Trying to Explain The Stoke - inspired by The Surf Bunker

Have you ever tried to explain to someone the "feeling of stoke"? That feeling that makes you say, just one more, ten times in a session? That feeling when you pull into the parking lot at 6am to see a perfectly shaped wave peeling down a point break, off shore winds spewing water and foam up into the air. How do you articulate that feeling? On the other hand, can you?

Bohdi from Point break!?

As James, over at the Surf Bunker very succinctly puts it. I have tried and failed many times to explain and just ended up sounding like Bodhi from Point Break. Consequently, everyone thinks I just sit around talking about waves and smoking dope. 

Give it a go it's actually not that easy and you begin to understand if you haven't tried to explain it before,  exactly what James is talking about.

Inspired by an article written by James over at Surf Bunker with the same headline trying to explain the stoke.  I have been inspired to continue the conversation and get everyone's thoughts on what your own personal articulation of the stoke is. My own personal contribution from the article is below.

'Its a very personal experience and something I truly believe you can not quite put into words. Its something that I am sure only a surfers knows, I have ridden a lot of waves in my time but there are only a handful that sit in my mind and when I think about them I feel that irresistible pull towards the ocean. Its the kind of happiness that wells up inside of you which is what I think people refer to as the 'stoke'.'

James asked a number of shapers and industry professionals the same questions and got some very different answer.  Check them out here and don't forget to put your idea of what the stoke is to you in the comments below.