After having a tough run at it with a reality check from life, Nick Rozsa has a new outlook, one that involves surfing and helping those less fortunate…
He lost everything. Now he’s giving it back.
Nick Rozsa is helping the homeless. It’s interesting because he recently almost was one.
It went like this:
After several years of mistaking drugs and alcohol for pro surfing, Nick’s sponsors called to set him straight. He was standing outside Planned Parenthood when they told him it was over. When his girlfriend came out pregnant, Nick was already crying.
He stopped surfing. He moved home. He swung a hammer for his father. He got fat and hung with Jesus. The story might have ended there, but Nick’s old friend and filmer, Chris Papaleo, convinced him to go surfing for his camera. At first, he was a fat and slow. But eventually his raw, much-hailed talents began to shine again. He started surfing.
SURFING MAG: How are you helping the homeless?
NICK ROZSA: Well, for now, SaltyBeards.com gives 10% of anything we make on our merchandise back to the homeless. I admit that’s not a lot right now, but we’re just getting started. We already sold out of our first run of shirts, and we’re hoping to do hats, sweatshirts, blankets and more stuff.
When you say you’re giving back to the homeless…what exactly are you doing?
Buying them food. Giving them clothes. Stuff like that.
Just randomly?
Yeah, I’ll just go out and get some stuff and bring it out to the place where we know a bunch of homeless guys are living. I’d rather do that than give them money, which they’d probably just take and buy drugs or something.
How did you get started doing this?
Well, after I lost my sponsors I kinda got a new perspective on things. Like, I’d been thinking my life was hard and getting bummed out on stuff, but I really had no idea how hard life really could be. It made me realize how blessed I really was, and from that I really started taking notice of people who were really less fortunate. At first, I was just giving them my leftover lunch or something, but now we’re trying to do a bit more.
For the full story and interview by Nathan Meyers check out SurfingMagazine.com
