l kow it sounds weird

Well there are sharks in the water..you could fall off and get hurt..you could drown..you could get caught in the tide..you could get a sunburn.thats my answer(s)

That is like negative aspects of Mother Theresa. Oh well, l guess there r a few. there r way too many yuppie kooks in the water anymore, who do not respect the ocean, the beach, other surfers, or even each other. They live in multi-million dollar houses, & act like they invented the sport because they bought some the latest technology popout. They wear wetsuits in 70 degree water on an 80 degree day. Their kids will break ur ankles if u get in their way while they r skimboarding. they run loose & wild all day, & throw their trash on the beach, & act like we all owe them something.
Okay, that is the 'cultural' down side. It can be dangerous. l have had breaks sprains & cuts & come home from the beach looking like l did three rounds with Evander Holyfield. When u r really zone out during a great session, u forget about: going to work, showing up for meals, the fact that ur (Wife, Mom, Girlfriend) expected u to pick her up an hour ago.
No matter how cool ur newest, most favorite stick is, one just got delivered to the surf shop, that looks like it would be just what u were looking for, just for those (Smaller, Bigger, Mushier, Glassier) days. And, it is only $650!
For older guys, there r some days that u can not keep ur feet underneath u if u stapled them the the doggone board! And, also for old guys, days when the water must be THICK or something, because u should not be out of breath after paddling out to the line-up.
After 42 years of surfing, l can not find a bunch or REAL negatives, but l hope these help.

Sharks r hardly an issue. You're 15 times more likely to get killed by a falling coconut than by a shark.

I'd say the most negative part may be the frequency of injury. l recently did a psych paper on the motivations for surfing, & one article l read came to the conclusion that:

''Surfers r prone to acute injuries as well as conditions resulting from chronic environmental exposure. Sprains, lacerations, strains, & fractures r the most common types of trauma. Injury from the rider is own surfboard may be the prevailing mechanism. Jellyfish stings r common as well. Seabather is eruption is a pruritic skin reaction caused by exposure to nematocyst-containing coelenterate larvae. Additional surfing hazards include stingrays, coral reefs, and, very rarely, sharks. Otologic sequelae of surfing include auditory exostoses, tympanic membrane rupture, & otitis externa. Sun exposure & skin cancer risk r inherent dangers of this sport.''

Out of 540 surfers polled, there were 817 cases of injury, with 433 of those cases being chronic disability, (i.e. a more serious injury). So every surfer experienced some injury at least once, & more than half the surfers experienced a serious injury. So that may be a negative point, however the fear of getting injured, at least for me, only pushes me to keep going & catch that bigger wave. So its a mixed bag. (The study was done in Australia, if u need to cite it let me know & l will find the article.)

Also while doing my psych paper, l found that surfing can be mildly addictive to certain personalities (personalities of sensation seekers, among other things) & that may cause a negative (or positive) effect on an individuals life.

A girlfriend a couple years ago broke up with me, saying that l loved my surfboard more than l loved her. Which, of course, was rediculous. l loved the ocean more than l loved her.

Also l agree with John, there is a lot of yuppies out there & kooks who bring their 2000$ stand up paddle board with their 600$ graphite oar strapped to their 90 thousand dollar SUV & call themselves surfers. Its funny, but annoying (more so to John probably because l bet he remembers a time when everyone was cool). So definately with over 20 million surfers globally & a 20 billion dollar surf industry, the culture has definately been skewed.

It brings out the worst and more aggressive side of some people. But it can also bring out a more peaceful side.

Ive gotten stiches by getting hit from my own surfboard!

A negative point not mentioned yet is that surfing is subject to the weather. No swell, no surfing.

Rocks and shoals. Sharks. Drowning. Hypothermia. Fuel costs to the beach. bacteria from water.

Theres nothing negative about surfing, surfing is the shit!

Some off the top of the head

Possible injury (getting slammed into the sand/reef, getting hit from ur own surfboard after eating it, getting hit by another person is surfboard after they ate it/ditched their board), drowning, skin / eye damage from the sun, territorial surfers (seen fights happen after drop-ins a bunch), dependent on conditions (winds picking up in the afternoon could turn perfect conditions to crap, waves r not always up / possible long lulls with sometimes weeks straight of zero surf, it happens even here in hawaii), the hobby could get expensive if you're into bigger surf & you're not fortunate enough to be a sponsored rider (chances r higher to deal with board breaks, & boards r certainly not cheap)

Hope this helps u out :)

edit: Gas prices also if the beach is not within biking distance. A good chunk of my paycheck goes to gas.. especially since most of my longest drives r trips to the beach, especially in the winter. Hell, l think l spend almost as much on gas as l do on food. Sad times we live in for us surfers who do not live right next to the beach.

sharks
kooks
crabs (they bite your feet like assholes)
jellyfish
mexicans playing soccer in the water
drowning

and of course
Mermaids

LOCALISM

The constant salty taste in your mouth.

You can die.