Watermelons...snack and a surfboad?
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Goodwave watermelon foamies
Watermelons…a favorite beach snack and a surfboard? Yup, we’ve finally discovered a board that my son Zephyr (2 years old) can carry…well at least sort of, ha! Little dude has been practicing his pop ups on the sand here in the Adirondacks (NY) with his baby sister and cousins cheering him on. We’ll be stoked for waves when we return to the jungle in October.
We’re also stoked to have connected with Brad Harris, watermelon foamie visionary and founder of GoodWave. Brad is a fellow free-spirited who has blazed his own trail through wild business. As he reflects on his journey creating Good Wave he says “I wish I had known there were so many others building businesses that weren’t predefined, or at least not in their community. When examples of what you’re trying to do aren’t around you, sometimes you have to go look for them. Stay consistent in defining and checking in with your goals and walk towards your north star.”
More inspiration from Brad in my interview with him below.
Hey Brad, what’s your perfect day as a Wildpreneur?
Wake up before the sun, ground, stretch, prepare a hot coffee. Grab the boards and bike, and come back dirty. End the day with a warm golden hour surf or lake paddle and cozy up with the people and dogs I love.
What was your inspiration to create Good Wave?
Good Wave was born from being turned off by the aggressive and sexualized surf industry.. particularly for kids.
We call a lot of rad surf families our customers or Good Wave family, so I thought it would be cool to ask the little ones which fruit, veggies, or anything friendly they’d want on a board. Watermelon was everyone’s favorite. Fruities Surfboards was born! Bananas, coconut and tacos were runner ups. Designed in collaboration with hundreds of Good Wave surf families, our 5'6" Fruities foam surfboard is short enough to double as a body board while kids and beginners gain comfort in the water.
You can purchase a Fruities here or please share with a friend!
Advice you would give?
It’s okay if your friends, colleagues and even family don’t understand what you do.
Discipline will separate your motivation from getting things done and talking about it. Surround yourself with optimistic and inspiring people.
Favorite motivational quote?
Yeah, something about how success is defined by how we respond to failure. I think about this everytime I fail, which is nearly every day. At this point, I try to own it and move on quickly.
Anything else you’d like to share about your journey?
Just that a lifestyle business is not all what you see on Instagram. Building a solopreneur business and then scaling it into a startup has produced the most humbling financial situation of my life but when I check in with my north star(s), I’m on the right path. I just know it. Through the highs and lows. Somehow, sometimes even more during the lows.
I hope that this inspires others to start their idea, project, or creative pursuit.. as another quote I love, it’s a powerful moment when you realize you fear regret more than failure.
What are you working on right now?
Right now I’m focused on launching our new Fruities watermelon surfboard in our 5’6, 7’, 8’ and 9’ lengths, upgrading our packaging to upcycled and compostable materials, and developing our creative and content while sharing the stoke of adventurous families using our Fruities surfboards. I can’t believe this is work, it took 2 years of failing and 2 years of building to get to stage and it seems like it’s just starting.
I’m also looking into sustainable camping products, more on that to come.
Where can we follow you?
IG: @goodwave_co (tag Good Wave and use these hashtags to get featured! #goodwaveco #ipeeinmywetsuit #surfruities #parentinginthewild)
Website: www.goodwave.co
Most importantly, please tell a friend or two about our mission to make surfing more family friendly at Good Wave.. it means the world to us.
