallahassee. Florida is about as diverse and varied a locale as the entire European Union.

Do you have any favorite Florida-related books or films?

The Florida of the Inca. A fantastic adventure story, well written, from the 16th century, chronicling Hernando de Soto’s expedition into the harsh, wet, Florida wilds. In it, we have the story of ill-fated, reprehnsible Panfilo de Narvaez expedition, and the lone survivor, Juan Ortiz, taken prisoner and then saved by a young native girl (a precursor to the Pocahontas legend). Ortiz lived with the Mocoso tribe, and was taken on as a translator for de Soto.

I also really love what Lauren Groff and Karen Russell are doing with Florida literature, with books like Florida and Swamplandia!

Do you have a favorite Publix sub?

My go-to sandwich at Subway or Jimmy John’s is a turkey sub, but at Publix, where they always have good fresh meat, I’ll go with a Boar’s Head roast beef on wheat with Swiss cheese, spicy mustard, onions, lettuce, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.