INTERVIWER (American): Good morning and thank you for joining us today on 94.2 Public Radio. My name is Kelly White and I’m here with local surf shop owner Peter Marshall. He’ll be spending the next few minutes telling us about his Free Surf program.
INTERVIEWEE (American): Hi Kelly. Thank you for having me on the air today.
INTERVIWER: A pleasure to have you here, Peter. So tell us a bit about yourself and your program.
INTERVIEWEE : Well, I’m the owner of Longboards, a surf shop located on 5000 W Olive Ave in Mission Beach, San Diego. Recently, I decided to start a non-profit program called Free Surf. First, let me start out by saying that this a purely free service. I started Free Surf in May and it’s been going strong for the past three months. The Free Surf program is set up so people can borrow a surfboard for up to three weeks at a time at no cost. We like to think of it as a surfboard library, if you will. Surfboards may only be checked out on Thursdays and Sundays, from 06:00AM to 01:00PM. Now, the way it works, is that you show up with your ID and some piece of official mail that shows your home address. It needs to match the address on your ID. Then, we require a fully refundable safety deposit of $100 for an adult surfboard. If the board is returned by its due date, then the deposit will be refunded in full. At the end of three weeks, the customer also has the option of buying the surfboard, in which case the deposit will be subtracted from the total cost.
INTERVIEWER: Wow, that’s great. Is it possible to borrow a surfboard for more than three weeks, though?
INTERVIEWEE: Yes, but only when there is no one else already waiting to rent a surfboard. As long as there are boards available, you can show up and get one. However, if none are available, we put your name down on a waiting list. Once a surfboard is returned, then you will be contacted via email that a surfboard is ready for you to borrow. However, customers are able to renew for an additional three weeks if nobody is on the waiting list. Customers may only renew their boards once. At the end of six weeks, a customer must either return the surfboard or purchase it.
INTERVIEWER: Well, can you tell us a little bit more about why you’re offering this service and how you manage to keep it going?
INTERVIEWEE: Sure. The main goal of this service is to encourage more people to learn how to surf. I believe this will help increase awareness of the health benefits of surfing, as well as inspire people to become more conscientious about taking care of the ocean. Research shows that surfing for one hour at least three times per week burns off an extra 1500 calories per week. Research also shows that 35% of the people in San Diego are overweight. So, a lot of us could use some more exercise. Not to mention, surfing in the ocean is free and doesn’t require all of the fees and monthly costs of a gym. It’s also a lot of fun. We keep our service going with volunteers and donations from surfers who give us their old boards. Right now, we have 37 surfboards in rotation. Most surf shops rent surfboards to tourists by the hour, but we’d rather get more people surfing on a regular basis. Right now, I have three volunteers who help me run this program. Their names are Kyle, Tanya and Ricardo. All three of them are licensed to give surf lessons as well, so we offer free surf lessons one day a week on Sundays. The lessons are from 1:00PM to 2:00PM, after we close up the shop. The free lessons are available only for people who have borrowed a surfboard through the Free Surf program.
INTERVIEWER: Well, it sure sounds like a wonderful program. It was great to have you here with us today, Peter.