Episode 105: StreetWaves with Maui Goodbeer

And hello everyone. Welcome to episode 105 of the Weekly Yes And Podcast. I am your host, Travis Thomas, the creator of the Weekly Yap. And the creator of Live Yes And. You can check me out at liveyesand.com. And today's podcast, episode 105, is in partnership with Inspired to Give. Make sure you check us out at inspiredtogive.org. And our theme this month for Inspired to Give is all about belonging, and which is why today's episode is such a special episode here on the Weekly Yes And Podcast, especially in the idea of of belonging because we are talking to Maui Goodbeer, and Maui is the creator of Street Waves. Street Waves is a nonprofit founded by Maui down here in Miami Beach where he was inspired to go into the cities of Miami, put kids on a bus who may have never been to the ocean before, take them to the beach, and with his team, teach them to swim and teach them to surf. And the life skills and the transformation that has happened in some of these young people, the exposure to nature has just been amazing. And he's been at this now for over 10 years. He has expanded up the coast here in Florida and Street Waves has just taken off. And so, I met Maui at a speaking event I was at. He and I got together, we had coffee, we had breakfast, and I was just blown away by Maui's story. And so I had to have him on the weekly Yes Am podcast. And with this idea of belonging and connecting with young people and connecting with people in a way that exposes them to so much more value in the world and connects them with their own deeper sense of value, again, with this idea of belonging, what we see happening in our country, in our world, As a result of people feeling disconnected, as feeling unseen and hidden, the hidden pain that a lot of people are going through. Obviously, we've seen a lot of the recent celebrity suicides, and we just know the horrific suicide rates that we have in our country. This idea of belonging is so important, and I couldn't think of a better person, a more inspiring person to talk to And just share his story and the inspiration of how this came about, and you will be inspired about why he started StreetWaves. So without further ado, let's start talking to Maui Goodbeer from StreetWaves. So I'm happy to welcome Maui Goodbeer to the weekly Yes Am podcast. Maui, thanks for jumping on the call.

Thanks for having me, Travis. It's been really great getting to know you, so I'm glad I can do this with you today.

Well, I know, you know, my wife and I have been so inspired by the work that you're doing down in Miami and up and down the coast. And of course, I had to get you on a podcast. And you'll have to tell us a little bit. I know you were telling me offline that your voice is a little sore, got a little bronchitis going on. Tell us how you got that, Maui.

Well, I've just been offshore. Took a sailing trip. Deliver a vessel that is a volunteer vessel for our foundation, a really great captain who's been educating a lot of the children in our organization about the sea and about sailing. And they've been learning quite a bit. And so anyhow, he needed a crew member. I asked if I'd crew with him to sail up to North Carolina. So we were 50 miles offshore. And when we were coming out of Charleston, going into Southport, Um, I got a little bit of pollen and, uh, and, uh, began to, you know, just have some allergies and kind of segued into bronchitis, which typically happens for me. So, but I'm handling it well. I'm doing my colloidal silver and, uh, it's knocking everything out. So it's, uh, it's all good. Great sail, by the way. We, um, about, I think about 500, like 300 miles with them. They sailed a total of 900 miles, and by the time I got off the boat, we'd reached about 1,050 miles. Weather was great. Yeah, we were out of wind. My initial objective was to go to help them round Cape Hatteras.

Okay.

And Cape Hatteras, you have to go about 200 miles offshore to get around this long shoal that sticks out. Many sailors know it's got some pretty interesting names. Uh, for boats that haven't made it around Hatteras. So I wanted to help them get around that, but we didn't have the wind. I had to get back. I had to do this interview and I had to do some other Street Waves events this past weekend. Really great event with WeWork.

Mm-hmm.

So it's been great having different corporations come in and volunteer their time and energy. One of our managers in our Miami chapter works for the WeWork corporation. And so he gathered a bunch of the employees and we had just a fantastic time. We sponsored an organization called Empowered Youth. It's been in Miami for many, many years. And we wanted to work with them over the years and this was our opportunity. So they brought the kids in and it's just so inspiring, you know, to see, watch a kid with a big smile on his face catch his first wave wearing socks is really inspiring. It's really something, you know. So we love the work that we do. And so, you know, hopefully we'll be able to, after season, spend more time with the kids on the sailboat as well when they come back from Block Island.

