ONEWAVE Is All It Takes

By Jessica Issa on August 2, 2013 in News

Venturing down to Bondi Beach on a Friday morning, you may feel as though you’ve taken a trip in Dr Emmett Brown’s DeLorean. With more fluoro on display in the water than at Parklife 2010, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d ventured on to the set of a 1980s surf flick. Fear not an encounter with an oncoming freight train though, it is still 2013 and this group of brightly clobbered wax heads belongs to a fun-loving initiative known as ONEWAVE.

Established by Bondi residents Sam Schumacher and Grant Trebilco in February 2013, ONEWAVE is a not-for-profit surfing community that helps people through whatever hardships they may be going through on a day-to-day basis.

Meeting once a week in bright outfits for a surf, bodyboard or swim, ONEWAVE is a positive, fun and uplifting group showing people just how powerful a morning spent in the surf can be.

“I’ve got a lot of mental health issues in my family,” Grant said. “I was diagnosed with depression 18 months ago. Surfing is really what got me through it, as did my family and friends. We all saw how much surfing helped me get through it, so Sam and I decided to put ONEWAVE together.”

According to Sam, the group that now has over 1200 likes on their Facebook page started from humble beginnings.

“Fluoro Fridays started with a ‘board meeting’. We held a meeting in the surf wearing shirts and ties, that’s how we started getting dressed up in the surf,” Sam said.

“A few weeks later we were all wearing zinc, and realised ‘fluoro’ starts with the same letter as ‘Friday’!

“The whole idea is that fluoro is fun. We’re all having a laugh, some people come in onesies, some people wear zinc, and it creates awareness as it attracts people’s attention.”

Sam and Grant are both strong believers in the power of the surf.

“We want to show people a rough patch can either be depression or simply having a bad day, and the way you approach both these situations is to just get out in the surf and forget about everything. All you can think about is the next wave or the one you just caught,” Grant said.

“We are also about encouraging people to surf. When you’re having a really bad time all your tiny problems seem huge, but when you’re surfing you realise how small your problems are. You forget all your little problems and you start thinking beyond yourself as you are faced with the surf. When you stand up on the board it’s a real sense of euphoria and flying alone, especially when you’re learning how to surf,” Sam added.

Although the Friday morning sessions are very relaxed and fun, there is always an opportunity for people to open up afterwards.

“After checking out each other’s outfits and handing out a prize for the raddest outfit, we always go for coffee afterwards and if people want to talk about things they can. We’re there for each other if we need each other”, Grant said.

Everyone is welcome to take part in Fluoro Fridays. No donation is required; all you’ll need is yourself, the most ridiculous outfit in your wardrobe, and a wetsuit and board, if you have them.

“If you need a wetsuit or board just let us know and we’ll lend you one. We’ve had 13 year-olds and 65 year-olds attend. Age is clearly not an issue,” Sam said.

Fluoro Friday is on every Friday morning at 6:30am at South Bondi. To find out more, send an email to granttrebilco@hotmail.com, visit Facebook.com/Onewaveisallittakes or follow Onewaveisallittakes on Instagram.