Stay Sane & Save Your Brain

Skateboarding is a personal choice, an expression of freedom, art through skilled and choreographed movements.  Wearing protective gear is perceived to restrict the skateboarder’s freedom and impede the natural flow of movement, so despite city ordinances or any governing laws, most skateboarders choose not wear any protective gear.  While we concede that elbow and knee pads as well as wrist guards may protect from injuries the body can heal from, it is the wearing of helmets that is our biggest concern.  

In a simple split second a life can be changed forever from head trauma and it is the use of helmets that protect against this type of injury when worn correctly.  Falling from just 2 feet can cause a traumatic brain injury and in 2009 over 23,000 traumatic brain injuries were reported due to skateboarding or riding scooters. It is estimated that 85% of these injuries could have been prevented by wearing a helmet.  

Unfortunately we have had first hand experience of friends riding a skateboard, falling and experiencing head trauma because no helmet was worn.  One of them has lost his peripheral vision in one eye for life, another was in a medically induced coma for several months and has cognitive as well as short term memory issues he has to deal with for the rest of his life.  The latest was in the hospital for a couple of days and released with a severe concussion which on the surface may seem inconsequential but may have more severe long term consequences.  Only time will tell.  The best thing about all of these outcomes is that each one is still alive; that is not always the case with traumatic brain injury.

Statistics, threats and the possibility of negative consequences haven’t change the ingrained, cultural behavior of not wearing a helmet, so after consulting with Healthy Lompoc Coalition, we are starting our own effort- Stay Sane & Save Your Brain.  We will be visiting the skate park on random days at random times and anyone wearing a helmet correctly will receive either a $10 SC Gift Certificate or some other reward as acknowledgement for protecting their brain.  If you are in need of a helmet and can’t afford one, let us know and we can get you one.  We would also ask everyone, regardless of age and skateboarding ability to wear a helmet while surfing the concrete, no matter where you are.  If not for yourself, please consider your friends and family and the consequences they may pay for your choices.  

http://www.healthylompoc.org

http://www.aans.org/patient%20information/conditions%20and%20treatments/sports-related%20head%20injury.aspx

http://skateboardsafety.org

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/24/teen-readjusts-after-brain-injury-from-skateboard-/

http://www.kcci.com/news/injured-skater-warns-against-skateboarding-without-helmet/32313434

Fun in the Sun and All That Jazz!

A window contest?  Really?  We are a surf shop so this may not seem to align with our mission or goals but the reality is this annual ‘competition’ is so much more than just a contest.  For us it is about community, about our love for our wonderful town and about a celebration steeped in tradition.

The Lompoc Flower Festival traces its roots back to the 1950’s when an annual parade and two day rodeo was held during the summer in Lompoc.  George Miller, a prominent citizen, began advocating changing the celebration from a rodeo, arguing rodeos were common and rather mundane, to something more unique and aligned with what Lompoc had to offer.  The Alpha Club Flower Show had been established in 1922 and it was decided to develop the Festival around this key event.  Since those early days the Lompoc Flower Festival has grown to a 5 day event with local entertainment on stage at Ryon Park, food booths run by community organizations and nonprofits, a parade on Saturday which includes floats and marching bands and of course the opportunity to visit and catch up with all your friends that you haven’t seen for a day or maybe a year.  

And so, it is important to us to play what small part we can in this event, a chance to show our community spirit and proclaim our love for our city.  Help us spread some Lompoc Love by voting online at http://www.lompoc.com/shop-lompoc-shop-small.html for your favorite windows (please remember us!) this year and remember to have some Fun in the Sun and All That Jazz this summer!

Soul Surfer or Pure Sport

We just read an article about a new surfboard being released by Samsung called the Galaxy Surfboard.  It caught our attention as Samsung was synonymous to us with smart phones, not the ocean, so we were intrigued.  Would this be for surfing the web or is it truly a surfboard as we understand it?  To our surprise it is a surfboard for use in the ocean but has the communication capabilities of a smart phone.  Quite a combination.   Or is it?

This ‘smart’ surfboard purports to enhance the surfing experience of the individual with the addition of technology predicated on the following.  It allows the surfer to obtain real time information regarding the weather, swell and wave conditions.  It allows for communication with a coach or other party to improve surfing skills.  It allows for support and encouragement from fans, friends and family through social media channels.  All of this is possible through a screen on the board’s deck connecting a surfer with individuals not only on shore but miles, even continents away.   

