Glenn Hening strives to keep the ‘selfish’ out of surfing

Glenn Hening has surfed the perfect wave many times.

There’s a moment of warped relativity in the tunnel. He’s standing on his board, flying along the surface of the wave, just keeping up momentum. Something shifts, and the end of the barrel is moving faster and farther away. From his board, Mr. Hening feels as if he’s moving backward.

“There’s an experience of time standing still,” says the lifelong surfer, ocean activist, and math teacher. He’s sitting outside his apartment in Oxnard, California, but his eyes gaze through the tube of the wave that he shapes with his hands in the air.

It’s a mesmerizing pursuit, but it drives many surfers to localism, says Mr. Hening.