BOYNTON BEACH — At first, Luke Marks appears to be in an odd mood for the same reason as his father, Darren, and his uncle, Joe Polansky.

The waves at Boynton Beach Inlet weren't good for surfing Thursday. They expected waves of 6 or 7 feet, not the 4-footers that were disappointing them.

But that's not why Luke, normally a chatterbox, is tight-lipped and tugging at his dad's arm to go home. After all, to the 3-foot-4 Luke, all waves are huge.

	Whether in the pool or on the ocean, Luke Marks of Lantana refuses to hold back. 'He's a tiny guy, but he's got a big heart,' a surfing contest judge said of the 6-year-old. Luke earned his first surfing trophy a week ago, a fourth-place finish in Fort Lauderdale.

The kindergartner didn't have a nap at school. But it only took a half-hour before Luke found his second wind, and he was once again eager to talk about his first surfing trophy and swimming in local meets.

The multi-tasking has earned him national attention. In December, he will appear on a national TV show highlighting his next four local surf contests. This week, he will be featured in a segment on a weekly PBS show titled New Florida, to be broadcast at 9 p.m. Thursday on WPBT-Channel 2 out of Miami. Meanwhile, he continually pops up in surfing magazines.

Asked about competing against older kids in surfing and swimming, he answers with a grin: "They're bigger. They're better. I wanna shred 'em."

Much to the delight of a Fort Lauderdale crowd Oct. 3, Luke did a little shredding in an Eastern Surfing Association contest two weeks after turning 6.

The fourth-place finished earned Luke his first surfing trophy, which earned a spot in his bedroom next to about 40 swimming and motocross awards.

"Everyone was hooting and hollering for him," said Dutch Schorn, one of the contest judges. "He's a tiny guy, but he's got a big heart."

Although surfing earns Luke the most attention, swimming was his first sport. He took lessons at 2 and started competing in the under-6 age group at 4. He won every race when he turned 5, and now he swims in the under-8 division for the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club.

But it's the sight of Luke surfing with the older crowd that turns the most heads.

Darren, who has been surfing regularly for the past 10 years, took Luke into the ocean on a surfboard at age 2. By the time Luke was 3, he could surf solo on smaller waves.

Then, about a year ago, surfing took off when he did. At a beach in Stuart, Luke caught a wave and surfed for about 100 yards. He picked up another five waves after that and drew cheers from the on-shore crowd.

"I grew up to be a surfer," Luke said. "The first time I tried it, I liked it."

Luke's start has Randy Skinner, owner of Surf World in Pompano Beach and sponsor of Luke's surf team, thinking about his future. The youngest division in the Eastern Surfing Association is Menehune, for boys and girls 11 and under.

"He has a lot of time before he advances," Skinner said. "Before that, he'll probably own that division for a while."

Despite other accomplished surfers on the team, the media and sponsors gravitate toward him. Companies send him everything from boards to stickers to clothes to sunscreen trying to get the youngster's attention.

Darren, though, has two rules: First, no contracts. Second, send two of everything so that little brother Zack, 4, isn't left out.

"He's like a little billboard," Darren said. "That's what scares me. (Signing a contract is) not the right thing to do with a kid his age."

Luke still acts like the 6-year-old he is at the beach. It rubs off on other surfers.

"He's having a blast," Skinner said. "He reminds people to have fun. Hopefully, everyone can get that vibe from him."