It’s amazing how coming face to face with your own mortality can change you. For so many who survive horrific experiences – from car crashes to house fires – nearly dying results in a new lease on life. An appreciation for even the most mundane, and a shift in perspective. Such is the case with big wave charger Shawn Dollar.
The consistent Maverick’s standout performer suffered a horrific wipeout two-and-a-half years ago during the Mavericks Invitational. It earned him a nomination for wipeout of the year at the 2014 Billabong XXL Awards, but it also, according to Shawn, shifted his frame of mind.
“That experience, and seeing how fragile life is, encourages me to get involved,” says Shawn of his support of SurfAid, a non-profit that supports female and child health and disaster relief in the Mentawais, since that fateful day.
Shawn, like many pro surfers including Rob Machado, Joel Tudor, Nat Young will support SurfAid by surfing at one of the organization’s SurfAid Cup events – one of the key fundraisers SurfAid organizes in the US and Australia. These tag team-style surf contests are so fun, calling them fundraisers doesn’t quite do them justice. In truth, teams of surfers select one pro surfer to join them and compete in a tag-team-style contest at some of the best waves in the US and Australia (like Malibu, Steamer Lane, Encinitas, Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Perth, and the Gold Coast) with nobody else in the water. We’ve had the pleasure of attending and surfing in the Malibu event on several occasions and have had so much fun each time, it almost makes you forget that the whole thing is for a good cause. Almost.
Shawn will be surfing at the Santa Cruz event on April 29th, which, at time of publication, still has two slots open for teams. Scheduled SurfAid Cups for 2018 are as follows:
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 29TH
ENCINITAS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 12TH
BONDI, AUSTRALIA – MAY 18TH
PERTH METRO, AUSTRALIA – TBD JULY/AUGUST
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 8TH
MANLY, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 28TH
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER
