Business and Pleasure

Surfing has always been both my livelihood and my lifestyle. If you take it back to the resin and smut-filled glass shop I cleaned up when I was 15, surfing has been putting just enough cash in my pocket to surf slightly more than I stress for the last 27 years. Sometimes I feel like I beat the game and live a lifestyle so good that we have the audacity to occasionally complain about Hawaii. Other times I feel like I’m clinging to the life raft of a ship already at the bottom of the sea.

We’d call ourselves something other than Inherent Bummer if we weren’t prepared for all the hiccups that come with being an indie operation in a volatile industry. Which is why when the going gets uncomfortable, we tend to thrive a little more.

I suppose as I sit here, writing to you with plenty of time to think from one of the few regions in the world not being bombarded by swell (the US East Coast), I can truly say we’re looking forward to the challenges ahead in 2025. It ain't going to be easy to remain standing, but I suppose that’s why you don’t see a whole lot of people copying us. This shit is tough and awesome all at the same time.

Our New Year's Resolutions look pretty fun though. We’re going to produce a new Natural Selection Surf event right out of the gates. Swell approaching! We’re going to start a podcast. A print mag. Make a surf film and some vids profiling surfers you should care about. And up our clothing game. If you like our camo hats, well, wait until you see what we’re stitching together in 2025.

I refuse to give into the doom tone prevailing in our beloved surf industry and am once again here to fill you with optimism about the inevitable bummers ahead and the buzzes that follow every time we conquer each of them. Speaking of which, I have a cold plunge into the freezing Atlantic to take care of before dark. Happy New Year from Inherent Bummer, the surf brand that has no idea what the difference between business and pleasure is but knows for certain that it’s not the end of the world. See you next year.—Travis Ferré

[Above Art: KEN PRICE, OCEAN, 2004,]