Surf
Patch Wilson steep and deep in Europe.
100% Neoprene-Free
Yulex® wetsuits by the first company to make them. Developed in 2012. Refined for today.
Surf Gear
We design surf gear that won’t send you in early or leave you needing to come back for more. We use recycled and preferred materials and try to protect our peaks, too. But when it comes down to it, we exist so you can surf your brains out for however long you please.
Kits for Every Condition
Surf Stories
The Wave below the Sleeping Rabbit
Kyle Thiermann
Meet the man working to save Mexico’s Punta Conejo.
Living on Easy
Gerry Lopez
A trip to Amami Ōshima, Japan, transports Gerry Lopez to a familiar feeling on a distant land.
Abundance and the January Swell Bender of 2023
Liam Wilmott
A captain’s log from the biggest swell to hit O‘ahu’s outer reefs in recent memory.
A Hog of a Swell Greets the Eddie
Morgan Williamson
Scenes from ground zero of the greatest surf event in seven years.
The Wave below the Sleeping Rabbit
Kyle Thiermann
Meet the man working to save Mexico’s Punta Conejo.
Living on Easy
Gerry Lopez
A trip to Amami Ōshima, Japan, transports Gerry Lopez to a familiar feeling on a distant land.
Abundance and the January Swell Bender of 2023
Liam Wilmott
A captain’s log from the biggest swell to hit O‘ahu’s outer reefs in recent memory.
A Hog of a Swell Greets the Eddie
Morgan Williamson
Scenes from ground zero of the greatest surf event in seven years.
Community
The Electric Acid Surfboard Test with Dave Rastovich
When 11 mystery surfboards greet the feet of one of surfing’s most mysterious style icons, great surfing is sure to ensue. Announcing “The Electric Acid Surfboard Test” starring Dave Rastovich, a four-part series presented by STAB Magazine and Patagonia.
Dave Rastovich
“I feel that a rich surfing life can, and should, embed us into a sense of place and belonging.”
Dave Rastovich
As a surf rat grommet on the east coast of Australia in the ’90s I was in the company of older surfers who were either stoners, alcoholics or sentimentalists for the golden era of surfing decades before. The stoners seemed fun but aimless, the drunks were angry and the “old timers” just didn’t seem to see what was in front of them.
All that changed for me when elder surfer Denis Callinan, who was best buddies with the famed local Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, sat me down and told me about his work with local surfing conservation group S.A.N.D (Surfers Against Nature’s Destruction). He was asking me to participate in an action they were creating to stop the destruction of a local beach. In Denis I saw purpose, a functioning brain and a wild surfer’s gaze that took in the beauty of our coast and the need to protect it. He stoked me out. Made me feel like we could all do something with the positive energy we received from wave riding. I got involved and felt all those same things in myself soon enough.
Fast forward a couple decades and I have done my best to keep those attributes strong in my life. Surf travel has shown me there are plenty of surfers like this around the world, that we can be coastal custodians who are effective in protecting the places we love, while also bringing larrikinism and fun to a social space that can be bogged down in obligation and heavy slogans.
My surfing life is fun, but what brings my surfing life depth is action centered on passing on the cultivated energy that waves gift to us when we paddle in.
For me, that means growing most of our own food and supporting our local growers who care for the country while feeding others. It means turning up to support our communities’ efforts to curb excessive development and the commodifying of anything that should be communal rather than corporate. It means running our own actions to heal coastal dune systems. Carrying out guerrilla graffiti actions to slow people down on our country roads so koalas, kangaroos and other wildlife stop being run over by people rushing. My care takes shape in holding community events that are fun and in the places that we love. Rather than in town halls and buildings, we gather at the beach and surf together with everyone from 8 years old to 80.
Photo: I feel that a rich surfing life can, and should, embed us into a sense of place and belonging. From there it is simply a natural movement to care for all things that we share a home with. NATHAN OLDFIELD
Belinda Baggs
“I’ll continue giving back to the ocean for this amazing surfing life she has given me.”
Belinda Baggs
As a super dorky, surf-obsessed, tomboy grom in the ’90s, life was interesting to say the least. I was in my father’s shadow, jumping at opportunities to get to the coast with a disregard of all other aspects of a “normal” teenager’s life—not quite skilled enough and living a few too many suburbs west to be accepted by the “cool local” surfers my own age, and too much of a misfit for my Cardiff High peers that hung at the mall and chased boys to the footy field.
At times it felt like the ocean was my only friend. Always there, sometimes challenging but forever welcoming. I was (and still am) under a majestic spell to spend as much time in the sea as humanly possible.
To give back I started picking up plastic along the shore. As the years and decades of a life in the waves flew by, I started noticing more changes and dramatic differences to the coastline and breaks I’d surfed my whole life. Under my board, the temps were rising, changing the ecology. Intense storms were ripping apart reefs and beaches—displacing rocks and causing erosion that washed away access infrastructure, eating into the car parks and destroying beachfront homes and surf clubs. I watched my favorite tropical reef break transform from a thriving wonderland to a bleached coral wasteland.
After attending a summit with some of the world’s leading scientists it all made sense. This was all the impact of climate change.
Luckily, there are solutions to fix this. Solutions that, if done sustainably, will help many regional towns and coastal communities thrive.
I knew surfers cared about protecting their peaks and had the spirit to do so. With a fellow goofy-footer, Johnny Abegg, we started Surfers for Climate, a sea-roots movement dedicated to positive climate action. As an environmental charity, we deliver high-impact climate educational experiences across Australia, raising awareness and building deep relationships with a diverse set of Australia bipartisan leaders and decision-makers to inspire positive change.
Three years in, it’s been a wild ride with a steep learning curve. I remind myself daily it’s not about being perfect, it’s about simply doing something for the betterment of all living things.
