Professional surfer Mikey February reflects on a journey from humble beginnings to the world stage. Alongside family, February explores how surfing serves as a unique medium for self-expression, community impact, and overcoming historical barriers in South Africa to forge an authentic path.
Text by Mikey February:
I was born in 1993, just as apartheid was ending in South Africa. My father is an avid surfer who introduced me to the sport at a young age, and the freedom he felt in the ocean had a big impact on me. He faced challenges pursuing the sport, since it was historically reserved for white South Africans and beaches were segregated until 1989. But by the time I came around, things were changing. Being able to bring his son to the beach and into the water was something he’d always dreamed of. He’d always have a big smile on his face when we’d go surfing together, and he still does.
Despite the obstacles he faced, my father never lost his love for the ocean and its power to heal. As I grew older and got more involved in the surfing community, I was usually surrounded by people who didn’t look like me or surf like me — but I still felt so liberated by the sport. My father told me to find pride in my uniqueness, and his words were always in my ear.
In 2018 I became the first Black South African surfer to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour, an elite professional competition. Achieving that level of recognition felt like a lot of pressure at first, and sometimes I wanted to retreat from the spotlight, but I knew that the impact of breaking that barrier was bigger than me.
I often think about my ancestors who were brought to Cape Town as enslaved people. They were stripped of their humanity and identity and renamed February, after the month of their arrival. This history is part of my family’s story and I’m proud to carry the name, whose meaning and history changes and deepens with each generation. My parents being so proud of who they are makes me feel proud, too, and I work to continue that legacy.
When I go to the beach today, I see diversity in the people who are in the water. It’s a joy to see surfing grow in South Africa and across the continent. Surfing is now making a difference in our community. It makes me optimistic and excited about the future — the future that my son Miles, who was born in 2022, is stepping into.
