Rad Reads: Some Like It Cold
Have waves will surf. That includes waves in the Great Lakes! After all, some of the biggest surf and water rescue innovations come from a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native! (His name is Tom Blake. Today’s book isn’t about him, but he’s kind of a big deal. He redefined surfboard designs, he’s the man behind surf board fins, he’s the inventor of rescue paddle boards, and he even is the man behind the first underwater camera housing!)
As a surfer of Lake Michigan myself, it felt right to read Some Like It Cold by William Povletich, a telling of 2 surfers from Sheboygan, WI who became highly influential in not only their own surf community, but the entire Great Lakes surfing community and helped Great Lakes surfing be recognized by the surf community as a whole.
Some Like It Cold chronicles Larry and Lee Williams’s lives from childhood when they caught the surfing bug and started their own surf club after not being welcomed into the older boys club, through their adulthoods filled with competing in surf contests, hosting the Dairyland Surf Classic, becoming fathers and experiencing great losses. Even in the moments of life that they found themselves pulled away from the Lake and surfing, it was always Lake Michigan and her waves that provided healing to the brothers when they needed it.
If you are a surfer of the Great Lakes, this book should be on your must read list, it’s a great telling of some Great Lakes surfing history and, in my opinion, makes me love this “untraditional” surf destination.
If you are a surfer who never realized the Great Lakes even had a surf community, this book should be on your must read list. Who doesn’t love to find out new and different places to explore and find waves?
If you are just a water lover, this book should be on your must read list. In addition to surfing, the Williams brothers placed a huge focus on creating community based on surfing Lake Michigan and also both were huge advocates of promoting safety in and around the water.
Looking to add more to your summer reading list? More Rad Reads, here!