Sharing the Stoke: Homer and Skyler's Surfing Mission
If you love Santa Cruz, surfing, and dogs then chances are you've heard of one of our all-time favorite SC surfers: SKYLER THE SURFING DOG!!! We've been watching them featured on Netflix's show Pet Stars, on Skyler's Instagram clips. We love seeing every minute of this pup's adventures with her dad Homer Henard. So, it was our great honor to have the legendary duo visit the cookie factory.
Homer the Surfing Dog's Dad
Homer Henard is a Santa Cruz surfer. He's famous for punting lofty airs and for seeking out stand-up barrels. He's also an artist, a marketer, and a really funny content creator. You may have heard of or seen the phenomenon of Tarp Surfing. Homer was one of the surfers responsible for the emergence of that funny and fun activity when Chris Killen and a crew got together back in 2010 and made a tarp surfing video that now has over 3.3 million views on YouTube.
These days, Homer is focused on surfing with Skyler preparing for this year's World Dog Surfing Championship. In addition to putting in the hours at local breaks, they have been finding ways to progress the sport. Amazingly, and one of the highlights of last year, the surfing duo were properly barreled at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch! Homer talks about how dog surfing has been around, but has usually taken place on long slow waves. Check out this video of them getting barreled!
Skyler is no stranger to firsts in the surfing world. Last year, when she won the Surf Dog Events Shredder Division at Imperial Beach she rode a hard board on two perfect 10 rides, securing the win!!! This year, they will be competing in Surf Dog Events' Huntington Beach contest in September!
Skyler and Homer have more big news, this summer. They are stoked to be competing at Purina's prestigious Incredible Dog Challenge. The Western Regionals will be held in Huntington Beach mid-July, and they will have their finals this fall in October.
Skyler the Service Dog
In addition to being a championship surfing dog, Skyler helps people with disabilities learn how to surf. Together, she and Homer enjoy sharing the stoke they get from being in and around the water. There's nothing quite like the feeling of enthusiasm a good wave will give you, and they have seen it change people's lives through working with groups like Operation Surf and the Mauli Ola Foundation. Homer believes in the therapeutic power of surfing and the ocean and sees that as a big part of his mission with Skyler.
One of the organizations that Skyler and Homer work with is named Waves of Impact and they take kids who are facing extreme challenges surfing. They will be attending a Waves of Impact camp this August 21st in Southern California. Competition and innovation are fun and keep the duo striving for greater waves, but it is the difference they see surfing make in the lives of the people who attend the surf camps that keeps them the most stoked.
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