Surfing, Hockey Converge for Ben Gravy | FEATURE

ASBURY PARK, NJ — Most people look at the Atlantic Ocean in February—grey, churning, and hovering around 35 degrees—and see a warning sign. New Jersey native Ben Gravy looks at it and sees a playground.

"There’s no such thing as bad weather," the pro surfer and YouTube sensation says, standing on a frozen Asbury Park beach, surfboard under one arm. "Just a bad attitude."

It is a philosophy that sounds great on a t-shirt, but it hits differently when you are staring down what Gravy calls the "Siberian Peninsula" of New Jersey. Just days ago, he was surfing in 86-degree Costa Rican paradise. Today? He’s back home, zipping into a 5mm wetsuit to battle wind chills that would make a polar bear shiver.

But on this February morning, there’s a new layer of armor under the neoprene: a red New Jersey Devils jersey.

"Wearing the jersey out in the water got me stoked," Gravy says, the red crest popping violently against the slate-grey water. "Every time the cloth hit the water, I was reminded that I had another layer on. I’d look down and be like, 'Oh yeah, this is what we're doing. This is sick!'"

The Final Boss of Cold

Gravy is no stranger to the freeze. He has surfed glacier rivers in Norway, snowstorms in Iceland, and minus-10 degree wind chills on Lake Superior in Minnesota. But he insists that New Jersey in February offers a specific kind of misery that earns it a special title: The Final Boss of Cold Water Surfing.

"The biggest difference is the slush," Gravy explains. "We’re talking about water that is below 28 degrees that has begun to freeze. When you have to duck dive under that slushy water and pop back up, and the wind hits you, you have frozen chunks on your face. It’s a shocking experience."

It’s also where the connection to hockey stops being a marketing gimmick and starts feeling like a shared DNA. Hockey players grind on frozen water; Gravy grinds through it.

"There’s a similarity in the resilience," he says. "We both go out in cold temperatures, and we have to be locked in for hours. Your heart is beating, you’re tired, you’re burning yourself out... but it’s for something you love. In the moment, the cold means nothing."

Rookie on the Roster

On February 25th, Gravy will trade the wetsuit for a seat at Prudential Center as the Devils host the Buffalo Sabres for "Devils Down the Shore" night. The arena will be transformed into a boardwalk—complete with a giant Adirondack chair and beach badges—to celebrate the state's summer identity in the dead of winter.

For Gravy, the night represents a different kind of milestone: His "Rookie Debut."

"February 25th. Devils versus Sabres. First hockey game ever," Gravy admits with a grin.

Despite growing up in New Jersey (and holding onto an Eric Lindros trading card as a kid because of a rumor the Flyer lived in his town), Gravy has never experienced the speed and chaos of the NHL live.

"My expectations are pretty in the middle because I’m not sure what to expect," he laughs. "I’ve been to Eagles games, Phillies games, Sixers games... it’s cool to round it out with my first ever NHL game. I’m stoked to see what it’s all about. I really don't know any of the rules, so I'm looking forward to actually seeing what's going on."

Summer in Winter

For a state that is often defined by its shore culture, there is a stubborn pride in the locals who stick around when the tourists leave. The ones who know that the boardwalk doesn't disappear just because the temperature drops.

"There’s a 'Summer in Winter' vibe that only the locals know," Gravy says. "We get four months of beautiful weather, but the other half of the year, we get frigid weather. You have to convince yourself that it's worth going out there."

On February 25th, that conviction comes indoors. The weather outside might be frightful, but inside The Rock, it’s going to be nothing but boardwalk vibes.

And if you see a guy in the stands looking a little too comfortable in the cold? It’s probably just Ben Gravy, finally thawing out.