Panel 1: Disruptive Sustainability Innovations in Surfing.
What if we could use algae to provide bio-sourced hydrocarbons for sustainable polyurethane surfboard blanks? Could this be a disruptive sustainability innovation that transforms surfing? Legendary UCSD Professor, Director California Center for Algae and co-Director of Food and Fuel for the 21st Century Dr. Stephen Mayfield will take us through all the considerations. See Professor Mayfield’s work as profiled on CBS News here.
Bio-resins have been around for some time and have been adopted by large players in the surfboard industry like Firewire. But what if dissolving bio-based hardeners allowed surfboards at the end of their life to have the resins ‘melted’ off to be recycled, cloth and matting reused, and blanks recycled or upcycled? What are the possibilities for cradle to cradle surfboard production and what infrastructure is needed to make it all work? Dr. Rey Banatao, CEO Connoratech/Entropy Resins will lead a discussion on the future of surfboard resins and hardeners.
Surfers as citizen scientists? What if surfboard fins contained sensors that collected important climate change data points AND were able to provide real time swell data and GPS tracking? Its being developed, but can it be scaled? Dr. Andrew Stern of Lost Bird Project is bringing Smartphins to the world.
Marty Gilchrist, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Rob Machado, and Steve Mayfield pose with algae-based surf boards.
Panel 2: Corporate Adoption & Scaling Sustainability Innovations.
What are the commercial considerations in bringing algae polyurethane into the mass market? What are the hot button issues for shapers and surfers, how do we facilitate this technology disrupting and transforming the surfboard manufacturing industry into something approaching sustainability? Marty Gilchrist from Arctic Foam will discuss these important issues.
Can surfing’s most visible and tangible expression, the professional surfing contest, be sustainable? Sustainable Surf has been certifying ‘Deep Blue Surf Contests’ since the Rip Curl Pro at Ocean Beach San Francisco in 2011. Volcom have taken the ball and run with it at the Pipeline Pro with amazing results. What are the keys to sustainable contests and could/should this concept go World Surf League wide? Sustainable Surf’s Kevin Whilden and Michael Stewart discuss this with Derek Sabori VP Sustainability, Volcom.
What if there was a program that allowed surf resorts to systematically assess their environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability across 140 metrics and 400 compliance indicators? What if this same system spoke directly to the surfer market and created demand for third party verified sustainable surf resorts? Carl Kish, co-founder of STOKE Certified discusses how STOKE is transforming the surf tourism marketplace.
Panel 3: Making Waves. Literally.
First Peak Sebastian Inlet, Florida raised two world champions and any number of pros and hot surfers. This wave formed as a result of swell reflection off the adjacent pier. Recent renovations of the pier killed the reflective qualities and killed the wave. What if it could be brought back cheaply and easily? What if the same science could create high quality surf breaks and economic opportunities on closed out beaches everywhere? Coco Beach is considering just this idea. How does it work and what are the issues? Coastal engineer Justin Enjo, founder of the First Peak Project and Waveloch talks us through the unique coalescence of factors in Sebastian Inlet that makes this project so very viable.
With surfing looking like being included in the 2020 olympics, surfbreaks getting ever more crowded and shark attacks seemingly on the rise, what if perfect head high barreling waves could be produced outside the ocean with a wave quality, wave count, and no shark guarantee? Southern California is home to three of the world’s leading surf pool technology development companies, but what is the state of play globally and what can we expect in the near future? John Luff, founder of Surf Park Central and the Surf Park Summit will take us through an up to the minute run down on the burgeoning surf park industry.
Keynote Speakers
The Sustainable Stoke Conference will have two major keynote addresses. The first is from Sustainable Stoke co-author and Director of the Plymouth University Surfing and Sustainability Research Group, Dr Greg Borne. Greg is an emerging global leader in the big, high-level discussions around sustainability and surfing.
The second keynote is from legendary Hawaiian senator, 1968 world surfing champion, founder of the World Championship Tour of surfing, and Center for Surf Research advisory board member, Fred Hemmings. Fred wrote a powerful piece for Sustainable Stoke and will be continuing the conversation, and wrapping up day one of the conference.
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