Living There
If you were invited to surf on a lake, your immediate response would probably be “you can’t surf on a lake”. It turns out you can surf on all of the Great Lakes, and not many people knew about it. South-African surfer Marcello Gortana has lived in Toronto, Canada his entire life without knowing about it. Brazilian surfer Antonio Lennert has been in Canada for almost a decade, and took every opportunity to jump on a plane and find surf elsewhere in the world. A couple years ago they discovered they could surf on the Great Lakes and their lives changed. They were able to reconnect with their roots and incorporate surfing into their daily lives; most importantly they started a company that focuses on promoting the passion of surf within the Great Lakes region.
On their first year in business, Surf the Greats has excelled at nurturing a community and strengthening the bonds between new and existing Great Lake surfers. Some of their initiatives involve sponsoring athletes and surf events, as well as environmental efforts like cleaning up beaches. Their instructors are the first to be certified by the by the International Surfing Association . They are now taking their business to the next level and starting international surf trips. Their approach aims to take beginners and intermediate surfers to the best surfing spots worldwide, and everything is designed from a surfer’s perspective.
Surfing connects people with nature in a way that is unexplainable. It is one of the very few—perhaps only—activities where you can feel the power of nature. It is humbling, and inspirational; and it has driven the company to pursue this venture as a means of instilling the “stoke” within others. Surf changes you, it changes the way you see the world. Surf the greats wants to provide travelers with an experience that will push their boundaries. Their trips will be executed with the help of local businesses in a very sustainable way. In addition to exposure and meaningful exchanges with locals, the company wants people to unplug from technology and their daily lives, and reconnect with nature and themselves.
The company has just launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds that will get them past the regulatory hurdles involved with starting a travel company. They have selected a variety of services and products as perks for everyone who is interested in supporting their endeavor. Check their campaign out at
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/surf-the-greats-an-adventure-travel-company for more information.
