NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — To find the place where everything begins for Raheem Mostert, take Flagler Avenue all the way east. Go past the pastel-colored tourist shops selling seashells and keep rolling by the retirement crowds lunching on sunny restaurant patios. When you reach the pink gate, turn left to drive onto the beach—speed limit 10 MPH on the sand—and follow the shoreline north until you reach the parked pick-up trucks with surfboards tucked into their beds.
On this day in late January, there are several surfers in hooded wetsuits out enjoying the most consistent break on Florida’s coastline.