I Love Surfing is paddling towards a perfect storm and is about to set off on a surf trip of epic proportions. What once started as an hobby in between surf sessions is now starting to grow into something special. Our love for surfing remains everlasting and our ideas for the future are exciting to say the least. At some parts of the world the surf season is coming to an end whilst at other parts it’s only just starting. For I Love Surfing it is all about to take off and we have you, our fans, to thank for it. Let me start by saying that we appreciate the support and that we couldn’t and wouldn’t have done it without you. We hope that you are coming with us on our journey towards new horizons.
Photo: Tommy Janssen
I Love Surfing: Martijn
The Love Begins
Our community was founded on 1 March 2014, after a couple of friends had some success with I Love Skiing. As surfers we all agreed that we really needed a surfing community for everybody that loves the sport, the ocean, and everything about our way of life. Of course we admire professional surfing and high performance (free) surfing, but most of us are just in love with the sport and want to do it as much as we can.
First Like Ever! Thank you Mats!
Making a Difference
At a certain point we started to grow and we noticed the impact of some of our messages. Take the Seabin Project as an example. When we first shared their initiative they just started their crowd funding campaign. Their video became our first viral post and after that things took off for the Seabin Project. We don’t want to take any credit for all of their hard work but we did realize there and then that we could make a difference through our community. We even organized a special partnership where we donated 10% for every sold I Love Surfing cap. We genuinely enjoyed this possibility of giving back.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tiy7WQYQyhY%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque
Local Connections
What started as an online community is now shifting towards the offline world as well. As stoked surfers we realize how important local businesses are to the surfing community. Most times it’s a place where like-minded people gather, a place where grommets are inspired by their guru’s, and where you go to get all your local knowledge. That’s why we are proud that, as of this year, we have partnered up with two surf shops in the Netherlands, where we spread the love.
Dreams
Dreams is a small but thriving surf shop, surf school and event centre in Ter Heijde, the Netherlands. It’s literally the only shop in town, but during summer the beach is packed with tourists and everybody enjoys the true surf spirit which Dream embodies. Dreams was founded in 2000 to inspire people to play sports and be active. Playing is healthy and they make it easy. They also do skate lessons and have a small terrace to enjoy a quality cup of coffee.
©Patrick Surf Foto’s
Hart Beach
Hart Beach is the biggest and one of the first surf schools of the Netherlands. But Hart Beach is much more than that. This family business was established in 1984 and can be found in Scheveningen, the surfing hub of the Netherlands. Now it has grown into on of the biggest surf concepts of Europe and their shop is a true museum with unique surfing relics. But don’t let this fool you because they are still all about the surf feeling and letting as much people as possible have this experience.
love
New Destinations
One of the best things as a surfer is being able to go new places and enjoy new experiences. This year we want to take you with us on our travels and show you the places we go to, introduce you to the people we meet and share our findings. We are currently researching the possibilities to partner up with parties who can assist us in those ventures.
Moving Forward
If we look not too far into the future we see ourselves in a place where we can really make a difference with I Love Surfing. We don’t have the specifics for you yet but think environmental and social challenges. We truly hope that you join us on this journey and keep spreading the love.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BSbFcgum2SM%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque