Local organization teaches innercity children how to surf and enjoy the ocean.
By Ryan O’Quinn/Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu has long been a surfing destination for people from around the world. Thousands of people flock to its beaches annually and plan trips months in advance to experience what we have a very short distance away. For many Los Angeles youth the beaches of Malibu may as well be thousands of miles away, as some are experiencing surfing, and in some cases, seeing the ocean for the first time.
Boarding House Mentors is a program designed to introduce at-risk and disadvantaged youth in inner city Los Angeles to the beach, and particularly to the sport of surfing. The program was the brainchild of Alan Scott who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and credits skating and surfing with saving his life.
“I had a pretty messed up family life growing up,” Scott said. “I started raging at about 14 years old. Kids will show it this way because they want love and attention. A friend of mine took me in and I started skating and surfing and turned from a life of crime.”
Last spring, while on a surf trip, Scott said he had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to give back what he had experienced. He began making phone calls and eventually found Youth Mentoring Connection in downtown Los Angeles.
“We have a culture that pretends these kids don’t exist,” said Tony LoRe, president of Youth Mentoring Connection, who co-sponsors the outings. “We have a greeting that is ‘sowabona,’ which means, ‘I see you.'”
LoRe said he knew from Scott’s first phone call that the program would be successful and they started looking for sponsors to help organize the project. LoRe and Scott announced their intentions on Surfline.com and got a barrage of interested people and sponsors. A number of corporations as well as locals agreed to help, including Mike Avatar of Malibu Mike’s who donates the surfboards, some of the wetsuits and his time to give surfing lessons. The Aleda Company made it possible to purchase wetsuits and rash guards at wholesale prices, various fast food chains donated lunches and Malibu Boardriders was also instrumental in its support.
The program is designed around a mentor-mentee situation where the youth and their adult counselors learn to surf together. In the summer of 2003 the Boarding House program had four outings and eventually had to stop accepting new sign-ups because their numbers grew so rapidly.
“There’s a couple of young men out here that, until they came to the beach, I never saw them smile,” LoRe said. “About 15 minutes after we got to the beach, they had a huge smile plastered on their face. [These] kids are sliding away from the influence of gangs. By being exposed to these volunteers they can see somebody does care about them.”
This past summer they made the trek to Will Rogers Beach every other Sunday and even extended their summer into the first week of October because of the popularity.
“It has been absolutely incredible,” said Maria Busby, co-founder and surf instructor for Boarding House Mentors. “There have been so many changes in these kids. It’s making my dream come true and we hope to grow to San Diego and San Francisco.”
The staff said that every excursion to the beach holds something different. Most of the youth do not want to stop surfing the entire four hours they are at the beach and some have taken initiative and started a beach clean-up program.
“We talk a lot about responsibility and keeping the beach clean,” said Grace Padilla-Kastenberg, a volunteer with the organization. “Everyone has smiles on their faces and the real tough kids who would never smile are running to the beach to get their wetsuits on.”
Julius Patterson, a 16-year-old from South Central Los Angeles, said he had seen surfing on television, but never imagined he would attempt the sport.
“When I first came I thought it was going to be boring, but then I got up on my first wave,” said Patterson, who has been in the youth mentoring program since 7th grade. “Getting out there and paddling is great. I learn something new every time. I never thought I’d be able to do it.”
“You are surrounded by a bunch of positive people and you don’t get this in the city,” said Yolanda Urbina, a Youth Mentoring Connection regular who will attend the Coast Guard Academy this year and hopes to return as a mentor. “In the Latino family nobody really knows how to surf. Hopefully we can bring surfing to our culture, too. I’ve gotten so much, how could I not give back?”
The poster child for the Boarding House Mentors is 14-year-old Jeiser Granados. He is literally the youngster that is surfing on the cover of Mentors’ flyers and Web site home page. Granados said he had no reason to come to the beach before the program and has since fallen in love with surfing. His instructors describe him as a natural as they watch him attempt a headstand on the longboard.
“I like that we can be together like a community,” Granados said. “We don’t usually come out here [to the beach]. We would only come if we were invited.”
Busby said when volunteers and youth first arrived on Sunday the waves were flat and surfing did not look promising. However, the ever-optimistic Granados summed up the day when he turned to Busby and said “the waves are small, but they just need a little love and spirit.”
LoRe said Scott’s surfing idea was a perfect fit for the nearly 500 youth in the Youth Mentoring Connection. He said in the city, the youth learn they have to fight to survive and once they come to the beach they realize you can’t fight the ocean.
More information on volunteering at upcoming events or donations can be obtained by calling Maria Busby at 310.985.8708, Alan Scott at 310.452.4175 or visit www.boardinghousementors.com.