Nexgen Surf, a surfing school in the heart of Muizenberg, are striving to be #changemakers in the community by diversifying the ocean. This they aim to do through promoting surfing as an activity to be enjoyed by all; by people from all walks of life, the underprivileged and those with special needs. In partnership with Starbucks SA, they launched “Catch Your Wave”; an exciting “lucky draw” style competition with a brand-new surfboard as the grand prize.
Yani Trout, the owner of Nexgen Surf was overjoyed to have this, the first collaboration with Starbucks SA, be a means to change a life by giving away a hand crafted, one-of-a-kind surfboard; a symbol of community involvement and a practical way to help anyone learn to surf.
The Starbucks “Catch Your Wave” competition proved to be an unforgettable day for Amina Sayed of Muizenberg, as you can tell from this account in her own words:
“My own surfboard was something I had wanted for a few years! When I first read of the competition, I knew I needed to enter.
I was about eight when I had my first surfing experience right there at Muizenberg Beach. This competition was the perfect opportunity to make my dream come true.
Sunday the 26th arrived and I was super excited. When the draw finally started I was standing close by, hoping and praying that my name would be called. First name, the person wasn’t present. Second name, wasn’t present either. Yani from Nexgen Surf school drew the third name and I was silently praying it would be me. I could hardly believe my ears when my mom’s name was called. She nudged me forward. I was over the moon! Excited! The moment felt surreal”.
The prize included five free lessons from Nexgen Surf school as well as a goodie bag from Starbucks. “I was walking on clouds for the rest of the day.”
Yani praised the support his school received from Starbucks: “We at Nexgen Surf have always been about serving our communities, but we never had the financial capacity to do what we’ve wanted, until now. We have met with some of the coolest people that share the same heart for community, and that made it so easy to bring our vision together. The goal was to run a surfboard give away competition and we were hoping that someone who really needed it would win. We had the draw, I looked over and saw this young girl smiling from ear to ear, kind of shy to step forward to claim her winnings but when she did, I became so emotional thinking that everything happening at this event will be changing this young girl’s life forever.”
The young winner exclaimed that she can’t wait to go for her lessons with her new surfboard and sincerely thanks Nexgen Surf and Starbucks SA for the awesome prize.
The team at Starbucks SA are delighted for Amina and wish her all the best as she conquers those barrels. Nexgen are indeed making a change in the community and deserve to be spotlighted for this exciting initiative.