NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT
28: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
HOLIDAYS 2022
KEVIN SACKET
Doug Capps of Merritt Island, aka The Grinch, poses with two spectators at last
year’s Surfing Santas festivities.
SURFING SANTAS
Trosset Sr. and his tribe of fellow surfers take a moment for a group photo before
paddling out to catch a wave at the 2021 event.
In 2013, Trosset collaborated with the Florida Surf Museum and
the nonprofit, Grind for Life, a local charity benefiting people
with cancer founded by Mike Rodgers.
Trosset said he felt the need to help Rodgers, a surfer and
professional skateboarder, after meeting the two-time sarcoma
eye cancer survivor. Grind for Life supports families of cancer
patients by providing travel expenses.
“Mike has always been such an inspiration and I think
this event has truly evolved into what it was meant to be,”
Trosset said. “It’s kind of surreal, we now have had 6 billion
impressions on our official website. We’ve even managed to
get a plush Santa toy on board a trip to outer space, via Blue
Origin. Our goal is to send him to the moon next.”
This year, the list of participants and activities continues to grow
and includes a costume contest, a Hawaiian dance exhibition,
entertainment by local musicians, and, of course, surfers.
Surfing Santas Cocoa Beach, in partnership with eLifeGuard.
com, will be selling T-shirts to benefit Grind for Life and the
A mystery Santa Claus
rides a wave on his standup
paddle board during the
Christmas Eve 2021 event.
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SURFING SANTAS
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