“Certain people. Certain clothes. Certain music. Certain boards… Certain waves…All those elements fuse together and the style that radiates from that is really cool.”—Kai Neville

As you know, this week we unveiled episode one of our new series Style Matters, a collaboration with Vissla that includes the opportunity for anyone who rides a stylish wave to enter to win $10,000 and a Gerry Lopez surfboard.

So naturally, this has us all talking about style. We’ve been reminiscing on those strange personal concoctions of influence that mix up and spit out as our own styles. The one we surf with, but also the one we walk around with day-to-day. Style goes way beyond the waves.

I selfishly put together this list of the five essential ingredients that have chemically influenced my personal style the most, and I decided I’d like to hear about yours as well. Anyone who contributes will get free stickers, but if you really impress us with the alchemy of your own style, we’ll send you a bunch of Inherent Bummer gear (hoodies, hats, pins and tees). So here we go:

My Style Alchemy

Andy Irons, Campaign: No part has influenced and inspired the torque of my surfboard more than this part. Also, I freaking love this song by Kut U Up.

Benji Weatherley, Focus: As a young man, I was shy. Benji was not. I was short. Benji was not. But whenever I watched his parts, and whenever someone asked who my favorite surfer was, I would surprise them (and myself) by always saying Benji. I think this part shows why, and I now know why most of my boards from age 14 to 18 had this exact airbrush on them. This part is the origin story of my personal surf style…or so I like to think.

Interpol, Turn on the Bright Lights: I grew up a California surf rat beach kid, but when I turned 18 and heard PDA and Turn on the Bright Lights (inside a Jamba Juice of all places) the darkness in me knew what to do. There was a simultaneous sense of urgency and enthusiasm that went with the moodiness. I longed for dark bars in dark cities and a good suit and there was no time to waste. I still think that’s an important part of existence. In moderation, of course.

Vija Celmins: I’ve been to tons of museums. Tons of exhibitions and openings and looked and studied my share of art. But I’ve never been so captivated by any artist’s work in person than I was when I saw Vija Celmins Restospective at SFMoMa. It is silent and still but bursting with life and persistence.

The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus: This book will change with you as you grow up. When I first read it, I walked around scaring my friends and family saying, “What’s the point? We’re all just gonna die.” Now I think of this book as a celebration of living. That we get the opportunity to tinker into the marble of life every single day, repeatedly rolling the ball up, only to watch it fall back down for us to do it again the next day — always refining, always getting better. I’m also now of the camp that thinks Sisyphus is smiling and happy as he walks back down to the bottom because he gets to roll it up again. That took me a minute to realize.

So there you have it. Those ingredients combined long ago to spit out who I am on land and in the sea. I like to think they all have something to do with my style — from how I hold my hands during a cutback and the clothes that I wear, but also how I deal with and walk through the fires of adversity, joy and sorrow that make up this life.

So, what’s the alchemy of your style? Give us your five (send em to hello@inherentbummer.com) and we’ll hook you up.—Travis Ferré