Let it Ride

“Let it Ride” were three words that shaped my youth. They were words that my father would say almost daily - words that have helped me through some of the roughest seasons and some of the happiest times. Those of you who knew my Dad understand the immense adoration I had (and still have) for him, I wanted to be just like him as a kid. I traded evenings of learning how to braid hair and paint my toenails for a socket wrench and a manual of rebuilding a dirt bike engine. 

As I’ve gotten older one thing that has allowed me to still feel my dad with me the most is anytime that I am by the sea. We use to wake up early on family vacations and walk for miles to the piers, running some of the way, smiling every step.

Fun Fact: I use to even tweak my right foot out to the side a little so I could fall in step with his because he had broken his foot as a kid and never went to the doctor to get it set, so it had a slight point out.

Dad would even give me his flip flops or carry me over the hot boardwalks so we could go see the fishermen. All these little moments are still with me daily, most greatly felt when I am at the seaside. The ocean has been my constant and a teacher of lessons that are never meant to be expressed by words. 

Surfing was a dream of my since I was young, but over the last couple years I have been given the most amazing gift that I could have ever received by learning and in doing so, I have been finding myself and a connection to nature that is unexplainable. I set out this year with an idea in mind: to start a surf company that would allow me to keep my Dad’s spirit alive forever. To be able to offer a spot for people to come to and just be their true selves while giving back to the ocean that gives us life.

Tommy Gunn’s Surf Shop is more than a shop, it’s a glorious dedication to those that have gone before us and continue to live among us that remind us to chase the stoke of everyday and to truly “let it ride”.  

Here’s to you, Dad. 

SLC, '20