In recent years the surf industry has experienced exponential growth and it is estimated that by 2028 the surf market will reach $4.8 billion dollars. Here arises a problem and a great paradox. In the words of Sergi Galanó, founder and CEO of Flamasurf, “Just as surfing is a sport in full contact with nature and surfers are often seen as environmentalists, the truth is this hasn’t been the case for years. All the materials we use for our sport, which some call a lifestyle, are made from petroleum-based, toxic, polluting products, or ones that are hard to recycle at the end of their life cycle…”.
It is from this tension that the merger of Flamasurf and Old Surfer was born to create Flama Circular, a union with the purpose of RE-THINKING THE SURFING INDUSTRY, an industry that has been repeating unsustainable processes for more than 70 years. It is not easy, but it is urgent and necessary. We have been RE-THINKING of how to return to the essence of Surfing through the use of organic, light, noble, local and non-polluting processes and materials. RE-THINKING a booming industry necessarily requires moving away from conventional and individual solutions and this is where the collective takes center stage through an Open-Source model that we call OPEN SURF.
For the past 15 years, Flama Circular has been developing a type of wooden surfboard using sustainable materials, continuously innovating and adopting new materials and technologies. However, re-thinking an industry requires more than just producing sustainable surfboards. To create real change, the solution is to share knowledge through an OPEN SURF model. As explained by Xavier Rubio Franch, CEO & FOUNDER of Old Surfer “It’s an OPEN SURF; it’s meant for everyone to learn about these advancements, and if desired, they can be applied to the entire industry. It’s the shared knowledge that can make us evolve as a collective, specifically in surfing, and if this inspires other sectors, even better.”
OPEN-SURF has allowed Flama Circular to spread knowledge through conferences, seminars and workshops around the world, like the Kutxa Bilbao Surf Film Festival, with 12,000 attendees from 20 countries. OPEN-SURF at Barcelona in Build and Surf Cadiz, where we taught how to build boards using new sustainable lamination technologies. OPEN-SURF in Mozambique, where we empowered young people with values and skills to restore and build boards using sustainable, locally sourced materials. OPEN-SURF as part of THE OCEAN CONNECTIONS in Miami, the first platform connecting changemakers for the oceans with sustainable projects, including partnerships with NBA player Ömer Yurtseven, Michelin Green Star chefs, a leading sustainable tuna company in the U.S., and National Geographic researchers, among others.
In essence, FLAMA CIRCULAR impacts the entire surfing ecosystem, gaining media coverage in outlets like Forbes and building a digital community of over 8,000 highly engaged surfers committed to change! We also reach millions of people organically on social media through initiatives for OCEAN-DAY and INTERNATIONAL SURF DAY. We look for innovators, we encourage new techniques, we discover and incorporate new sustainable materials and everything that can contribute to this great source of change and thus generate a real transformation, both in the industry and in consumer behavior.
FLAMA CIRCULAR is an open movement that shares knowledge thus multiplying its impact. It’s a sustainable wave capable of reaching every coast in the world, wherever there’s a surfer waiting for it.
FLAMA CIRCULAR. RE THINKING THE SURFING INDUSTRY
To learn more visit: https://flamacircular.org/
Support our work to win the Anthem Community Voice Award until Thursday, October 31st at:
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