On-going Mentorship in Surfing, Leadership, Culture, Wellness.
Ages 12-20+ years old
Native American, Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, BIPOC focus. 
Program bridges Surf with Cultural Wisdom, Science, Health and Lifestyle of So Cal Indigenous People.

NLW’s Surf Fellowship continues with a "holistic, indigenous, approach to education." Wellness, culture, leadership is weaved into a life-changing experience. Over the years, 1000's of youth and adults have been enriched locally, nationally, and internationally during NLW multi-day programming and community learning. Elders, top professionals, leaders, mentors provide support.

Tentative Itinerary Below Primary locations for the Surf Fellowship are La Jolla, San Diego, Huntington Beach Vans US OPEN, Santa Barbara / Halama Beach / Point Conception. Surfing allows to thrive and show up with stoke . Within an ocean environment, what are the birds, turtles, nature telling us? How can our presence, history, ancient stories and current actions as surfers inspire a thriving generation? How can this better the environment and narrative?

La Jolla, Scripps Beach. High bluffs aside majestic views of the Pacific Ocean. This coast was once a number of village and important Kumeyaay sites. This seen as sacred. With the indigenous lens, Indigenous people are all around. We just open our eyes.

During our coastal residence here, Safety always paramount, and continuing to improve our ocean and water skills. The NLW Surf Fellowship will host a community surf clinic for the local San Diego Reservation and Urban community. A great social and community event that NLW has done for almost 2 decades.

Like always, we start the morning on the beach with circle, gratitude, yoga and surfing. Fellows will begin a clinic in surfing, culture and science. The surf clinic requires pre-registration here. Begins at 8am and ends at 12 noon. The morning will include an Introduction to Surf Therapy by Groundswell Community. A brief look and tour of the Scripps Pier at UCSD's world famous Scripps Institute of Oceanography. World-renowned scientists will guide our tour and help us understand our vital relationship with the ocean and its life.

The Surf fellowship, (a group of 10 pre-registered people) will than continue on and leave La Jolla as a group. Next stop will be Oceanside and a talking circle on Indigeneity in Surfing Culture led by Auntie Dina. A special luncheon will feature some noted elders and possible guest professional surfers. That evening we take in the natural beauty, and possible evening with a surf session in Oceanside, California.

Each day of the program is concluded with a guided talking circle, allowing for thought, deep connections and solutions to overcoming shared challenges.

Food as Medicine Our program's food service is one of the standout memories of our program. Organic, native foods help nurture our performance and enrich our generation. With our food, relaxation, and stories, we are inspired by our days together and in pure form. No artificial ingredients. We take time to share each our cultural backgrounds, similarities and stoke.

Trestles, Huntington Beach, US OPEN and WSL World Championship Finals , Along the Acjachemen and Tongva Coast, the World Surf League and lifts up the Vans US Open of Surfing, hosted in Huntington Beach. The world's largest action sports festival.The event will feature the best in surfing, skateboarding, and BMX competitions, including Olympians and world champions. The nine-day festival also offers a packed calendar of family-friendly activities such as on-site surfboard shaping, surf clinics, public skate and BMX sessions, and product demos and samples from your favorite action sport industry brands. and largest surf festival in the world.

Native Like Water, Stoked, City Surf Project and others will be hosting a special two day surf camp open to pre-registration. This is part of this NLW Surf Fellowship week and being offered as a special break out event and service in collaboration with Vans and other surf therapy orgs.

Before leaving the Los Angeles area on our way north, we stop at the World Surf League (WSL) Headquarters and World Surf League Pure project for a tour and lunch. The swell is looking promising that week, so the waves will dictate our movements as we head up the coast for a evening session.

Santa Barbara/ Gaviota Coast / Halama Beach, of the  Coastal Chumash People We will head north from Orange County through LA, Oxnard and Ventura County towards Santa Barbara, all of which is traditional Chumash Territory.

Once outside the Santa Barbara City limits, the coast opens up to wide open spaces and a California that has less development and the beauty is astounding.

We camp along the Gaviota Coast, a private ranch with awesome skatepark. and visit with relatives. Great piece of natural coast tied in with a great private ranch and skate ramp allows for perfect place to unwind and talk story.

We will take additional day trips up the coast to Point Conception and other significant areas where the coast is exposed to all swell directions.

During our time Chumash Territory we will have special guests, notable surfers, and collaborative community will come forward. We will visit with Captains of the Traditional Chumash Tomol Canoe Boats. The ceremonial paddle to the nearby Channel Islands has brought back great significance to the local people and helped inspire other indigenous nations to return to paddling. Our plan is to hold circle an learn from one another and the Chumash story of creation and this great re-creation of coastal practices.

The weekend will consist of early morning surf at breaks we should not mention, but access swell year around, await. Fellows spend more days in the water, Re-uniting with the ocean and beach in a refreshing way to maintain balance. We will casually evaluate how far we all have come in such a short time. A life-changing experience sets in as we have a "golden moment".

Our tour and personal journey ends for now as we transition and continue on the path of success, enlightened, and refreshed in mind and spirit.

On Sunday, we will have a Lunch Recognition of participants, guests and wish everyone well as we continue to make a better world for ourselves, our families and future generations.

We encourage giving. "It takes a village to raise a village" Monetary or service donations contact us or: click here.

 Watch this great San Diego Union Tribune feature video, below, from a past Summer serving teen-age youth.