Surf (Non-Profit) Labor Profile: Mauli Ola Foundation

In this weeks Surf Labor Profile we bring you a non-profit foundation near and dear to our hearts. It’s called the Mauli Ola Foundation. Mauli Ola exists to introduce surfing as a natural treatment to people with genetic disorders, specifically CF (Cystic Fibrosis). It’s close to my specifically heart because I’ve lost two cousins to CF. So when I found out that Mauli Ola connected CF and surfing I had to reach out to the guys.

Before I explain how surfing helps you need a quick background on CF. First off, you are born with it and its not contagious. A defective gene causes your body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. The mucus also obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. CF patients are treated on two fronts. One is breathing treatments to help clean the lungs and the other is enzyme pills that aid in digestion.

Like most diseases there are tons of mad scientists working on a cure. Major progress has been made the past two decades. The life expectancy of CF patients has risen dramatically from about 9 years to about 37 with modern treatments. And how exactly is surfing relevant? Well, as surfers we have always believed the ocean is a great healer. I call it my medicine and when I don’t get out and paddle around I get stir crazy. For CF patients the salty air and salty mist they breathe in breaks down the congestion that is in their lungs. This congestion is what causes them to go to hospitals constantly and leads them to have to take lots of medication on daily basis. It’s crazy because these salt water treatments can cut kids hospital visits in half. Surf session or hospital visit… no brainer right!

The crew at Mauli Oli is all about getting kids with CF into the water and they have assembled an all star crew to help. Their community outreach director is none other than Kalani Robb. His crew of pro surfers includes Slater, Bruce, Sunny, Dane and tons more. He’s also got a bunch of MMA guys on the roster (in case locals try and mess with them) including Anderson Silva, KJ Noons, and Joe Duarte. There are snow guys too but I already feel like a name dropper so I’ll stop.

Mauli Oli has some cool events coming up and we are going to give them shout outs throughout the summer. In fact, the first is THIS SATURDAY 9am in Laguna Beach, CA (Thalia Street). The event is called the Bo Boyd Memorial Surf Experience Day and you can get all the details on their site http://www.mauliola.org/images/Events/2011/Laguna-Beach-2011.jpg

We’ll be down there taking photos and hope to see you there.