At the age of 89, Seiichi Sano, a former busy business owner from Japan has chosen to start over by climbing Mount Fuji. He didn’t stop there, though, and soon took up surfing where many others are happy to simply relax, kick back and collect their pension.
He has mentioned attempting bouldering but would prefer to do so in a gym for safety reasons. He has ruled out bungee leaping because it is too terrifying for him.
Despite his interest in new challenges, Sano is content to stay with what he knows best, stating that he would like to continue surfing until the age of 100.
Sano said: “I think it would be interesting to try to surf until I’m 100.
“I think I take better care of myself when I have goals like this. Even now, I take better care of myself than I did before.”
Living just 20 minutes away from Yokohama, Sano regularly surfs on the black-sand beach near Enoshima
JUST IN: Russian commander who oversaw slaughter of hundreds of Ukrainians ‘liquidated’
Sano, who lives just 20 minutes from Yokohama, surfs on a black-sand beach near Enoshima, the small island that held sailing for the recent Tokyo Olympics and served as the harbour for the 1964 Games.
He explained how he was inspired to start surfing by a bank employee who was always tanned and didn’t appear like your normal banker.
Later he located a teacher and began surfing on his own.
He told the AP news agency: “I don’t consider myself an old man,
Rishi Sunak meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Don’t miss…
Swimmer ‘body-shamed’ after breaking club’s no nudity rules [LATEST]
Lewis Hamilton left ‘terrified’ after shark surfing incident[LATEST]
1950s-born women slams state pension age change [LATEST]
“I have never thought of myself as an old person. I always feel that I can still move forward. I can still do it. I can still enjoy it.”
He said: “I can only say that I just enjoy myself and do what I want without stressing out,
“So if you try to be too good at it, or think that you have to do it this way or that way, I think you lose the fun.
He added: “I enjoy being swept up in the wave, I am not a good surfer. So I call myself a ‘small-wave surfer’ — out of respect for those who surf well.”
Shimizu, his instructor told AP: “To be honest, I was surprised by his age,
“I was most worried that he would get injured. I did not know how fit he was, physically.
“So when I heard he was 80, I thought it would be a bit tough to think about whether my own grandfather could surf. I was surprised he was able to do it as well as younger people.”
Sano joked about surfing in the delayed Tokyo Games, held just under two years ago, saying: “I was hoping to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, not as a competitor but as an old-age demonstrator.”
Source: Read Full Article