Light casts away
darkness, and the StreetWaves experience is that bright light of life that
nurtures the souls of its participants.
- Maui Goodbeer, Streetwaves founder
It is both a privilege and a pleasure to introduce my forth interviewee Maui Goodbeer the executive director of StreetWaves.
StreetWaves is an awe inspiring charity working in Florida to help disadvantaged youths, living in difficult socioeconomic circumstances through surfing.
Although Maui and I have only corresponded through email you can feel his energy and passion for the organization and I challenge you not to be inspired after reading about all that he does.
As part of the surfing tribe we are our own community and when we have the opportunity to help one another it is imperative that we do so.
Please help Maui and Streetwaves with their fundraiser which can be found at:
www.streetwaves.org
on
facebook at facebook.com/streetwaves
and twitter at streetwavesorg.
1. As an accomplished surfer being new at it
probably seems a long time ago but can you tell us how you first got into
surfing and how long it took to feel like you were competent?
MG: First off, I only consider myself an
accomplished surfer based on what I have experienced from surfing since the day
I began. It’s a relationship that is different every day. It ebbs and flows and
grows. At this point in
my journey, it’s kind of like considering myself an accomplished walker, eater,
or talker. It’s no longer something that I do, it’s truly a part of my
survival. If I go too long without surfing, I get an uneasy feeling of
disconnection within. As my surfing has evolved over the years, on a conscious
level I would say that this love affair is more about connection to Source Energy
than it is about surfing anymore really. Nonetheless, I was first introduced to
surfing when I was 10 years old. I grew up with a single mom and we had teenagers
that were surfers in our apartment complex that had their own apartment. I thought they were really cool and they
started taking me surfing. My mother was unaware that I was surfing so I had to
leave school and sneak off to surf, as I did with many things at that age I
guess. What I found through surfing is that I felt confident long before I felt
competent. It was in the later years that I felt competent because I gained a
sense of proficiency when I started traveling to surf because I was riding
different types of waves in different regions learning different things about
the vastness of the ocean and my connection to it. My overall competence came
from learning more about myself through my relationship with the ocean.
2.If you were to give advice to aspiring or
beginner surfers what would that be?
MG: SURF, SURF, SURF….as much as you
possibly can. PADDLE OUT…
Don’t get discouraged and never give
up. Have fun, be safe and respect the majesty of the Ocean and local surfers.
Trust in yourself and allow your relationship with the Ocean to nurture your
progress.
3. For the benefit of the surfers across the
pond, could you please tell us the story of your organization StreetWaves and
how it came to be?
MG: I started StreetWaves to honor a
promise that I made at my younger brother’s funeral. My younger brother was
brutally murdered by a 16-year-old gang member in Southern California in 2003
and at his funeral I made a promise to personally help inner city children. I
had no clue how I would do this but after surfing the small gentle waves in the
warm South Florida beach breaks I was inspired to teach children from
under-resourced communities here. Exactly 5 years after the anniversary of my
brother and my joint birthday of August 31, I founded the non-profit youth
outreach organization StreetWaves. I am excited to say that…. “It is working!”
4. What are some of the biggest issues facing
disadvantaged inner city youths and how does surfing help resolve those issues?
MG: I would say that the biggest challenges
our children face are all of the negative influences experienced on the street
level. The communities are full of negative vibrations and negative influences
such as drug abuse, prostitution, gang affiliation, violence, etc. Surfing
creates a pathway back to nature that connects all who paddle out with a life
force and a connection to source energy. The fundamental concept of getting youth
off of the streets, or more literally leaving the community that is negatively
influencing the youth and having an interrupt in daily patterning, is crucial
to self actualization. StreetWaves is that light at the end of the tunnel, a
safe haven. More importantly when we facilitate a regular surfing experience on
the beach, the children are no longer seeking that light, they are a part of
that light in those moments on the beach in the surf. Light casts away
darkness, and the StreetWaves experience is that bright light of life that
nurtures the souls of its participants. This light is then taken back into the
community and illuminates its surroundings and can become contagious to others
and liberating to the light bearer. We find that resources are scarce in the
inner city and the opportunities are not always available for growth and
expansion so we raise funds to support providing these opportunities for
children to be exposed to something that can alter their neuro pathways and
give them a sense of belonging to something greater than what they are familiar
with. As the Executive Director it is my job to provide the funding for our
organization. Basically I have to bring the funding into our organization and
these children are depending on me to do so. I will take this time to share
with you our upcoming StreetWaves summer surf camp fundraiser.
Please follow this link to be apart of what we are doing this summer and every summer for
under-resourced youth in our community. Crowdrise.com/streetwaves here you can
start a team and help us bring about change in the lives of our planets children.
Often times we Americans have a tendency to forget or are even unaware that
charity doesn't just leave our shores it also supports our country. One of our
most generous donors ever was a gentleman from Australia who realized that the
US is more accustomed to sending aid than receiving it.
5. Real Women have Curves and Surfboards
explores surfing themes from a female perspective, what have been the
challenges facing girls from inner city backgrounds and how do you think
surfing has benefited them in particular?
