Happy Father's Day

Happy father figure day to all of the skateboard and ocean enthusiasts out there! This day has particular significance to me because my father is reason I originally got into skating. As long as I can remember, my dad has been making skateboards in the garage. I used to ride them around in the front yard for hours with my siblings and neighbors to the point where those boards became a mechanism for community and connection for me.  

My father is actually an enthusiast of all board sports. He used to take me out on his surfboard when I was young. I remember hopping in his truck before the sun was even out and how he would paddle me out to ‘the bumps’ we called it, which was the space beyond where the waves were breaking. These experiences are some of my first memories of the ocean, its peacefulness and its vastness. I loved how cold it was and how daring I felt paddling out into the greyness of the morning with him. The more that I think about it ‘boards’ are always something we have shared together. Not only are those some of my first memories of the ocean, but of my father as well. 

These boards have equated to quality time with him. It has become something we do together, as a family. It is something we talk about and think about together; it is a shared passion. My fathers commitment and enthusiasm for everything he takes on is one of my favorite qualities about him, and it comes through so strongly in the facets of Swell Skateboards. Not a single detail is left to chance because he cares about the product, and more importantly, he cares about what it represents and what he is doing to make the world a better place. That is a quality that I am lucky to have inherited from him. Together with his love of skateboarding and my love of the ocean, Swell has become a product of both of our passions and I am even luckier to have something so awesome to share with him. 

I realize that this day is particularly hard for some. In some ways, building Swell has felt like sharing a piece of my dad with a world. So on this Father’s Day, I hope you find some time to honor those who have built you and made you into who you are, whoever that may be.  If not, through Swell Skateboards, I hope my father is able to bring some enjoyment into your life today.