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In some parts of West Africa they still catch fish using dug out canoes built from giant trees, which take six months of chiseling to hollow. They wait to see the birds on the horizon and then about six men jump in the canoe, paddle out, and drop the net, while the rest of the village pulls the net in. They do this everyday to survive. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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Isei Tokovu, one of Fiji’s stand out surfers, shares a moment at Cloudbreak with long time friend, John Maher. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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Benjamin McCrumuda has the uncanny ability to summon the seas. If the ocean goes dormant for too long, he simply slaps the water and bellows out “Kway-Pu-Na!” This phrase translates to “big sea wave come” in Benjamin’s native tongue of Vai and when he asks, the ocean answers. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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The world has a lifetime supply of incredible waves to surf… surf them with a clear conscience by supporting locally owned business along the way. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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The old fishermen of this town told me of a young boy who, “does not fear the sea.” They call him “Bay Boy” and they say he would go out in the surf on a wooden plank and stay out for eight hours at a time. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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One of the coolest moments I have ever witnessed… the local African kids were so amped on watching Shayne McIntyre surf that they were chasing him down the point each wave; I’m not sure who was more stoked, Shayne or the kids. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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There is a boy who rakes leaves for pennies a day on the land his grandfather used to own… This is too common a story in places like Indonesia, Costa Rica, and other surf destinations around the world where the locals have been convinced to sell their land for dirt cheap. Unidentified in Indo. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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Oil drilling was established in Lobitos, Peru in the early 1900s and continues today, lining the pockets of rich foreign investors and giving back virtually nothing to the community. Featured here is 17-year-old local Lobitos surf talent, Henry Espinoza. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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The President of the Lobitos Fishing Industry, Juan Eche Ruíz, has been fishing these waters for decades. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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There are irreplaceable perks to staying down the beach, packing a lunch so you can surf all day, and hiking to the point while saying “good morning” to every single person along the way… you get to know the entire community instead of just the best winds and tides. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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To surf this wave you have to bribe a security guard to let you through a metal trap door, aptly nick named “the poop shoot.” Then you cross a rocky jetty littered with human feces. Alfred Lomax, Liberia’s first surfer, sits alone out the back at Poopie Point. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
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Surf trips are not always just about the surf. Detoured in Jerusalem. Photo: Brody/SurfResource.org
I was born and raised in San Diego, California where I grew up surfing the beaches of La Jolla. Longing for worldly experience and more exotic surf destinations, I hit the road with not much more than a few surfboards and a camera. An abundance of calculated risks, months at a time slept on foreign floors, and a handful of near death experiences, coupled with an absurd amount of persistence and countless hours behind the lens earned me a position as photographer for Rusty Surfboards.
I graduated from San Diego State University a few years back and now, in addition to my photography, I do research on sustainable surf tourism for the San Diego State University Research Foundation to study the interaction between surfers and wave rich communities.
As a traveling photographer, I have had the opportunity to visit some amazing and unique destinations and score epic waves… However, even though I was living my dream of traveling, surfing, and shooting I quickly realized something was missing. To get to these perfect waves and surreal destinations we were stepping over poverty, hunger, disease, poor sanitation, and broken economies- and, for me, it soured the experience.
It became a personal goal to combine my surf photography trips with surf philanthropy and about a year ago I started the SurfResource.org to help surfers, travelers, companies and like-minded individuals give back where we go for waves.
To learn more about Sean’s latest project and help make an impact check out surfresource.org.
Concerts, sports competitions, cultural fairs and the like are just some of the San Diego events that you wouldn’t want to miss when visiting the city.
