Story by S. Webster

Photography courtesy of Chris McQuiston, Kersten Mueller, and S.Webster

What was once witnessed from afar as an esoteric sub-culture of Spicoli stereotypes has evolved into a group of diverse maverick entrepreneurs that have designed their days around the Atlantic Ocean and created a support network that extends beyond the immediate surfing community.

Sharing their passion combined with technological advances has made the sport widely accessible to a variety of seekers in search of swell.

Long gone are the days when surf racks were a rarity on the road, and a thumbs up or down from a vehicle boasting metal racks conveyed all the current weather conditions one needed to know. Or the days when one was lucky enough to find a beat up board in a trashcan and it translated into a custom board when coupled with their own ingenuity.

 Yoga and Surf Day on Topsail Beach

Enter Topsail’s own George Howard. He has experienced the transition first hand as a self-taught board shaper, surfer, and retail owner of On Shore Surf Shop with locations found in Surf City and North Topsail, offering retail, repair, private lessons, and custom boards that can be found from Vietnam to the islands.

Originally from Richlands and landlocked, George found himself chasing after the next wave and refining his shaping skills under the house sans swell. “Surfing is like breathing,” George prophecies, “the next wave is important,” and the reason he convinced his family to move within walking distance of the water in ’93.

His quest in establishing retail was as much for his daughter’s legacy as it was to feed his soul and those around him. George “wants everyone to experience the power of the universe while dropping in on a ten-foot-wave and putting your hand in it.”

Picture right - George designing custom boards

He set up shop at a time when shaping boards was an art form and the inner circle was sacred. Breaking into the scene and line up meant persistence, talent, and hanging around long enough to prove true and worthy character.

Enter Jason Colclough of Surf City. He “ducked his head in” George’s retail location door in ’98 offering ding repair service, only to return every couple of days until George took him in. “I’m a pretty good judge of character…Colclough’s got character.”

Picture below: Jason Colclough of Surf City

Becoming a part of the ‘brotherhood’ had to be earned. And for Jason it turned out to be a support system that emotionally, financially, and spiritually prepared him to open SideArm Surf & Skate located in Porters Neck. “George saved my life,” Jason testifies and even though paper does not bind them as partners, they consider it so.

For George, befriending Jason and sharing resources that weren’t available when he was starting up was and still is a code to live by – wanting a better life for those that come after him. Giving back to the community is a way for On Shore to show gratitude for the continual support. Serving as water patrol for Surf City’s Surf & Turf Triathlon and hosting the County Line Classic Surf Contest mid-March, creates opportunities for green and seasoned surfers alike to realize their potential, a chance to place in 13 divisions and jump-start their self esteem.

Taking care of their own is second nature along with reluctance for harboring any credit for their own accomplishments. They are quick to point in a direction that leads to a fellow surfer they respect making a difference in the community at large.

Enter John Pike, Hampstead resident, fellow surfing compadre, and sales executive for Eastern Skateboard Supply, servicing retailers like George and Jason, all across the country. John fell into a career that afforded him the opportunity to “be a part of something I love” and would provide a future for his family.

Surfing for over thirty years John can also attest to the evolving demographic that has formed into a collective of “all shapes, sizes, races, occupations, Republican, or Democrat…it’s still a common stoke.” 

Due to the increase of readily accessible gear and learning opportunities, the line-up continues to grow including his son Gianni, age four, who suffers with autism.

With 1 out of 150 children being diagnosed with autism, John realized the need to raise awareness for early detection and a desire to create a local support network for families.-

Picture left: Surfer's Healing day camp

Having familiarity with Surfer’s Healing, a day camp that brings families with autism together to ride the waves, John made a call to Izzy Paskowitz, Pro-Surfer and founder of the foundation, based in California. John and his wife set out to raise over $10,000 to cover costs associated with hosting the event on the NC shores and were humbled by the outpouring of financial and emotional support from his “brothers” and “sisters” of the surfing and business community.*

The camp is complimentary to 150 participants, held just south of TI in Wrightsville Beach on August 14th. Registration opens online @ www.surfershealing.org on May 15th, or by contacting John at 910-270-6222 / john@easternskatesupply.com and usually fills up on the first day. The waves fill up with volunteers and children from all across the country riding tandem on boards and embracing the indescribable feeling that “surfers know on a spiritual level.” For John “It’s a day to heal the family,” a community event that allows special needs children and parents to redefine normal.

Above: County Line Classic hosted by On Shore

Like Surfer’s Healing, modern day surf camps found around the area are geared toward specific niches and needs. They serve the masses by speaking a language participants can understand, providing a comfort level for beginners not prevalent in the past. They also boast a growing contingency of “sisters” that have diversified the once male-dominated tribe.

Enter Kersten “Kas” Mueller of Porters Neck Yoga Spa that has teamed up with Jason’s indigenous crew at SideArm to offer Yoga and Surf days found in front of Serenity Point on the south end of Topsail Beach.

Kas’s own experience with a waves’ metaphysical lingering was not uncommon to the benefits of practicing yoga. “What I love about surfing is that it’s an opportunity to stop thinking and to begin being, as I work the board, wade in the water, and connect to this amazing planet.”

Linking her two passions seemed like a natural progression and the concept for Yoga & Surf evolved. When Jason signed on it became a joint effort in offering “a wonderful day of taking in the water through a meditation, practicing to loosen our stiff bodies,” and making ones’ self available to what can happen in the water. Incorporating meditation gives an opportunity to “live in the moment when we take the surf lesson and ride easy and free.”

 

Kas is proof that the surfing instructors from SideArm “make it so you can become a part of the surfing community. Like with any group that’s been around a while, there’s a little intimidation from coming in from the outside, but these guys and gals are different.”

It’s undeniable. The climate has changed. The once elusive circle now encompasses the newbie, the entrepreneur, the retired, the yogi, the philanthropic, and the countless other unique faces that make up the masses. The common link is the search for swell – a chance to drop in on the Atlantic’s energy that has been sustaining local surfers both personally and professionally.

SARA WEBSTER is a freelance photographer, writer, and designer from Topsail.  She also has a fabulous product line of “ECO-SAVVY BABY GOODS,” a Mother Nature-friendly line of infant apparel.

On Shore Surf Shop 328-2232
Retail, Repair, Custom Boards, Private Lessons
County Line Classic Surf Contest, March 15th

Yoga and Surf w/Sidearm and Porters Neck Yoga Spa
June 8, July 13, August10, and September 7 2008
686-2969 / 686-6440

Local-Sessions Surf Magazine & Photography, 910.231.2351

Chris McQuiston, chris@local-sessions.com.

Surfer’s Healing, August 14 camp @ Wrightsville beach
www.surfershealing.org/

Contact John Pike for more information @ 910-270-6222 john@easternskatesupply.com

*Thank you to SideArm Surf & Skate, PPD, Eastern Skateboard Supply, GE, Network Real Estate, Wblivesurf.com, Hope for Helen, Albert F. Rhodes, Holly Glen Developers, Kitchen and Lighting Design, Open Doors Foundation, Wachovia Securities, The Bridge Tender, Aussie Island Surf Shop, Airlie Moon, Indochine, Corning and countless others!