Groms getting day at the beach

By Nick McGregor

Going surfing isn’t easy when you’re under the age of 16. Unless you live within bike-riding distance of the beach, scoring a ride to the water can feel like pulling teeth, what with busy parents, preoccupied older siblings, and the cost of gas preventing the license-less from frolicking freely in the summertime waves. But one day this summer, the kids will get a VIP pass when Hurley’s Rip My Shred Stick tour comes to town on July 10th.

Combine pro surfers, a truckload of surfboards, a fun-first mindset, and no entry fees, and you’re guaranteed a strong turnout. Just look to last year’s Rip My Shred Stick event as evidence: Almost 100 frothing groms flocked to the beach for a chance to turn the tables and become a star for the day.

This year, pro surfing celebrities Kalani Robb, Timmy Curran, Aamion Goodwin, Cheyne Cottrell, Mikey DeTemple, and Asher Nolan will accompany the RMSS tour, presenting a balanced offering of surf knowledge from Hawaii, California, and Florida.

“Hurley’s top pros will be at the beach with their own personal surfboards,” Hurley mainstay Saxon Boucher says, “and they’ll be there to help the kids catch waves and do anything else they need.”

Unlike many surf contests, the Rip My Shred Stick tour doesn’t require an entry fee, and doesn’t separate surfers into age or gender-specific divisions. In fact, last year wahine MJ Keglor beat out a whole squad of boys to win St. Augustine’s RMSS stop. That kind of camaraderie cuts down on a lot of the competitiveness in the water, and lets the kids have a blast as one big group.

“There are goodie bags for everyone who competes, and amazing prizes for the top six finishers,” Boucher says. “More importantly, it’s all one division, boys and girls, and the kids are judged on who is having the most fun.”

But don’t think this is only a 9-5 day-care for parents to dump their kids at.

“The entire day is videotaped and then shown the night of the event,” Boucher says, “so the kids are all served food and get to watch themselves rip.”

This year, the party will spill over to Café Eleven in St. Augustine Beach, where popular Hurley pro Curran is scheduled to perform a few of his increasingly popular acoustic tunes. So with a full day and night of activities planned, parents can rest easy for once on a summer night without having to worry about what their kids are getting into.

For Café Eleven, the decision to broaden its popular concert offerings was an easy one to make.

“We definitely don’t have enough events that appeal to young kids,” said Café Eleven general manager Jessamyn McTwigan. “Our shows are usually geared a little older, so it’s really great to let the kids take over and go crazy for one night.”

And with positive role models present with the groms from morning to evening, surfing’s sometimes seedy and anti-authoritarian reputation will suffer a little much-needed softening in parents’ eyes. “It’ll be rewarding to see all the kiddies and pro surfers mingle here,” McTwigan believes, “and I think it’s really great to encourage the family-oriented side of surfing.”

For Curran, whose introspective album Word Of Mouth recently benefitted from a major distribution deal, the Rip My Shred Stick tour represents the ideal nexus of his two preferred activities. After a successful turn on surfing’s competitive circuit, Curran began toying around with songwriting, although his singing voice admittedly wasn’t the best.

“I remember showing my brothers and friends songs over the years,” he remembers, “and they would often tell me to maybe try and sell my songs to someone else to sing, in a nice way of saying it.”

But after his pro surfer friend Rob Machado submitted one of Curran’s songs to a Japanese record label, he got the big break he was waiting for. Next thing you know, Curran was opening for the Foo Fighters.

“The last two years have gone by in the blink of an eye,” he says. “It’s crazy and great, and I’m so thankful that this has happened.”

For Curran, that kind of humble perspective translates perfectly into the RMSS mantra. “I’ve had such a blast being a part of Hurley’s Rip My Shred Stick tour,” he says. “Hanging out with the kids and pushing them into waves definitely brings me back to my earliest, and best, surfing memories.”

And channeling that positive energy (which can often be hard to find in the high-stakes world of pro surfing) gives the kids a unique chance to see the very human qualities behind their heroes’ larger-than-life personas. As Curran says, “It gives us the opportunity to get kids turned on to something that has given us all so much.”

With that kind of introduction, Hurley’s Rip My Shred Stick tour is hoping to help spawn the next generation of surfing superstars. Even if they don’t pursue surfing full-bore, the kids involved can still walk away with a head full of memories (and as an added bonus to parents, 10 hours running around with a gaggle of energy-filled groms will surely make your kids sleep well).

“All in all, it’s a fun-filled day of surf, sun, free stuff, and interaction with some of the best surfers in the world,” Boucher says. If you’re under 16 and itching for a day at the beach this summer, you can’t ask for much more than that.”