High Fives Athletes Surf San Diego

Words by #HighFivesAthlete Landon McGauley & Photos/Videos by Generikal Design

Five all-star High Fives adaptive Athletes took to San Diego to meet with our incredibly helpful and knowledgeable support crew to get out into the ocean and take on the waves that the beautiful San Diego waters had to offer.

Four of the Athletes; Trevor Kennison, Justin Pines, Lindsey Runkel, and Keenan Weischedel had all previously been surfing with High Fives and they were more than happy to welcome newcomer Sam Summers and show her the ropes of adaptive surfing.

Meet Sam!

Having just recently become injured in a road cycling accident and having never previously surfed, Sam expressed some anxiety about being out in the ocean; however, you would have never known that watching Sam surf. She got out on both the prone surf board and the adaptive waveski and was able to catch many waves with a big smile on her face, proving yet again how therapeutic the powers of the ocean are.

In typical Trevor Kennison form, he showed up with a massive smile on his face and a big hug for everyone at the camp. Trevor took his infectious smile and attitude out into the ocean and was able to log more time on waves than anyone else while still encouraging others and creating an incredibly positive environment. During his time in the water, Trevor was able to vastly improve his understanding of the way the waves move and where he needed to be in the lineup in order to get the best ride possible.

Another highlight of the trip was watching Keenan Weischedel paddle into some great waves without any assistance. Keenan used an eight-foot stand-up paddleboard, equipped with handles on the side, to paddle in and carve waves all the way into the beach. Stoking out all those both in the water and watching on the beach!

Justin Pines was also out on a waveski crushing waves. Having surfed before with High Fives, Pines was able to comfortably get into the water and onto waves. Pines, found great enjoyment being able to talk and help the other Athletes in between sets.

Lindsey Runkel was unable to be around for the entirety of the camp but was super stoked to be there when possible. Veteran waveski rider and owner of MACSKIS, Ian Macleod, took Runkel under his wing and got her into some great waves.

At the end of the week, all the Athletes and volunteer watermen left the camp feeling incredibly stoked and blessed to be able to get into the water and shares some waves and beautiful weather with one another. Special thanks go out to Ian at MACSKIS, Rob Jarvis, and Jeff Easter for their support in getting each Athlete in and out of the ocean and into the waves safely. Additionally, a big thank you also goes out to Chaka at Stoke For Life. Stoke For Life provided two prone boards and a beach wheelchair for the Athletes to use. Without the help of all our volunteers and supporters, none of this would be possible and lives wouldn’t be changed as they have been.