Notes From The PNW: Meet Ryan Cruse

People 02.03.22

It’s hard to imagine our friend — surfer and environmental activist, Ryan Cruse, as an awkward kid in the landlocked state of New Mexico with surf stickers on his notebooks. It seems like he’s been playing in and working around the ocean forever. 

While road-tripping down the Oregon coast, our Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer, Kerry Docherty, got the chance to sit down with him to talk about his work with the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots nonprofit that is also near and dear to our hearts. As a family-run company with deep ties to nature, we’ve been proud to help raise money for Surfrider in the past. 

This season, we collaborated with Surfrider to create a line of apparel and accessories debuting in just a few weeks. 25% of the proceeds will go towards supporting Surfrider's mission to protect what we all love and rely on — wild, healthy oceans and clean, accessible beaches. 

But Ryan’s work isn’t limited to Surfrider. He’s also passionate about mentoring the next generation – specifically Native Youth in Washington. Combining his love for surfing and philanthropy, he is one of the co-founders of Warm Current, a community surf camp program which has hosted over 100 camps, serving over 2,000 young people.  

Check out our hopeful and inspiring chat with him here. We know we’ll be carrying his mantra: “Do good. Have fun. Chill out.” with us as we start the new year. 

 

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