KookCast: Episode 132 Interview with Nick Stolz of Surfcare
Coach Chris of The Surf Continuum, a platform for surf improvement & education, interviews Surfcare on the KookCast podcast. Nick and Chris discuss learning to surf, living in Hawaii, the rising costs of boards and the reason for the creation of Surfcare.
Nick talks about growing up on the East Coast, learning to surf at Long Beach Island, New Jersey at the age of 10, which inspired him to leave skating and skiing behind,ultimately leading him to move to Hawaii to attend UH. As Nick’s surfing progressed, his concern for taking risks increased to avoid breaking boards because the cost to replace boards was too expensive. This is where Nick started considering the idea of a “surfboard Insurance” type product. In the last couple of years as boards have become more specialized and the individual surfers quivers have expanded, purchasing boards from shapers like Bing, Tyler Warren and Album have become a popular addition to the more common ownership of a Firewire or Channel Islands board. Because pricing of the boards have moved beyond $1000 but the fragility of boards have not decreased, further importance was put on launching a surfboard protection offering that could be offered as an extended warranty protecting your board against accidental damage. After three years of work, Nick was able to launch Surfcare in 2021, offering a platform to protect your surfboard against breaks (the Essential plan) and breaks and dings (the Premium plan). Either type of plan works like insurance for your surfboard, ensuring that your board will be repaired by a preferred and local surfboard repair specialist in the case it becomes damaged, or replaced with the same board should you snap or buckle your board while surfing. Surfcare has a long term vision for adding to it’s offering. Today Surfcare protects your individual surfboard if you are a U.S. resident, but in the future, Surfcare looks to provide protection of your boards worldwide to your entire quiver at an affordable price.