For 10 years, the San Diego surf community has been coming together every September to support Boys to Men Mentoring, an in-school group mentoring program for isolated, disconnected, and fatherless boys, by doing something we all love: catching waves. So on the third Saturday of each September, they show up in force at Mission Beach dedicated to catching 100 waves in a day.
In its early years, local surf icons Scott Bass, Bird Huffman, Joe Roper and Benji Weatherley helped elevate the profile of the event. By its fifth year, The 100 Wave Challenge had grabbed the attention of legends like Shaun Tomson and Damien Hobgood. As they became more aware of how Boys to Men Mentoring fills in the gaps in young men’s lives and the profound effect the program has on empowering boys to make healthy choices, the more they poured themselves into becoming ambassadors for the program.
This year, due to the pandemic, Boys to Men had to re-engineer the challenge. Instead of putting 500 surfers and their families together on Mission Beach at once, the event evolved into smaller, individual sessions with crews of less than 20 in the water, all surfing their local spots in a two-month window.
With surf media guru Chris Mauro spreading the word by producing some compelling videos, the word spread throughout the global community and caught the attention of John John Florence and the WSL. The new format allowed John John to join the challenge from his home on the North Shore of Oahu and undoubtedly inspired more surfers around the world to host their own 100 wave events in places like Oregon, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Cabo San Lucas, and even Pelican Beach, Florida with another former world champ: CJ Hobgood.
“In my community, I was fortunate to grow up around older surfers who were positive role models, good guys who kept me on the right course in the water and out,” Florence wrote on Instagram. “I’m so grateful for all of them. I wish every kid had access to the same kind of guidance. That’s why I’m so impressed with Boys to Men Mentoring and their simple, straightforward mission. They provide young men with the steady support they need to get on the right track and stay there. And they do an awesome job of it.”
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All in all, COVID has been a silver lining for Boys to Men Mentoring. What could have put a stop to the entire event, like we’ve seen the pandemic do to many events all over the world this year, the San Diego organization was forced to re-think its trademark fundraiser while staying true to its mission. That evolved into a global outpouring of love and support from the surf community. As the two-month window winds down for the 100 Wave Challenge, Boys to Men Mentoring is on course to raise $500,000 for the programs that support at-risk youth.
Congratulations to the surfers who have resonated with the Boys to Men Mission and put themselves out there for a great cause.
Editor’s Note: If you’d like to get involved it’s not too late go to Boystomen.org to register or donate.
