Spreadin’ the Stoke of Surf

Alright, so now I’ve noticed another trend. I’ve been starting a lot of my posts off with a reference to music. Well, this time, I’m going to use “The Mattson Two” as my inspiration. I saw this band live at Thomas Campbell’s showing of “The Present” at Patagonia in Cardiff by the Sea. You can read more about the event HERE, but I want this soundtrack-of-sorts to serve as my auditory imagery, setting the stage for this entry.

I went down to Cardiff by the Sea on the evening of June 13 for Thomas Campbell’s last stop on the tour of The Present. Campbell has also directed two other films — The Seedling and Sprout. Now, I haven’t seen these two, but from what I hear, The Present “adds the spice of Dane Reynolds, Dave Rastovich, and Ry Craike to the mix,” venturing out a little from the typical “logging” roots. But this film embraced a “ride everything” attitude, and does so in one of the funniest surf flicks I’ve ever seen! You’ve got to check it out, hosted by Machado and Dane.

Anyway, what I’m getting down to is the whole feel of the surf community. At this movie premiere, along with other premiers and events I’ve been to, there’s an overwhelming sense of community, relationships, positivity, joy, innovative spirit and generosity. Everyone at the film was hootin’ and hollerin’ when some guy got shacked for 10 seconds! Or laughed hysterically when Dracula surfed in his coffin during the skit. And everyone was just so excited to see all of this, to share the joy and excitement of it all.

I think this is what really draws me in to the union of public relations and surfing. Public relations should be genuine, should deal positively with the community, engage and empower, preserve and spread the message — whatever that may be, in this case, surfing. Spread the stoke of surfing.

So, one thing I’m really doing now is actively engaging in the surf community. I’m going to these movie premiers. I’m reading Surfline’s travel guide on breaks in SoCal. I’m learning the story behind Echo Beach from Quiksilver’s Mountain and Wave blog — and I’m going to The Closet in Newport, where artwork from the “Echo Beach scene” is showcased. And, soon, I’m hoping to work with Beau at Quik on shaping a board. It’s all-encompassing: It’s everything from shaping the board, to the sheer excitement of catching waves with your buddies, to pushing for that next trick, getting deeper in the barrel, to raising support for those paralyzed — getting them back in the water. It’s incredible.

So, if you know someone who surfs, get out with ‘em the next time they hit the break. Every surfer wants to spread the stoke of surf. And, once you start surfing — you will never stop. And there’s good reason.