Back in the day, we didn’t have the cash to sponsor a bunch of pro surfers to compete in a legit contest decked out with shiny trophies and fancy champagne. But instead of letting our piggy banks get in the way of a good time, we decided to grab some of our friends, call ‘em “judges” and post up at some of our favorite beaches to watch the locals tear up their home breaks. We dubbed it Bum Rush Tour, our ambush style surf contest series.
There were no qualifying rounds, no official jerseys, not even a scheduled time. We just showed up. And through a scoring system consisting of some numbers but mostly just different variations of “that was sickkk” and “yeahhh buddy”, we’d wait for the winner to get out of the water so we could stoke them out with a giant check... and spray them with a bottle of sparkling apple cider.
Fast forward a decade later, and our MO for Bum Rush Tour remains pretty much the same. We’re still stopping at surf breaks all over the world to pick random surfers out of the lineup to win some money and swag—just for the hell of it. The cool thing is that now we’re able to include our growing team of surf ambassadors to help us keep the tradition alive.
She’s only 14, but none of this is new to her. Not collecting medals. Not making grown-ass pro athletes jealous. Not the “did you see that?!” surprised faces in the crowd at global competitions like the 2019 USASA national championships in Colorado and last year’s Stab High Japan.
It started with lost bags and apparently the worst conditions in years, but we find Side Hits galore, some fun country hits, and find our rhythm with Parker Szumowski and Arthur Longo leading the charge. Dark, snow-ridden storm clouds are gathering over the steppes of Uzbekistan, and we are very much ready and waiting for it.
Navigating tropical surf trips in 2025 isn’t the easiest of affairs. It turns out that surfers really are everywhere. The search for tropical isolation is eternal.
Take a trip through the sunshine mind-state of legendary surf artist, Andy Davis.