Ben Schuck spends most of his day in pain.

　　The aches in his hips, feet, and knees are caused by chronic arthritis, and Schuck, who will turn 80 next month, must avoid painkillers due to his history of kidney disease.

　　Instead, Schuck seeks treatment in a certain kind of homeopathy. Every day, Schuck drives from his home in Ventura, California, to the local beach, where he dons a wetsuit and steps into the Pacific Ocean with his kiteboarding gear. For an hour or two, he zips through the breaking waves, pulled along by the offshore breeze.

　　I never think about the pain out there, Schuck told Outside. I feel the presence of God Almighty when Im in the water. I always have.

　　Schuck speeds along the coastline, over whitecaps and sand bars. He then returns toward the shore and rides breakers as they tumble toward the beach. From the shoreline, youd never guess that he was born during the final months of World War II.

　　Its exhilarating and its a bit scary, he says. So you get that pleasure that comes from doing things that are fast and also are a little bit dangerous.

　　Schuck has no idea if hes the oldest kiteboarder in California, but hes pretty convinced hes the most senior rider in Ventura. Last year he retired from his longtime career as a real estate lawyer, and since then hes been able to ride whenever he likes. Some of his kiteboarder buddies are in their mid-sixties, he says. Yep, theyre just whippersnappers.

　　He found the sport later in life, at the tender age of 68. Schuck grew up surfing, and spent 56 years riding waves along the California coast. But hip surgery and a shoulder replacement left him unable to paddle his board through the choppy water. After his shoulder operation, he spent several months feeling discouraged and depressed.

　　From the back window of his house, Schuck can gaze down at Venturas famed Surfers Point at Seaside Park. And on breezy days after his operation, hed see kites flitting in the sky. He was intrigued by the scene, and spent a few afternoons at the beach, chatting up local kiteboarders. They told him that it was never too late to learn.

　　Some were very encouraging to me, Schuck says. So in my late sixties I decided to take a lesson.

　　It took Schuck a few months to get the hang of flying a kite, and a few years to feel confident riding a board. Over time, kiteboarding became his passion. He traveled to Maui, Mexico, Florida, and all across California.

　　The sport filled the void in Schucks life that was once taken up by surfing. kiteboarding, he says, has several advantages over surfing. You never have to wait for a ride, or deal with bad vibes in the lineup.

　　When you go surfing, youre competing with the other surfers for a wave. That sucks, he says. When you get old and there are young guys out there, the chances of you being able to compete with them for the waves gets a lot harder.

　　With kiteboarding you go fast the whole time, he added.

　　He also learned that his new sport alleviated the aches in his hips and legs. When the flying kite tugs his body upward, it lessens the force of his body on his joints. The upward force—when combined with the thrill of the ride—makes the daily discomfort melt into the background.

　　But flitting across the water on a kiteboard also brings dangers that are not present in surfing. Over the years, Schuck has crashed into sunken rocks and sandbars, and been dragged like a rag doll across the ocean. Hes yet to break a bone riding his kiteboard, but he also knows that a wrong move could lead to a hospital visit. Since his shoulder operation, hes also had his back fused and had a knee replaced.

　　I know that if I fall and tear up my knee, thats the end of kiteboarding for me, he says. I have to be extremely careful.

　　So Schuck lives by a rigid set of guidelines that govern his kiteboarding. He goes out around midday, before the after-work crowds hit the ocean. If the surf is pounding, he stays home. He rarely attempts to jump when riding his board.

　　He lifts weights every day to strengthen his core muscles and legs. He maintains a strict diet, and tries to keep his body weight around 150 pounds. When wind speed surpass 25 miles per hour, he watches other riders from the safety of the beach.

　　Other guys love it when the wind is that strong, he says. It might be great for them.

　　And Schuck never takes a single ride for granted. Toward the end of each kiteboarding session, the aches and paints return to his feet and legs. Thats when he knows its time to get out of the water, peel off of his wetsuit, and head home. Sometimes, Schuck says, hes so sore at the end of a ride that he can barely walk out of the ocean.

　　I dont care, he says. I know it was worth it.