Just what we need. Some absolutely cringe-worthy comments. Let the thread bashing begin!
LONG BEACH, N.Y.—When technology industry recruiter Alan Cutter networks, he doesn't hit 18 holes. He prefers to hang ten.
Mr. Cutter is trying to encourage those in New York's burgeoning tech sector to dive into a popular West Coast pastime: surfing. "The ocean is the new golf course," says Mr. Cutter, 43 years old.
Networking—On the Beach
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PJ Smith for The Wall Street Journal
'The ocean is the new golf course,' says Alan Cutter, 43 years old.
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In a button-down city where contacts are made over cocktails and power breakfasts, a small group from the tech industry is choosing New York's beaches as the preferred place to build business relationships. Mr. Cutter, CEO of digital media executive-search firm AC Lion, and his childhood friend and business partner Michael Adler have compiled a database of dozens of beach bums they have encountered through tech events and mutual friends. So far, about 30 people have joined a LinkedIn group they created for digital media surfers earlier this year.
Their efforts, while still a ripple, come as a surfing bug hits New York, along with a wave of start-up companies.
The city boasts the fastest-growing tech sector in the nation, a boom that is altering New York's more traditional corporate culture with Silicon Valley-style perks such as office ping-pong tables and in-house beer refrigerators.
At the same time, beaches ranging from the Rockaways to Montauk are gaining popularity as surfing destinations. New York Surf School in Rockaway Beach reports classes have doubled in size in the past four years. And a Quiksilver Pro surfing competition in 2011 helped put nearby Long Beach, N.Y., "on the map," said Mr. Adler.
September and October are considered prime surfing months because of hurricane season. On a recent morning following a rainy day, waves were 4- to 7-feet tall—higher than the usual at Long Beach, located about an hour outside of Manhattan.
"I've met a ton of people in the water," said Mr. Adler, 40. "Businesswise, it's incredible."
Some surfers throw cold water on the notion of using the sport for business purposes. Consider it a warning to any novices who want to network on boards: "It's totally polar opposite of golf," said Michael Mihaly, a 42-year-old surfer and partner at an advertising agency in San Diego.
Surfing is "territorial, absolutely," he said. "You can go to a surf spot and completely get vibed out of there, where people just don't want you there."
For Steve Jang, chief executive of the San Francisco start-up Schematic Labs, surfing is a "religious" experience. "You don't do it for points," he said. "You do it because you love it in your soul."
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ALAN CUTTER
But for Steve Weinrib, director of e-commerce for home retailer ABC Carpet & Home in Manhattan, surfing is "like a cleansing before work to discuss and brainstorm."
He said there is an art to talking business in a wetsuit. And there are unspoken rules. It is critical to avoid stealing the waves of another surfer (that is, unless it is a "party wave," or one that can be shared.)
Bad etiquette can not only wreck surfing trips but also ruin business prospects. Mr. Weinrib recalls a surfing trip he took with a vendor who wanted to sell products through ABC.
"He was just a wave hog," said Mr. Weinrib, 33, who lives on Long Island. "That did sort of rub me the wrong way."
"I wouldn't say that's the only reason we didn't end up doing business," Mr. Weinrib said. "But I would say it was one of several variables."
Striking a business deal in the waves is tricky. Abrupt interruptions are common. "It's kind of funny talking about work in the water," said David Sexter, a 43-year-old recruiter at health website WebMD Health Corp. WBMD +0.21% in New York. "You could be halfway into your point, and then a wave comes and you're gone."
Mr. Sexter met Mr. Adler and Mr. Cutter surfing in 2005. He ended up becoming one of their clients.
Pushing a networking culture that involves wax and wetsuits hasn't been an easy sell in New York. A recent weekend trip to Long Beach drew just five digital-media executives and recruiters—all men—who gathered on a boardwalk before sunrise, toting their boards.
New York remains an underdog when it comes to both surfing and technology: It isn't clear whether the bulk of start-ups here will thrive or drown trying. And while the city's surfing culture is gaining traction, cries of "Cowabunga" aren't nearly as widespread as on the West Coast, which typically boasts bigger, more consistent waves.
"We're kind of snobs out here," said Mr. Mihaly, the San Diego surfer, adding that East Coast swells—or waves—are "so short that people will drop everything that they have to do just to surf because they know it could be gone in a couple of hours."
Others argue that kind of timing works in the tech sector, where workers often set their own schedule. "The only two types of people who have time to surf are bums and the tech industry," said Eli Mechlovitz, founder of online retailer KidsSocks.com and a member of Mr. Cutter's group.
While some CEOs may collect cars, Mr. Mechlovitz, 29, has his own trophies: A collection of 10 surfboards in his garage. A 12-foot board, like a Cadillac, is better for gliding, he explains, while a 5-foot board is more like a Porsche, he said. "It has more maneuverability."
Even the technology industry needs to check out sometimes. "With a super stressful lifestyle in New York, there are not that many places you can go to as a sanctuary," Mr. Adler said.
In the water, he said, "that's the one time that no one can get a hold of me."
