The day began cold and windy with a nice leftover swell thanks to Hurricane Gonzalo. It may have only been 42 degrees outside, but it didn’t seem to bother the 25 groms who came together on a beach in Belmar, NJ. Why did they come together? The answer is simple: to share the stoke.
Kelly Kingston, Founder of the Share the Stoke Foundation, collaborated with 13-year-old Belmar surfer Logan Shayne Kamen, to organize a surf event. Logan Kamen first came into contact with Kelly when he organized a used wetsuit drive in his local community. He found Share the Stoke Foundation on Instagram and headed down to Florida to meet up with Kelly with his wetsuit donation. That’s when the idea for an event close to Logan’s hometown began.
Share the Stoke Foundation got started when Kelly Kingston wanted to sell one of her old boards on Craigslist. Not one person responded to her ad, so she decided to just give the board away to some kid who needed a board, but there was a catch. Any kid interested in the board had to email her and explain why he or she deserved this free board. Almost instantly, Kelly had over 40 responses and read all these amazing stories about kids who wanted to surf but couldn’t get their own board. She was so touched by these emails but realized she only had one board to give. That year, Kelly bought three new boards and gave away four others – all to children who wanted to surf but couldn’t have a board.
The following year, Kelly was able to get Firewire Surfboards to join her cause with board donations. That year, about 20 boards were given away. Each year since, the number of boards given to needy groms has grown immensely. Now that’s sharing the stoke! The Share the Stoke Foundation officially became a non-profit organization in 2011.
Now, back to Belmar. The Share the Stoke event gave groms a free surf competition along with tons of swag and stoke. Logan and Kelly organized heats based on age and experience. Each heat was followed by awards and give-aways for heat winners, best wipeout, and leadership. Sponsors who donated towards the event included: Firewire Surfboards, EastCoast Customs Skateboards, Dakine, Sick Trix, Isurus wetsuits, Raen Sun Glasses, Three Brothers Pizza, Stay Gold Café, Eastern Lines Surf Shop, Free Waters, Summertime Surf Camp, Rozbern, Shore Shot Images, Eastern Surfing Association, Manasquan HS Surf Team, and B&B Trophies.
I asked Kelly to share some of her experiences with Share the Stoke and this event. According to Kelly, “Seeing all of this event unfold was one of the most powerful experiences I have had doing these events. I watched Logan’s friends, the community, his mom, all come together to really support the event that Logan organized.” The support at this event was truly refreshing to see. Kelly also stated, “It was such an honor to do this event with Logan. He is an inspiration to me and I am so amazed by what he created.” Kelly hopes that every child learns from their experience at Share the Stoke; learns to love and respect their oceans and beaches; learns to share the waves and show respect in the water; and most importantly, she hopes they have fun.
By the smiles on the kids faces, I’d say there was plenty of fun and plenty of stoke. This is truly an amazing foundation. Every child walked away with all kinds of surf related gear and a surf trophy. Kelly Kingston and Logan Kamen should be commended on an amazing event not only bringing little groms together but also the community.
Learn more about Share The Stoke Foundation on their website.