Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Dennis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

We recognize that a healthy ocean is critical to the health of all living organisms and that the success of a surf-related business like Ventana requires it.

Our approach to giving is straightforward. We participate in vendor events and donate 10% of our sales to a local ocean conservation organization of our choosing. We select organizations with a proven track record of achieving results. We also offset the carbon footprint of our shipments.

You can review our future and past event list to see the organizations we’ve chosen for each event. You’ll notice that we are hyper-local in our approach. For instance, when we sell at an event in Santa Cruz, we support organizations working to protect the health of Monterey Bay. When we’re in San Francisco, we support organizations protecting that region.

We also donate 5% of gross profits from online sales to selected organizations.

1. And we have created the Ventana Ocean Conservation Scholarship to which we also donate: https://ventanasurfboards.com/scholarship.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ventana Surfboards & Supplies strives to be the most environmentally responsible surf company on the planet. We are an online surf shop and wholesaler with occasional pop-up shops around California.

We sell reclaimed wooden surfboards, bodysurfing handplanes, sustainable surf supplies, and eco apparel – products that are loved by adventurers everywhere. Our boards are high performance, surfable works of art that jumpstart conversations in homes and wave lineups.

We live and work in Santa Cruz, California where we test our products on some of the most challenging waves on earth.

1. We’re very proud of the fact that we’ve built a profitable business using the trash of other businesses and individuals to create products. The Ventana Upcycle Partner Program is the centerpiece of that approach: https://ventanasurfboards.com/partners.

We also love working with other artists, artisans, and small businesses around the world to create one-of-a-kind products and apparel designs.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The most important thing we’ve done is to stay true to our brand values in every aspect of our business. Our values are artisanship, responsibility, and adventure. We’ve passed on several opportunities that didn’t fit with our values.

ARTISANSHIP

Quality and artisanship are very important to us. Every detail matters, and we want everything we make and sell to be used by our customers for many years. Our hollow wooden surfboards are hand-crafted, surfable works of art that set the quality bar for every product we offer.

RESPONSIBILITY

Every Ventana product speaks to environmental and/or social responsibility, and we donate at least 5% of profits to ocean conservation. A clean, protected sea is required for our business to succeed and for all of us to continue to enjoy the ocean. Social responsibility helps us create the kind of world in which we want to live.

All our surfboards, handplanes, surf supplies, and apparel run deep on the environmental responsibility front. Every Ventana surfboard is Ecoboard Gold Certified by Sustainable Surf. And, all of our boards, handplanes, and wooden products are made from reclaimed, historical, found wood, and offcuts from other businesses participating in our Upcycle Partner Program. Our apparel uses only recycled and organic materials.

Further, we think about our suppliers and collaborators in concentric circles. We focus primarily on collaborating with artists, vendors, and collaborators from local, Monterey Bay-based small businesses. From there, we look to California-based businesses and then U.S.-based. Although rare, we occasionally source products from responsible vendors overseas.

Finally, we’re transparent with our customers about the ways in which our products aren’t perfect from a responsibility perspective. For instance, we do not yet use water-based inks in our silk-screening. This isn’t ideal for the environment, but we like the quality of these inks, and we contract the printing to a Santa Cruz-based non-profit, Barrios Unidos, an organization that has promoted multicultural social justice, non-violence, and economic equity for more than 40 years.

ADVENTURE

Ventana’s surfboards and supplies are made to be put to the test by ocean adventurers everywhere. Everything we make or sell is made to be used in the wild.

We create beautiful, high quality surf products that help people live an adventurous, ocean lifestyle. All our boards surf like a dream, but even if they hang on walls, they have the power to instill a sense of adventure in everyone who sees them.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My partner, Martijn Stiphout, and I met through a photo exhibit I created to raise money for the Surfrider Foundation Santa Cruz Chapter. For four months, I photographed surfboard shapers on the central coast of California. Martijn was one of those surfboard builders. I was so inspired by the artisanship and environmental responsibility of his surfboards, that I asked him if he’d like to partner to create a business together. He likes to build things, and I like to build businesses, so it was a perfect match, and we’ve never looked back. We’ll be celebrating 10 years in business together soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ventanasurfboards.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ventanasurfboards
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ventanasurfboards
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/ventanasurfboards/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ventanasurf
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/ventanasurfboards
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ventana-surfboards-and-supplies-aptos
• Other: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/by/ventanasurfboards https://www.tiktok.com/@ventanasurfboards https://www.houzz.com/professionals/artists-and-artisans/ventana-surfboards-and-supplies-pfvwus-pf~722499298? https://threads.com/ventanasurfboards https://www.reddit.com/user/ventanasurfboards/