If Everybody Had an Ocean…

Ryan Gerard ’99 has been called “The Big Kahuna “ of the Great Lakes by Lake Magazine. His store in New Buffalo, MI–Third Coast Surf Shop–may be the surfing epicenter of Lake Michigan.  “On any given week, we’ll have one or two days with surfable waves on our beach. And when the break is really big the local surfers start calling each other’s cell phones, emailing, and checking the surf forecast on my website at www.thirdcoastsurfshop.com,”  Ryan explained.

“People thought I was crazy when I said I was going to open a surfing store in the Midwest. But, so far, things have been working out pretty well,” Gerard admits with the knowing smile of someone who is making a living while living his dream.       

Third Coast Surf Shop, located in a tidy craftsman style cottage on Smith Street (about six blocks from the beach), has a good mix of products and services including surfboards, wetsuits, swimsuits, surf books, DVDs, sunglasses, beach toys, a collection of skateboards, and hardware. And, of course the store offers, surfing lessons and rentals. New Buffalo has a large summer clientele of vacationers and cottage owners all looking for something fun to do on their summer vacations.  Learning how to catch a wave fits the bill perfectly.     

Ironically, the best surfing conditions aren’t on the bright sunny days of summer, but on the gnarly gray days when the Siberian Express is racing down the lake in early spring and late fall.  Waves can get over ten feet tall. Those are the days when you’ll see a loyal band of the Midwest surfing elite hanging ten in head-to-toe wetsuits. A very cool Cowabunga! “Actually, we are often warmer in our wetsuits than the folks watching on the beach in their winter parkas,” Gerard claims.     

Gerard learned his craft on Lake Michigan while studying at Holy Cross. “As soon as I finished my associate’s degree, I headed west with the goal of snowboarding in the Rockies.  However after spending a little time in Santa Cruz, CA, I decided to stay there to work and surf. I guess you could say I was hooked,” Gerard recalled. “Eventually, I became good enough to teach surfing lessons and later got a job in a surfboard factory.”       

As someone who had been stuck in the Midwest most of my life, I wanted to know “Why did I ever leave?” “I realized there really was more to life than surfing every day,” he confessed. “I wanted to complete my BA in history and be closer to my family and friends.”   

Bringing the surf culture to the Midwest is evidently a newsworthy undertaking.  Gerard has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN, WTTW Chicago, Lake and Shore Magazines, numerous regional and national newspapers, and now Connections, too!     

If any of you South Benders are feeling bored this summer and are interested in feeling “board”… call Gerard at 269-932-4575.  It’s less than a 30-minute drive, but it’s as “far out” as you can get without a real ocean.