On the surface these communications seem innocuous but for the surfers we know this is contradictory to why they surf.  Surfing is a chance to unplug from the day to day rat race of technology.  It is a chance to commune with nature, to face the elements of the ocean and make decisions based on knowledge acquired through practice, to conquer the force of the wave.  And while there is a camaraderie that is enjoyed with friends in the water, cheering and joking with each other in turn, it is still primarily an individual activity in which your competition, if you will, is yourself and the experience of the activity is primary to the performance.  

Perhaps though, this distinction is the difference between the serious athlete or professional surfer and those individuals that surf for the pure enjoyment of spending time in the ocean, feeling the board beneath their feet as they ride a wave…for us, soul surfers.  We are not trying to say professional surfers don’t enjoy surfing, that it is not their passion, but that perhaps there is a different motivation and with that the need for more progressive equipment.  For the professional surfer the Galaxy board does have advantages a traditional surfboard does not but it also changes at a fundamental level the experience while in the water.  Is one experience better than the other?  That is not for us to decide but rather for the individual.  However, if the ‘smart’ board becomes the norm we do believe something precious in the art of surfing will be lost.  

Shop Lompoc~Shop Small

The grown up sister of the Lompoc Cash Mob events, Shop Lompoc Shop Small is based on the premise that local small businesses working together, supporting each other and engaging the community, assist the small business community in becoming healthier and more viable.   A vibrant business community, in turn, improves the quality of life of its citizens through an increased sales tax base, more employment opportunities and increased support for youth and community activities not to mention the sheer economic impact of money recycling within the community.  Perhaps, and most important of all, it is fun.  It’s fun for the businesses that participate and it’s fun for the shoppers.  

The next Shop Lompoc Shop Small Saturday is May 7th and is a city wide scavenger hunt of sorts.  Maps listing the 34+ participating businesses are available at those businesses (we are one of them!) and the Chamber of Commerce.  Visit six of the businesses, have your map validated by each (no purchase necessary) and register for a chance to win one of the six SLSS Gift Bags filled with lots of wonderful swag from the participating businesses.  Visit more businesses and complete more maps for more chances to win.  Most businesses have some sort of special activity or sale for the day which is part of the fun.  We will have our prize wheel out, special sales, there will be an opportunity to win a Powell skateboard and for every map we stamp we will donate a $1 to Relay for Life.  

It is probably no surprise this semi-annual event is near and dear to our hearts.  We have a lot of fun on Shop Small Saturdays meeting new people as they are out exploring as well as visiting and catching up with many of our customers and friends.  However, one of the things I enjoy most, is the collaboration of one business to the next, the sense of community as we support each other.  As Helen Keller so eloquently and succinctly stated, ‘Alone we can do so little.  Together we can do so much.’ So grab a map and see you Saturday for Shop Lompoc Shop Small.  Together we can accomplish something big in our community.

Dream Big and Have Fun

“‘Women can't surf big waves.  Women can’t surf Pipeline.  Women can’t surf Chopes.  Women can’t paddle Jaws.  Women can’t get barreled at Jaws’…Who I really want to thank is everyone in my life that told me, ‘You can’t do that because you’re a woman’, because that drove me to dedicate my life to proving you wrong. And it’s been so damn fun,”  Keala Kennelly, the first female surfer to win the XXL Pure Scot Barrel Award.

Congrats going out to this incredible surfer, who surfed one of the heaviest waves ever seen at Teahupoo with skill and grace.  Shoutout to the individuals who not only nominated her for the award but cast their ballots in her favor, not allowing gender bias to interfere in recognition of her accomplishment.  Yet, as impressed as we are by her skill and fearlessness, it was her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony that moved us.

Being told you ‘can’t’ is a powerful statement.  For many, the statement when uttered by mentors and those we hold in esteem or trust is not just an observation but becomes a truth, a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Fortunately some see ’you can’t’ as a challenge, words to be proven wrong.  They do not bow down to the power the words hold but rise up to it, meet it and beat it.  What is even more exhilarating about what Kennelly did is how she did it, having fun.  

And so the question is, what motivates you to strive for your dream as improbable as it may be?  Is it someone believing in you or is it the challenges and the naysayers that push you to the limit?  Perhaps it is a combination of the positive and negative that keep you going.  Whatever the driving force we hope you do it like Kennelly did.  We hope you dream big and have fun.