A career on the QS opened Chris Dennis’s eyes to the fact that his home of Trinidad and Tobago “has two different sides.” One version fronts one of the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean and its beautiful beaches. The other version has the same beautiful beaches, only economic disparity is inescapable and widespread as extreme poverty dominates many of its communities.
Dennis’s travels around the world as a surfer helped him understand the social problems back home – setting him on a life mission to help the underserved youth of his home. Through his youth surf program, Chris started teaching children to surf as a way to steer them away from crime, abuse, difficult situations at home, and other pitfalls of poverty. But what he hadn’t planned for was a flood of enthusiasm and participation in the program that quickly turned into a shortage of surfboards and resources for every kid involved. That’s when Chris called on Dane Gudauskas, his brothers Patrick and Tanner, and Dylan Graves to help. Through their foundation, the Positive Vibe Warriors, the group hosted a surfboard drive (the organization’s third) that collected more than 200 surfboards to be used in Chris Dennis’s Waves for Hope program.
“It’s more than surfboards, and it’s more than a board drive to us,” Chris said. “It’s a human thing. If we share, and really care for each other, a lot of our problems will be solvable. So, it means the world.”
“BREAKING BOUNDARIES: A Surfboard Drive for Trinidad & Tobago” is a new documentary that tells Chris’s inspiring story and how surfing is “literally saving many youth lives” in the country.
Learn more about Chris’s mission, below:
