 Other critics maintained that the feet were positioned incorrectly, the hands were odd in appearance, the figure was too thin and effeminate, and that as a whole it resembled the figure of a novice surfer about to fall off his board (as the artist intended) rather than that of a more experienced surfer.The early criticism surprised both the Botanical Society and artist Matthew Antichevich, who stated that he did not expect the piece to be as widely misunderstood as it was upon its unveiling.The original models for the sculpture included a wave component, and Antichevich stated that if the wave had been included, the figure's surfing stance would have been better understood.