I’ll continue giving back to the ocean for this amazing surfing life she has given me.
Photo: Jarrah Lynch
Liz Clark
“Showing up for the good fight requires showing up for myself. And surfing always gives me what I need to be able to keep on giving.”
Liz Clark
It feels as if I need surfing—or at least time in the ocean—as much as I need food and water. My love for surfing influenced the college I chose, the destinations I sailed, the partner I married, the place where I’ve decided to grow roots. Although I can now go without it longer than during my early surfing years, surfing still has its silent but significant spell on me. It feels natural that this great love makes me want to give something to the ocean in return.
In 2019, I sat in the lineup with some friends, chatting between sets about various environmental issues in the community. Soon after, A Ti'a Matairea Island Protectors was born—a nonprofit organization for environmental protection, animal welfare and youth empowerment in French Polynesia. Our goal was to be a voice for nature and animals, and to empower the next generation of kids to do the same. In the beginning, I had no idea how much time, energy, perseverance and patience running a nonprofit would demand.
We launched a project to create anchorage zones to help yachts avoid damaging corals with their anchors. We set out to reverse overfishing by getting to know the needs of our island’s fishers, helping them create new fishing restrictions and marine protected areas. We lobbied the government for financially accessible spay and neuter programs for cats and dogs, managed to modify a critical law, and received the first ever funding in French Polynesia for a spay and neuter program. We started a program that takes underserved youth on excursions in the forest and the ocean to study local biodiversity. Then there’s applying for grants, talking in schools, attending meetings and hosting beach cleanups.
The more we do, the more we see what else needs to be done, and there are never enough hands for all of it. It’s as exhausting as solo sailing. Thankfully, when the whitewater mounts on the outer reef, the call is still irresistible. Surfing is my self-care, my precious refuge, my attempt at staying in balance. It’s where I go to be recharged and reinspired. The ocean always reminds me why I work so hard at things I’m not even paid to do. Showing up for the good fight requires showing up for myself. And surfing always gives me what I need to be able to keep on giving.
Photo: Christa Funk
Eddie Donnellan
“The work that I do with the MeWater Foundation is just as special for me as it is for the youth I am working with.”
Eddie Donnellan
I feel most at home in the water, or out in Mother Nature surrounded by kids. The work that I do with the MeWater Foundation—where we work to address trauma and stress in young people from backgrounds of poverty and violence in the San Francisco Bay Area through surfing and nature—is just as special for me as it is for the youth I am working with, for the simple reason that it truly is my sweet spot. I just love all of it: the smiles, the fear, holding a hand for that first step into the unknown, the accomplishment of conquering something for the very first time, all of this grounds me like nothing else.
What I’ve experienced while sharing surfing, the ocean and nature with others has grown to far outweigh the majority of my own personal moments in life, aside from being a parent. I might be able to tell you about a few waves or incredible “ah-ha” life moments I have had over the years, but I could go on and on for hours telling you about the experiences that I have had with youth in the water and mountains. It really is the purest form of joy.
Through a life dedicated to the well-being and mental health of children, I have grown to realize that there is just too much magic out there not to share.
I consider myself the lucky one, just for being there.
Photo: Donnie Hedden
Frank Solomon
“Seeing these kids discover the beauty and power of the ocean and witnessing their transformation is worth every challenge we’ve faced.”
Frank Solomon
In my pursuit of chasing waves, I found myself immersed in the exhilarating world of big-wave surfing. Traveling the world, searching for the perfect wave, initially felt like a purely selfish pursuit—just me, seeking the thrill of catching the best waves for myself. However, my background in South Africa made it impossible to ignore the harsh realities of poverty and hardship faced by so many.
During one of my trips to France, something happened that shook me to my core. I saw a video of a young boy back home, caught in a protest, being shot in the face with rubber bullets by the police, on his way to the very beach where I had learned to surf. This heartbreaking moment became a turning point for me.
When I returned home, I couldn’t shake off the images I had seen. It inspired me to give something to kids who didn’t have the same opportunities as me: access to the ocean and surfing. I drove up and down that familiar beach, searching for a way to make a difference.
In 2019, I founded Sentinel Ocean Alliance (SOA), a nonprofit organization aimed at providing underprivileged kids with access to the ocean and ocean education. I had no clear plan at the time, but I knew I had to take action.
Today, SOA has become a force for positive change. We’ve created over 20 jobs on our site and run programs five days a week, teaching kids how to swim and instilling in them the importance of protecting our ocean. Thousands of kids have already participated in our programs, and now we are expanding our reach to other countries.
The journey hasn’t been easy, but it has been incredibly rewarding. Seeing these kids discover the beauty and power of the ocean and witnessing their transformation is worth every challenge we’ve faced.
Patagonia’s support has enabled SOA to reach more communities, spreading the message of conservation and empowering the next generation to protect and cherish our precious ocean.
I believe that surfing has the potential to be so much more than just a personal thrill. It can be a tool for positive change, a means to uplift and inspire others. Through SOA and with Patagonia’s support, I am determined to continue making a difference, one wave at a time, in the lives of these amazing kids and in the fight to protect our ocean for generations to come.
Photo: Sasha Specker
Protect the Ocean So It Can Protect Us
The ocean is medicine, whether it’s the waves that inspire joy, food that nourishes us or the central, sacred space it holds for coastal communities that have revered this resource for millennia. Keeping it healthy ensures that symbiotic relationship remains strong.
Corazón Salado
Patagonia Ambassador Ramón Navarro joins the Kawésqar community on a journey to protect their ancestral waters in Chilean Patagonia.
Totoganashi
For surfer Yusei Ikariyama to save his home waters, he’ll have to first unite his community.