So I got the board, but I must admit I've only tried it a single session. A friend and I had a lot of fun falling off though.

It was very cheap. €100,- so I figured why not.

Its also very very short for me. I'm 186 cm/6'1, the board is 4'10. Found it hard to get my feet in the right place on the board on the mostly very short and punchy (but also mostly gutless) waves we have. I felt that on a longer smoother wave where you could take more time it probably would work well.

Maybe I should take it out on a slightly better than, but then I typically pock other boards...

Keeping your arms and shoulders up should help you get higher in those walls.

I'd also like to see you try a turn on that far right corner.

If you want Clayton to review specifically, there's a special link for that.

The actual shape of the board isn't very important. The trucks are what matter and those are also sold separately. As Graham mentioned the CX trucks by Carver are recommended.

Now if you've already bought a surf skate, there's no harm in trying that first to get you on your way. You can always swap out the trucks later.

So obviously its a bit far away but here's my two cents.

You seem to be gunning for the shoulder. When you look at the last section especially you've surfed quite far away from the pocket. You could try going down the wave a bit more to hit the waves more vertical. I think that would be a nice progression.

Secondly, and I might be wrong here because it's not easy to tell: I think your left arm might be blocking you from doing bigger top turns. I think I can see you left arm coming across on some turns.

I think if you would combine a staying a bit more in the pocket (more nose to the beach on the drops), with a bit more vertical approach to the turns and opening up your left arm and shoulder you could get some really sweet progression to much more vertical surfing.

Would that make sense to you?

Ik with Coryn Daniel pull that left arm out of the way for much better rotation.

Additionally, here's a very Dutch suggestion: can you cycle to your local break? Bike rack should help you transport any board that can't fit in your car.

The shape and the wings on that board suggest it's made for turning. Although the rocker doesn't seem that extreme.

In any case it's probably not the easiest board to learn on. Made to turn also means less stable, which is what you're looking for initially.

Could be worth having a look at the choose the right board section to help you figure out what would suit you.

If a different board is not an option for you my first suggestion would be to focus on understanding positioning. A smaller more aggressive board requires better positioning to take off. i.e. as close to the peak of the wave as possible, where the power is. Make understanding and reading waves your priority.

That said, expect to struggle. If you can get on a bigger, longer, wider, more forgiving board, I would highly recommend that.

Hope that helps.

What's all that stuff in the background?

Nice one. Good work on punching the nose of the board though that lip.