Ocean Lovers 2016 Inspirational Calendar

by | Dec 29, 2015 | projects

Ocean-Calendar-Kickstarter-WebPageA wall calendar designed to inspire us to love, respect, take care of, and enjoy the ocean and the surf. Our Kickstarter project is a success and we have received the funding we asked for, the calendar is available on Amazon.com.

This wall calendar is a first step to publishing guides designed to show people how to love, respect, take care of, and enjoy nature. As surfers our primary focus is on the ocean and the surf zone, and at the same time this wisdom is applicable to all of nature.

The photos were captured in each month so they accurately represent nature during that time of year. Each month’s photo is accompanied by inspiring words. Some days throughout the month offer encouraging words or challenges.

With your help we have completed this 2016 calendar project. After successfully completing this project we will start projects for weekly and daily book guides. Then expanding to video projects. Our goal is to build a live/work place to live in harmony with the ocean and nature and teach others to do the same…

Read more

Life and Surfing Are Easy, Why Did I Make Them so Hard?

by | Oct 23, 2015 | adventures, articles

S_1351“If it was easy everyone would be doing it.” This idea that life is hard and needs to be overcome is how I lived the first 20 or 30 years of my life, no pain no gain was my motto. The idea of an easy and peaceful life was for wusses and viewed as undesirable or even impossible. I applied this way of thinking when I learned to surf, believing that I couldn’t afford lessons and I was afraid to ask for help, to do so would be a sign of weakness and make me a target for ridicule and rejection.

I remember like it was yesterday the excitement and beauty of the first time I caught a wave and went down the line riding the clear blue face and seeing the ocean floor race by underneath my board. It was a taste of a world I had only imagined, and this two week summer family vacation in Maui had whet my appetite…

Read more

Learning How to Help Others and the Benefits of Giving

by | Sep 6, 2015 | adventures, articles

FP-PeakBridge_2840Since I was about five I worked in my grandfather’s small meat business. He was a genius at finding creative affordable solutions to everyday problems and did well financially, sadly it was often at the expense of his relationship with everyone around him. A lot of people who new him use harsh words to describe him. I was fortunate to go on a trip to Europe with him and see his hometown in Germany and I was able to see a warmer side to him that most people never saw. I also recognized part of myself in him, I have the same ability to see what’s not right and to see the solution. I also have his potential to come off cold and rigid, I have seen how much trouble that caused my grandfather and so I do my best to hear, acknowledge, and have compassion for the feelings and opinions of others.

At the meat shop my grandfather often told me not to smarten up the other guy…

Read more

Ocean Lovers and Ambassadors

by | Aug 4, 2015 | adventures, articles

P1000857Imagine this: I arrive at a a popular surf spot and everyone makes welcome eye contact with me and they greet me or introduce themselves. As I paddle out everyone who recognizes me is happy to see me and those who don’t are curious and excited to meet me. I’m welcomed into a place in the lineup and while I wait my turn those around me engage with me in authentic conversation and they are genuinely pleased that I am there. They believe I have something to offer and they are stoked to help me practice my abilities for the benefit of the group. When it’s my turn to catch a wave they all hoot me into the wave and cheer and celebrate my ride. I have heard stories from parts of the south pacific that this is real and the local villagers greet and welcome outsiders in this way. I saw in Fiji…

Read more