I’m a huge guy, 6’8" and immensely heavy, people do a double take when I tell them I can and do windsurf.

I’m able to forget most things my dad says … he has an opinion of everything and will babble for 20 minutes about stuff no one else in the house cares about.

Also, I can picture a blueprint in 3d.

Compared to most people, I know a fuck ton of keyboard shortcuts making me look like a computer wizard.

Somehow, it’s a surprise to people that I’m a competent trumpet player. As if every high school in the state doesn’t have a band class. Fully half of my graduating class in high school were musicians of some kind between chorus, orchestra and band classes. But somehow nobody expects a random dude in his mid-30’s to pick up a trumpet and play a few bars of Ravel’s Bolero.

I’m a father living in Japan, so any competent display of childcare is still met with shock and confusion.

I’m a tall burly cisman so people are always surprised that I know how to sew. I mostly hand-mend my clothes but I made my own pants in high school when I had access to a sewing machine.

I can cook a decent meal. I though it was a basic skill bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs etc. But almost everyone I know buys take away or makes the most basic of basic food.

Have an intelligent discussion about theology.

I may look like your average idiot who is also atheist; but it’s because I have a weird interest in theology and have read so many religious texts and interpretations of most major and some minor religions from around the globe. Some of them have some kick ass stories. Hell, some of them read like straight up sci-fi!

After loosing some of my hearing and not being able to compose electronic music anymore, I basically retired from being a musician. Picked up drumming about 9 months ago and I’m surprisingly good at it.

Roller skating. I’m super unathletic, but skating (including teaching to others) was listed in the profile of a girl who contacted me on a dating site, so after chatting for a bit I suggested that as our first date. She was super patient with me, I had never put on skates before that day, and was in my 30s.

We’re married now, and I now also teach skating where she does on weekends, sometimes to people who have never tried it before.

Pretty much anything DIY. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc. I’m not an expert at any of those things but I can actually do a pretty decent job. I’m not afraid to research a project and take a crack at it myself. I’ve completed some really nasty projects that turned out well.

I have an uncanny ability to read super faded receipts, and old people’s hand writing.

Depends on unexpected for who. Most native english speakers seem surprised when they realise I understand “big words” (read: any word with a Latin root) without needing to look up a definition. To me it’s pretty obvious. My native tongue is Spanish. Having an accent doesn’t mean I don’t know anything.

Patch making, and I’ve no idea why people are surprised about it tbh. It’s really easy if you’ve got access to a printer (or you can trace from a screen) and a pair of scissors.

That said I have a slightly unusual process where I design stencils in fusion 360 and then print them on my 3D printer, they’re durable and reusable that way. I’m still working on improving the final print quality, but I’ve had some really good results like this gigantic Ash Bricky back patch that took me ~20 hours over three days.

I’m pretty old & geeky so people are often surprised I can do a great cartwheel. One trick pony when it comes to acrobatics, it’s just the cartwheel.