The meaning behind "Surfing...A Wave of Life"

The meaning behind "Surfing...A Wave of Life"

I was LUCKY enough to grow up between Cardiff by the Sea and my dad’s place in Leucadia on Neptune Avenue.  Neptune ran along the bluff, overlooking great secret breaks along the Leucadia coast.  In 1983, the winter storms knocked out the public stairs, so there wasn’t beach access for 2 miles unless you lived on the west side of Neptune or KNEW someone on the bluff.  My dad lived on the east side the street and we were good friends with the neighbors on the bluff overlooking the ocean and a super fun break called Avocado’s.  The neighbors home was a vacation getaway place & spend a majority of the time in Northern California and asked us to keep an eye on their place (and left us a key) .  That meant beach access using their stairs!!  So for 11 years, we had private access to a super fun break and 3 people (Me and 2 friends) was considered CROWDED!!  One day after another incredible amazing day of surfing with me and my 2 best friends, we were walking up the stairs and I turned to my friend Justin Machado and said “Surfing (is) a Wave of LIFE for us.”  Well, that stuck in my head for years.  Finally when I was turning 49, my friend told me to “Invest in yourself, (do what you love)”.  So, I went out and bought a Nikon camera, started taking sunset photos and put pics on shirts and hats.  At work one day, I doodled a logo (inverted infinite wave) and had my high school friend Spencer Willis clean it up.  That logo is referred to as the SAWOL logo.  I then asked him to draw a wave with a hang loose sign within the design.  That hippy, funky logo is referred to the RETRO.  A month later, I had my first street fair in Encinitas, CA, selling shirts, tanks, hoodies, hats and beanies.  The reception was amazing and the “Surfing a Wave of Life” brand has been growing ever since.  A couple years later, I thought hmmm, the retro logo would look cool as an emblem for a VW Bus.  So, again I reached out to my friend and artist Spencer Willis and sent him a VW Bus photo from google with my retro logo as the fun 60’s style bus logo design.  It was well received immediately and has become very popular with our supporters. Surfing a Wave of Life now 4 logos with different variations and colors.  Then November 2021, at Home Depot, I saw a man with a very nice sweatshirt.  I complimented him on his sweatshirt, and he put his hand out and said, “Thank you, I am Don Hansen.” Well, I walked around the store for about 45 minutes helping him find a few things.  When we were finished, I showed him my hat and asked if he’d like one.  He said he liked it and he’d love one.  So I met him at Hansen Surfboards Monday morning.  I was introduced to his daughter and next thing you know, I delivered my 4^th order of hats to Hansen’s this past September.  What an honor it is to be selling hats in a local legendary surf shop & Surfboards (that opened in 1959)!!   

Now Surfing a Wave of Life has 4 logos with different variations and colors in shirts, tanks, hoodies, baseball hats, hoodies and bucket hats.  We are #grateful and #thankful for the support of our local and worldwide supporters in over 25 states & 10 countries.