SACRED CRAFT CONSUMER SURF EXPO - SHOW INFO


Legend Dick Brewer with proteges, Dave Ahrens, Chris Christenson and Rich Pavel soaking it up. Photo: Wayne Brudi


WHAT IS IT?

In the beginning, it was all about the surfboard. The only thing that mattered. From ancient Polynesia to the ASP World Championship Tour; from Waikiki to Maverick's; from The Endless Summer to Surfline; as the eras passed what we've worn or said or listened to or traveled to or read or watched are just sidebars on surfing's timeline. Because the history of our sport is the history of the surfboard. Nothing has defined the surfing experience more than that on which we ride the waves. Nothing defines the surfer more than his (or her) surfboard. So much more than a tool, the surfboard has become a philosophical icon, a sacred craft, a culturally pervasive symbol of freedom, adventure and enduring youth.

This is why the surfboard builder was once the primary arbiter of surfing culture, from those early Hawaiian kahunas to the first wave of board manufacturers in the early 1960s. Think back: Hobie, Hansen, Bing, Weber, Noll. These labels-the surfboards they produced and the way this product was marketed-shaped surf culture, both literally and figuratively. It was all about the ride-what you wore came second.
Endless Summer's Robert August teaches young surfers about shaping. Photo: Wayne Brudi

It is all about the surfboard; has always been about the surfboard. We at the SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surf Expo feel it is time to reassert that philosophy. To put the surfboard-and the modern-day kahunas who craft them-back at the forefront of surf culture. To place that influence, that importance, that responsibility, back in the hands of the artisans, surfers, and shapers who design our sacred crafts-and ultimately our future.

When you boil it right down, surfers only care about two things: Waves and the equipment to ride them with. Sacred Craft merges the two by organizing expositions that focus on surf equipment and situating the expos in coastal locations that offer waves nearby.

More than anything, Sacred Craft is a celebration of the surfboard. The philosophical icon of enduring youth. No other object stirs as much passion, as much stoke, and as much power.

When your company is associated with the Sacred Craft Surf Expo, it is associated with the passion, stoke and power of the surfboard and all of its ancillary trappings.

ATTRACTIONS / EXHIBITS / FESTIVITIES


Local grom trying out equipment during Magical Morning surfboard demo.

WHO ATTENDS

In its 4th year, Sacred Craft is the most popular core surf enthusiast expo in the Southern California. In 2009 close to 9000 surfers attended the two Sacred Craft Expos (Ventura, Del Mar). More than 750K surfers were exposed to Sacred Craft worldwide through international media exposure. A smaller Sacred Craft Expo at the HURLEY US OPEN of SURF at Huntington Beach netted 200K eyeballs alone.
4X World Champion Mark Richards at 2009 Sacred Craft Surf Expo. Photo: Wayne Brudi

Some notables in attendance included pro surfers Mick Fanning, Mark Richards, Rob Machado, Brad Gerlach, Joel Tudor, and Pat O'Connell; shaping legends such as Pat Rawson, Reno Abellira, Dick Brewer, Donald Takayama, Gerry Lopez, Robert August, and Mike Hynson; surf industry movers such as Hurley's Bob Hurley, Peter Townsend, Quiksilver's Tom Holbrook, The Surfers Journal publisher Steve Pezman, ISA president Fernando Aguerre, and SIMA BoD member Bob Mignona.

2009 MEDIA ATTENDANCE/COVERAGE

FUEL.TV, SURFLINE.com, SURFER magazine, Transworld BUSINESS, Transworld SURF, SLIDE magazine, Riviera Magazine, San Diego Union Tribune, Ventura Star, The Surfers Journal, KPBS TV San Diego, MyLocalLineupTV; SURFSHOT.com, OCEAN magazine, surf industry and surf centric internet blogs too numerous to list - just Google "Sacred Craft"