A significant relationship is about to develop at a coffee house and bicycle shop in Dana Point, California…
Nate Headrick, a self employed Artist/Designer/Illustrator from San Clemente, California was working as a Barista at Crank & Grind, a local coffee, gallery, and bicycle shop in Dana Point, California during the Spring of 2016. He enjoyed working in a cooperative environment and this job provided the opportunity to meet local artists, musicians, surfers, and bicycle enthusiasts that would come in for a coffee, meet some friends, enjoy the music, or just hang out for a while.Nate is also an avid surfer, and has invested a considerable amount of his time and energy exploring the commercial possibilities of makingsurfboards from the flower stalks of the Agave plant. He is keen on the concept of a surfboard made from a plant based material that was ultimately ‘sustainable’ and ‘renewable.’ It is the same plantthat is used for making Tequila, but maybe you already knew that. Nate believes that today’s “Active culture” of Surf – Skate – Ski – Hike – Bike and Workout need to become more aware of what they buy, consume, and support.
Meet the conservationist artist and founder of Jonathan Seagul…
Young Ian Bryan, a talented conservationist artist and photographer from Laguna Beach, and the founder of Jonathan Seagul Butterfly Art, and Laguna Skateboards, received an invitation from the owners of Crank & Grind to display his butterfly art and bamboo veneered skateboards that he recently developed. He started Laguna Surfboards as a business to develop and implement his vision of veneering bamboo and pressing the end grain into skateboards with the goal of replacing the traditional hardwood skateboards with a more ‘sustainable’ bamboo material.
Nate takes notice and has an idea…
Nate was intrigued with Ian’s application of the bamboo material on a skateboard and approached him one day to see if he would be interested to apply the same veneering process for the hardwood from the Agave stalks that he didn’t need for the Agave surfboards he was making from the core of the stalk. “Why not, Ian said. Let’s give it a try.” Together, they produced a run of Agave skateboards. They were stoked, and continued to collaborate and refine the process. The wheels in Ian’s head were turning. He was thrilled about working with Nate on his project too, so he broke out his old Rolodex, (For my Millennial readers: A rotating file device we once used to store business contact information. Low-tech, but it did the job.) that was full of names and numbers of people in the art and business world he had collected over the last two years while tending bar at Nick’s in Laguna Beach. Ian is very affable and interacts well with people. He told me, “My specialty is getting other people excited about what excites me.” Evidently, his friend, David Hendryx, was excited too. He recognized the thoroughness of their research, due diligence, and their commitment to achieve their goals. He saw real growth potential with this business, and today, David serves as their Treasurer. Agave Surf becomes incorporated and is open for business. Their collective knowledge, vision, attitude, craftsmanship and commitment to ‘Sustainability’ provide the tools that will enable Ian and Nate to achieve their goals.
Agave Surfboards – A new wave of sustainable surfboards made from a multi-purpose material that is built to disrupt…
Co-founders, Ian Bryan & Nate Headrick are confident that surfing will launch the commodity known as Agave. They hope to generate the ground swell that will educate, effect, and influence popular culture. You know, they just might do that. The Agave plants are succulents just like cactus. The “Blue” Agave produces the biggest and tallest stalk. At the end of its life, a flower stalk will emerge from the middle of the plant and rapidly grow to reach heights of 15 to 20 feet or more. This is the flower stalk that is used to make the Agave surfboards – a ‘Renewable Alternative’ to the toxic polyurethane foam currently used in today’s surfboards.
Their journey has only begun, so stay tuned for their next chapter….
In the meantime, you might want to learn more about Agave Surf @ www.agavesurf.com…
