A New Surf Culture
Our founder Tom Bauer found himself dissatisfied with surf culture after moving to Hawaii to pursue his dreams of being a surf bum as a boy. He decided that it was better to serve the people around him than to use surfing as something to glorify a wild partying lifestyle. Tom and his wife Cindy started Surfing The Nations with the goal of mobilizing the surfing community to “give back” and be a blessing to the world around them. The first internship began in 1999 as an experiment in impacting the local community in Kalihi, and grew steadily, capturing the hearts of hundreds of surfers and adventure seekers looking to grow and serve others.
STN Today
We are Surfing The Nations, a non-profit, humanitarian organization, run entirely by volunteers. Our desire is to see lives changed inside and outside of our organization, locally and internationally. We are a community made up of people who believe in using their talents and passions – from surfing and beyond – to give back and share a message of love and hope. We believe surfers have a unique call on their lives: to GO — to use their thirst for adventure to bring them to the places of the world that are in need. We want to give surfers a purpose and a desire to serve others and build friendships all over the world.
Wahiawa
By 2008, we desperately needed a permanent headquarters. The search brought us to the unlikely town of Wahiawa when an old neighborhood bar attached to a 15-unit apartment building, finally opened up. Thus began the acquisition of the Wahiawa property, the new headquarters of Surfing The Nations and a new chapter in its history. STN staff and interns moved into the apartments and the bar has now been transformed into Surfer’s Coffee. Subsequently through a series of extraordinary events, STN has acquired three additional properties that include an ex-porn shop, an old convenience and liquor store, and a former exotic dancers’ strip club.
Bigger Than We Thought
Moving forward, STN continues to expand internationally with the beginning of new bases in Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Huntington Beach, California along with the prospect of many more bases to come in other places around the world. After cementing the culture and structure of an STN base with our “thruster model”, we are truly ready to start a new network of bases around the world.
Co-Founder & President
Tom Bauer
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Cindy Bauer
1997
STN Starts in Kalihi with the first ever internship
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STN makes temporary stay in Foster Village while looking for a permanent home
2009
STN acquires Wahiawa Property
2012
Surfers Coffee Bar Opens
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Strip Club Close (Begin Construction of COTC)
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STN Offices in the Community Outreach Training Center have their grand opening
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Thruster Model
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