Doc World
Surf Nation
By Jessica Q. Chen and Jeremiah M. Bogert Jr.
Season 07
Episode 1
In Hainan, China’s southernmost province, hundreds of athletes train as part of the Chinese National Surf team. The young recruits, some as young as 9-years-old, have left their families and are paid to become surfers with Olympic aspirations.
Shot in a tropical paradise with miles of empty beaches, aspiring athletes and their coaches live in an old hotel that has become the hub of surfing in China. When the kids aren't surfing six days a week, they take classes all with the pressure of failure looming over them as a weak performance means a dismissal. The Australian coaches teach technique and surfing’s central attribute: individuality, in a culture that demands conformity. Over the course of two years, SURF NATION follows two of China’s top surfers, Alex and Lolo, as they train with the team, compete and discover what they want their lives to be.
