TZ Tiezhuang: from Mongolia to Hainan

A #surfer from #Mongolia who discovered the ocean at the age of 25. Tiezhuang is certainly not your average wave rider.

@tz_tiezhuang left landlocked Mongolia in 2008 to find work and ended in #Hainan, China's own Hawaii. That was the first time he saw anything bigger than a lake. He watched strange people glide down waves in Riyue Bay: they turned out to be Hawaiians who shared their stoke and their boards. Tiezhuang was hooked and soon rode shortboards and #longboards with equal ease, cross-stepping his first #singlefin to the nose so well, he started competing within 18 months. In 2014, he competed at the @redbull #Qiantang tidal bore as part of the first team China. But he is not on his own anymore as surfing in China is growing fast: "When i started surfing in #RiyueBay and #DaDongHai, there were only 2 or 3 Chinese surfers around, but now there's about 20 of us. We also have people from Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Fujian and Qingdao." Official recognition is yet to come. Local security agents in Shenzhen were seen to seize and saw off boards from surfers. "This may change as the #TokyoOlympics draw nearer and the government recognizes that a national team is necessary for China to compete." Support, funding, and shared stoke? Who said surfing couldn't bring about positive change? 📷 Haido #swellbound #followerstory #freesurfspirit

TZ cross-stepping to the nose