Rohnan is 15 years old, living in Santa Cruz, California.
If you’re looking for Rohnan, chances are you can find him in the water. He has been an avid surfer ever since his dad taught him at a young age. Rohnan has lived his entire life in Santa Cruz, and what he loves most is the community, that he can bike everywhere and access the water to surf so easily.
He has grown up testing his limits in these waters. Rohnan vividly remembers a tough day out at Davenport beach. The weather was cold, his wetsuit was too big, and he got washed up by a couple of waves. It was a scary day but it helped him fall in love with the sport.
His favorite thing about surfing is the feeling and adrenaline that he gets in the water, always tweaking his tricks, improving his skills, and getting so close to the wildlife. A tried and true grom, Rohnan’s favorite spot to surf is the Lane close to home and Mitchell’s during winter.
Between sets, he told us about the surfing community and how the older generation teaches the kids about the history of Santa Cruz and its surfing spots.
Friendly locals in the line-up taught him about old constructions, how intense the waves were back in the day, and the limestone and granite that marks the shoreline from The Lane to Pleasure Point. The rocks originally came from Yosemite, and are part of a geological history older than time.
Rohan has come across community members of all shapes and sizes while surfing, bumping into dolphins, whales and loads of fish. Just the other day, an Otter mother came so close with her pup he could almost touch them.
He loves seeing all these creatures, but it bothers him that they have to share the ocean with so much trash.
Especially on holidays like memorial day, he and his friends see a lot of plastic and other things floating around, which makes him angry.
He knows everyone has to play their part, but he also knows local businesses have a responsibility to take things a step further to help the environment. He proposed the community increase the number of trash cans on the beach. While it might not take away all the trash, Rohnan believes it will help a lot.
And he’s totally right!
Making it easier to do the right thing will encourage visitors from near and far to make sure all their trash ends up in the right place.
He also mentions biodegradable or compostable packaging as something brands could do to help out with the environment. He wasn’t sure it is sustainable in the long run when it reaches a large amount, but we’ve got to start somewhere.— excellent thoughts for us brands to think about.
Last but not least, we asked Rohnan about his favorite flavored bar.
First place was a tie between the bittersweet Blueberry Coco and the tangy Orange Tumeric.
Rohnan’s love for surfing has given him an intimate look at the natural beauty of the world around us. His stroke teaches us that every member of our neighborhood is better off with a clean ocean and Vaxa bars help fuel his adventure while giving back to mother earth.
Image crew surf photo: Jeff Santa Cruz Surfing