Dave Reynolds – Awards Winner!

 

Surf Artist Turns Trophies into Art

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Surf artist Dave Reynolds has a deft touch that can turn a blank canvas into captivating artwork. His minimalist style makes his paintings instantly recognizable and in much demand. Unlike other artists, though, Reynolds has a side gig that brings him as much recognition as his art – making trophies.

Not just your standard trophies – the metal loving cups with handles on the side – but extraordinary trophies that are themselves works of art. Sculptures and constructions, often made from sustainable materials, that are perfectly suited to the award the winner receives.

Since 1988 Reynolds has been creating custom surfing and paddleboard trophies and awards for everything from local events to World Surf League competitions and the Olympics.

He's created more surf trophies than anyone – as many as 30,000! In addition to competitive events, that includes trophies for companies from Quiksilver and Coppertone to Verizon and Hawaiian Airlines.

A fan of the Pearl Jam rock band (with wife Kellie), Reynolds has made awards for them, too.

Reynolds has partnered with the Surfrider Foundation, Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Wyland Foundation, and many other organizations to create special, one-of-a-kind trophies.

With collaborator Phil Roberts, Reynolds made trophies (in the form of tractors) for the first event at 11-time World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch in 2018 with surfers competing on Slater's man-made waves in the middle of Central California's farmlands.

And when Rip Curl held its GromSearch TV competition Reynolds was the one they chose to make the trophy.

So did the prestigious New Big Wave Championship in Nazare, Portugal, this past fall with surfers from around the world riding waves the size of skyscrapers.

And the International Surfing Association World Games in Puerto Rico in February 2024 where surfers competed for slots at the Paris Olympics. Reynolds already had a slot at the Games – designing the ISA’s VIP Surfing Award, a sculpture of Tahiti’s fearsome Teahupo’o wave!

SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti are longtime fans of Reynolds and are always surprised and amazed by the new artworks he comes up with.

Retro TV sets refitted with 3-D art scenes inside the frame.

Endless Summer shadow boxes and beach themed chess sets and pinball games. Bronze sculptures of sea life. The list goes on, limited only by Reynolds' boundless imagination.

The surfing world is fortunate to have Dave Reynolds commemorating its victories with trophies that, like the recipients themselves, reach incredible heights.

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

 

SurfWriter Girls Best Beach Books 2024

 

A Tsunami of Thrills, Adventure and Romance

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

 

Summertime is adventure and escape time whether you’re out on your surfboard or lying in a comfy hammock with a cool drink and a good book.

For your armchair adventures, SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel have all the books you need to beat the heat and while away the summer hours.

 

The Bookshop by the Bay, by Pamela Kelley, is a perfect beach read, filled with romance and new beginnings against a backdrop of sea and sand. When best friends Jess and Allison turn the page on their old lives and open a bookshop on Cape Cod, they find out it’s never too late for second chances. SurfWriter Girl Sunny liked how the chapters told the story from each character’s point of view.

 

California Golden, by Melanie Benjamin, immerses you in 1960s California surf culture. World-class surfer and mom Carol Donnelly would rather surf than be a housewife. As she and her two teenage daughters struggle to find their way in this unconventional family, the ocean is an ever-present force. The New York Times calls it a “dazzling saga of ambition, sacrifice, and the tangled ties between mothers and daughters.”

 

Carissa Moore: Hawaii Gold: A Celebration of Surfing, by Carissa Moore, tells the Olympic gold medalist's story about growing up and surfing in Hawaii. A tribute to the sport of Hawaiian kings, Moore invites other Hawaiian surfers and cultural leaders to share their stories about the islands and their legendary surf breaks. Sharing the stoke with amazing photos, the book "captures the exotic Hawaiian spirit in a beautiful way," says Essentially Sports magazine. 

 

Chipped: Writing From a Skateboarder's Lens, by Jose Vadi, takes you inside the skateboarding culture with the 40-something author, who refuses to give up his beloved sport even as the years add up. This collection of essays recounts the lure and thrill of navigating the world on the deck of a skateboard and how it can "reenergize and re-imagine your environment...into a landscape bursting with creative possibilities."   

Hemingway's Cats, by Lindsey Hooper, "is the cat's meow," say SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti. With a hurricane threatening the Ernest Hemingway House estate in Key West, Florida, where the descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cats live, it's all hands – and paws – on deck. Surrounded by 54 frisky felines, house tour guide Laura has her work cut out for her. Luckily, handsome cat keeper Jake is sheltering in place, too. 

 

Hula: A Novel, by Jasmin Iolani Hakes, transports you to Hilo, Hawaii, just an island breeze from the Kilauea Volcano and into a community whose culture spans multiple generations connected through the hula dance. A coming-of-age novel centered around Hi'i, who seeks to win the Miss Aloha Hula competition, it tells her journey discovering her roots and what’s important to her. A Harper's Bazaar Best Book of the Summer, Hula "sings with a voice as spellbinding as the rolling surf," says Oprah Daily. (Hakes is shown below with authors Stuart Coleman and Mark Shapiro)

Lost Landmarks of Orange County, by Chris Epting, is a fun, nostalgic guide to the O.C., with a look at places that once entertained and thrilled locals and tourists. The restaurants, hangouts, and theme parks that made O.C. a special slice of the SoCal scene are all here, including Lion Country Safari, Golden Bear nightclub, and Japanese Village and Deer Park. Put travel writer Epting's book in your beach bag and you'll have lots to talk about with friends on lazy summer days.  

 

Matterhorn, by Christopher Reich, is a chill alternative to summer books' tropical locales, with former CIA spy Mac Dekker giving up his peaceful Alpine life to return to the field to find out how his son died following in his espionage footsteps. For SurfWriter Girl Sunny, who lived in Switzerland, it was the perfect setting. Library Journal says, "fans of Bond tales and special-ops action novels should add this to their reading lists."       

The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill, begins with a terrified scream...and keeps your attention until the last page.  A book within a book, it's about an author writing about a writer trying to solve a murder that occurs in the Boston Public Library...with all the suspects in plain view. The Seattle Times describes the twisting, turning plot and different perspectives as "a layered literary hall of mirrors that's great fun to get lost in." SurfWriter Girl Patti was hooked on this USA Today Bestseller from the start.   

 

And for the youngest groms, The Pelican Can, the colorful, new picture and rhyming verse children’s book by author/illustrator Toni Yuly, will have little ones eager to learn to read and to head to the beach to watch the pelicans soar and dive. Parade magazine calls the book “sunnily optimistic.”

 

With a stack of books waiting for you to discover, you’re sure to find some new adventures and surprises just a page away.

 

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.