How was Kooksville Made?
Kooksville wouldn’t be Kooksville without trials and tribulation of learning to surf at an older age and without a great group of surf friends to guide someone along the way. As a beginner learning to surf you go through various trials and errors, all with ups and downs, sometimes upside downs. The key to learning and picking anything up is by keeping your head up, being consistent, and have a winning mindset. Once you get a taste of catching a wave correctly, even if only for a moment, you know the feeling and strive to get it again. The ocean and waves being one of the most challenging environments, you will be conquering one of the hardest sports since there are so many variables.
Keeping the above in mind, Kooksville, how, why, when, what? In 2019 the creator of kooksville, took a random trip to Bali during Thanksgiving week. He was in the middle of training for his first Ironman and had completed his first century bike ride for Pedal for a Cause in San Diego. Bali was his taper week at the midpoint of his training cycle, which means you basically take a week and reduce your training schedule to avoid injuries. Hours after the Century ride, he drove to Los Angeles and jumped on the plane.
A short 14 hours later he landed in Bali, there was no thoughts of surfing on his mind. At this point in his life he had been in the military for 5 years in the early 2000’s deployed to all the desert locations, and attempted Navy SEAL training a few times. He loves the ocean and swimming in it, but had never saw himself surfing, perhaps because he grew up in Iowa where there were no waves. As he traveled around different parts of Bali, Ubud and Uluwatu, he met someone who just came from Changgu who just took lessons from an Instagram handled guy “saltymonkeysurf” and coordinated a lesson the next day. He was picked up and brought to a location along Changgu and went out on a foam long board. He stood up the first few times and loved every second of it.
Fast forward to December, he decided this was his year 2020 was going to be the year he surfs. He bought a board for Christmas and decided to paddle out on New Year’s Eve simply to watch the sunset, no surfing in mind. He did not know about the tide, swells, where to paddle out, and basically spent 40 minutes paddling through 4-6’ white wash at Beacons in Leucadia. After failing to make it past the break he watched the sunset from the beach, his board at his side. Challenge accepted.
After the beaches reopened in 2020 he decided to get out there and not just every now and then, he decided every day he will go. He started going out with a few friends that kind of showed him the way. Overcoming the first obstacles of not even being able to sit on the board without turning over. Again and again he conquered all the failed attempts, he was the biggest kook of them all. That did not stop him, he learned to laugh at it all. Go through the washing machine, no problem, as long as it got him better each week, month, and year.
Fast forward 4 more years, he has a solid surf group. Some have come and gone, but overall they meet to surf daily to weekly or even monthly. They stick together and talk about all their surfing ups and downs. The group chat and conversations were golden; he knew he had to do something with them. He decided to write down the best content. This would later become the cards in Kooksville.
Over the years he and his friends faced challenges surfing in San Diego. From the 100 wave challenge, him and his friend road 100 waves in a 6-hour session to raise money for a cause. They have all stepped on stingrays. They all have swapped boards for fun or for an expo. This would later become part of the game board.
Surfing with friends you get to the beach together, you walk down to the break, you paddle out together. You catch waves, laugh at each other, talk, and share stories and conversations. At the end of your session, you ride a wave in and you wait for you friends. This would later become part of the rules. Catching the wave of the day, high five-ing each other, spending time with friends, and most of all waiting for each other. Just like in real life, in the game you wait for everyone to finish, it the waves get good or your friend doesn’t see you on the shore, you paddle back out and get more stoke.
Surfing changed his life, created his group of friends, challenged him, made him more creative, made him play as an adult, and most of all gave him the inspiration to share this story, create a fun environment, and to bring people together where they are present with each other. This isn’t just a board game company; this is a lifestyle company of southern California. Our brand is surf-n and we value family, friends, fun, the ocean, and the planet. We are Kooksville The Game, thanks for playing and being a part of our culture!