MG: The challenges that we have
identified among our female surfers have been numerous. We have found over the
years that cultural norms are often held closer to the heart of the female
participant than the male, i.e. resistance to change, stepping outside of comfort
zones, cultural identity and support, fear, fashion, and hair follicles. As
funny as this story might seem it was quite amazing to see the spirit of one
female surfer who had the courage and creativity to go against all of her
normal inclinations to participate just after getting her “hair did.” After
arriving on the beach for the very first time ever with a group of male and
female participants that were bussed in from one of our local community centers
that serves a very dangerous and under-resourced community, this particular
female student was so eager to get into the ocean and try surfing that she tied
a plastic shopping bag on her newly pressed hair and paddled out. To my surprise
the shopping bag never fell off the entire day. I know how powerful the ocean
is, and on any given wave that bag could easily be ripped off of her head, but
her intention and nature worked together to create a beautiful connection.
Today she is often seen paddling out to surf.
The biggest challenge I would say
that we have seen is the male influence that women have in the inner city
communities. We have had female participants that have been involved in
prostitution who have gotten away from the lifestyle if only for a short time
and then fallen back into this lifestyle due to the male influence and
economical reasons. We have one female student in particular who was recently
charged with murder and this came after she got a new “boyfriend” who was also
charged with crimes as well. So we are eager to bring young ladies to the beach
and share this new culture and positively influence the young women in these
communities. We also try to attract young couples and families to the beach and
encourage surf dates.
6. Can
you tell us a success story of someone you've encountered whose life was
changed for the better after taking up surfing?
MG: I would have to say that everyone I
have ever met who I knew before and after they took up surfing has the success
story of a life changed for the better. We have many, many children whose lives
have positively changed through surfing. I will tell you the story of Calvin.
Calvin is a young man who was introduced to surfing after a partner
organization brought him to a field trip surf day with StreetWaves. I have
personally watched this young man blossom into a totally stoked surfer that
literally surfs daily and catches the bus from the inner city to surf instead
of getting into the usual trouble he was a part of. He watches and reads surf
reports, travels to surf, goes to the US Surf Expo annually and has a passion
for surfing and teaching others that runs deep within him. He developed a surf
nickname of “Cali” after years of surfing and is a truly changed man that came
from a life of neglect, abuse, and instability in the foster care system. Out
of privacy and respect for our youth participants I am not able to share much
more about most of our students but I will say that over the past 5 years we
have literally seen hundreds of lives not just changed but transformed through
surfing.
7. Can you think of a time during your
surfing/life where you became stuck and how you overcame that plateau?
MG: Surfing is a process
and when you look at it as the process of connecting to source energy you can
equate it to dancing. The more we dance the better we get at it. I honestly have
never felt stuck because to me there really is no goal other than to simply keep
surfing without expectations. However, there have been times where I have
stumbled over the feet of this gorgeous dance partner that I have called the
Surf and she has let me know that she was not pleased. For example, while
surfing in Costa Rica I was held down in overhead surf after doing something
that I knew better than to do. I took off on an early set wave after having
surfed for hours. After at least 5 pounding reef scrubs, I washed up on shore
and was resuscitated by a few surfers and beach goers. I learned the first
lesson in rehabilitation. The ocean will never change to accommodate you so you
have to change to accommodate and acclimate to the ocean. Surfing is a rhythm that
requires patience and timing and to be in that rhythm is magical and to be out
of that rhythm is like dancing with two left shoes on. Surfing is truly a
privilege and not a right. You have every right to surf but it’s a privilege to
have the experience of being able to surf safely, and with passion. I overcame
all fear of the ocean after this experience and my energy shifted to a place of
loving respect for her grand energy. What I tell others that do feel a sense of
slow progression is to pay close attention to the 3 main elements of the dance
we call surfing: the spiritual, mental and physical. I relate the spiritual
connection with timing, the mental with wave selection and technique, and the
physical with ability.
8. It seems that you have a lot of
responsibility in your life as both executive director of StreetWaves, surf
instructor, advocator, mentor, friend etc, how do you balance all these sides
of yourself and stay energized and committed?
MG: I am driven by a source greater than
myself and I truly believe that I can do all things. At the end of the day, all
it takes is believing in myself and source energy and not letting circumstances
derail that belief.
9. What is your vision for the future and how
do you plan to accomplish this?
MG. My long-term vision for StreetWaves
is to have chapters along the coastline of this country and abroad near
communities where under-resourced children live. We have recently partnered
with the University of Miami to start a UM StreetWaves chapter. Our plan of
action is to partner with Universities and students around the globe that have
the desire to start chapters along the coastline of this planet. We are a part
of a growing consciousness that is in sync with the rest of the world. We are
constantly raising money to continue to provide these services with global
expansion in our hearts. If you would like to share in this mission please
share this link to our online summer surf camp fundraiser crowdrise.com/streetwaves
here you can set up a team and raise much needed funds to continue this work.
10. If the world was ending tomorrow what would
you do in your last 24 hours on earth?
MG: Honestly, I would board our sailboat
and sail away with friends, family and loved loves, because the earth may come
to an end but the ocean lives forever in my heart. Plus, since I have been
chasing waves for so long, it will be kind of nice to let the waves chase me
for a while. You can follow our journey
at our website at streetwaves.org on facebook at facebook.com/streetwaves and
twitter at streetwavesorg. Thank you so much for sharing our good news and
caring enough to reach out to me. Maui
Thank You Maui!
.jpg)
