Stay classy San Diego

Axel, Spencer, and James

The surf shop has eclipsed everyone’s expectations and it has since its early beginnings come a long way. The WAVES surf photography program has been one of the key drivers of the success of the shop with surfers from all over Lobitos coming in to check their photos taken by our resident photographer (Henry Espinoza).  Within a couple of months the original backroom became overcrowded and felt too small for what we tried to accomplish (a relaxed inviting environment). Early November, with an influx of fresh motivated minds, some extensive brainstorming was done and the idea to move the shop was born.  We decided to move the store to the front of the house into a more spacious room where people could see it from the street, look through the windows, hear music coming out of the shop and would want to hang out and interact.

Fortunately there were plenty of willing hands around and with the honest blood, sweat and some tears of Adam, Dino, Raffael, Pim, Richard, Tali, Fanny  and Sr. Raul Tinoco the work (demolishing the old room (my favourite part )sanding and painting the walls, building a surfboard racks and a proper shop counter, thinking about and design customer flow charts and the best spots to display items for sale, etc.) the shop was finished just before the Christmas break.

We are all very proud of the end result and potentially even prouder that in true WAVES spirit we built everything from recycled/reused material (minus a few cans of paints and a few screws). The new shop is both more spacious and inviting to both local youth and tourists looking for a place to hang out, read a surfer mag or watch a surf movie (in the near future). Since the move, the shop has kept on growing and every day we seem to attract both more tourists as local youth. In this manner the shop is gaining meaning by providing employment for several local youth, funding for local WAVES projects, being a live training ground for local youth working in the shop and functioning as a place where cultural exchange can occur in a relaxed surfy atmosphere.

Aloha,

Pim

I will let the images below do the rest of the talking. Seeing Henry’s smile and his eyes light up tells more than a thousands words from me. To all Lobiteno surfers be prepared to once more getting scoped out by Henry our  WAVES photographer in Lobitos. Oh and don’t forget to come by ‘El Hueco’ the centro de surf in the WAVES house to check out and buy your surf photos. See you all soon!

Axel with Frank, Henry and Junior.

But the WAVES staff expects all that. And that’s what’s most palpable about this particular project. It’s not just a reflection of teamwork, it’s a comment on the amount of experiential knowledge that WAVES has gained after three years in the Lobitos community. Looking at the room one can’t help but think: WAVES has momentum.
Since the last update about the construction of our surf tourism hub, we’ve hit our stride. Senor Tinoco has added three new windows to the room, giving it a more open feel.

The Brazillian artist finished a spectacular mural.

The new custom designed line of t shirts came to fruition.

We created a system for rental, sale, and lesson boards and prepared boards them with fresh wax and fins.

And put the finishing touches on decorating the room.

We hope to continue the evolution of the space, making it somewhere surfers can come to chill out and relax, with cool perks like the book exchange, music speakers, and coffee and cakes. And we’re looking forward to our first visitors!

The Greek mathematician who stops by to rent a board and stays to cook us meatballs. The Brazilian who heard about our surf photography and wants to contribute his photos. The Piuran down the street whose just looking for a surf film. They come to the door with the same starry eyed look, like flies to light. They know we do something. What do we do? Can we help them?
And as more and more people showed up, the need to formalize WAVES services gave way to an idea- “El Hueco” (the hole).

El Hueco is an information center. A place where tourists and locals alike can come to find out about Lobitos. To rent equipment or check surf spots and reports. To see pictures of themselves surfing taken by local youth.

And yesterday, when the first hammers came out, El Hueco became more than just an idea, thanks to the fund raising efforts by WAVES alumni, namely Axel Eaton. The physical “El Hueco” space started as a storage room in the back of the WAVES house (Casa Tinoco), full of surf boards and miscellaneous items, and with no door. But as of this morning, it’s already transformed. Sam, Tali, and Senor Tinoco widened the room by moving a wall and installing a door. I grabbed some paint and a broken board and made a sign for the space. Then we threw on some tunes and took to cleaning and painting the base coat on the walls and ceilings, carefully dodging electrical wires in true Peruvian style.

We’ve put a Brazillian artist in charge of decorating the walls, and Sam is outside slaving away on a cabinet as I write this. (Tali is equally as employed in the kitchen, watching over an aromatic chicken curry)

Tomorrow we’ll throw on another coat of paint and start laying out the room. Be sure to check back here to see how it’s coming along!