Well, yeah, Maui, tell us— so give us the story about what Street Waves is and how you serve the youth.

Well, we are a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 in Miami Beach, Florida. And essentially, our focus is introducing underserved youth to the ocean. Our main fulcrum for doing so is surfing. So what we do is we go into various communities that are underserved and underrepresented in the ocean, and we bring the youth out and kind of introduce them to the ocean through surfing. And swimming is a very big part of our work as well.

Mm-hmm.

And so we've been doing this for quite some time, and now we're growing capacity along the South Florida coast.

Fantastic. And Maui, of course, part of this podcast is in partnership with Inspired to Give. And hearing your story the first time, the inspiration behind why you decided to start StreetWaves, can you tell us about that?

Yeah, so it came out of a tragedy. What happened was in 2003, my younger brother was brutally murdered by a gang member. It was a 16-year-old kid who was kind of put up to it by the older gang members, and they selected my younger brother relatively randomly, I think. Nonetheless, the kid followed him and his girlfriend, my brother and his girlfriend, into a shopping mall. And a fight ensued, and then it escalated into the parking lot where the child got a firearm and then shot my younger brother in the head. And my brother and I were very, very close. In fact, we were born on the same day, 8 years apart. And so when other kids were getting bicycles for their 8th birthday, I got a little brother. And so he was, he was mine. You know, I really cherished him in that way and received him as a gift and just piled around with him, you know, all of our younger life. Of course, we split ways when I went off to college and stuff, but very, very close. And so at his funeral, I was asked to deliver the eulogy. And in doing so, I made a promise to everyone there that I would personally do something to help inner-city kids. And at the time I didn't know how I would go about doing that. And then a couple years later, just to kind of get away from everything and start afresh, you know, my heart was very hurt behind the tragedy. I moved to South Florida. I actually drove here. And I got here and I said, wow, this place is awesome. At the time I was living in Seattle, so it was really rainy and dreary. And, uh, I drove all the way across the country just to get down here. And I just fell in love with the palm trees and the weather and the ocean. And I just said, wow, man, I'm never leaving this place. And so I stayed. And then one day I paddled out to go surfing. You know, surfing is something that's been a big part of my life in California when I was younger, and skateboarding and, you know, more extreme sports is what I've always been attracted to. And, um, Wow. While I was in the ocean, I was by myself. Um, in the distance I hear this noise, and to me this noise sounded like, you know, some inner-city kid kind of talking trash to one another. You know, I thought not much of it, but it was a little annoying. So, uh, I looked around to see where they were, and I saw no people. Um, but I noticed in the distance, seagulls playing. And that was the sound that I'd heard. And instantly, that moment, I was given this vision, Freeways, bringing inner-city kids out to the beach and teaching them how to surf. And it's been an amazing, amazing experience over the past 10 years.

So I love that. It was you being in the ocean, sort of being on your board, And just sort of connecting, sort of being open and connecting with nature yourself where the whole idea and vision came from.

Sure, sure, absolutely. Yeah. I'd always been haunted by this promise that I'd made. So when I first moved to Florida, I'd go to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and different places to go surfing, even as far as Israel. I would just love chasing waves. And I'd always come back, always haunted by this promise that I'd made. And so, yeah, it just came to me in the ocean that day, and things have never been the same.

Now, Maui, just to go back, and so for you, giving the eulogy at the funeral, and I guess most of us will never know sort of the pain of losing a family member that way, but we can all sort of understand the anger and the frustration and the sadness. Do you have any idea what, what, you know, what is it about you or your upbringing where in that moment of pain, you know, your response was you were already sort of in a mode of how can you help compared to, you know, revenge per se?

Well, you know, the entire situation, you know, I guess my perspective on it was pretty original, I think, when I Compared to the rest of my family at the time. And I just saw, you know, 2 tragedies. I didn't just see the tragedy of my brother, as much as I love him. I also saw the tragedy of a 16-year-old kid who I fought to keep from going to prison for the rest of his life because I had compassion for, you know, the child. And so, um, that's kind of how I saw things. I saw him as a 16-year-old. And so while I was delivering the eulogy, of course I didn't intend to make this promise. I had written out this great eulogy and all these points I wanted to cover. And it was, you know, a little pressure there. The county in which this happened, my uncle and aunt were judges. And so it was a lot of media involved and a lot of people were there at the funeral. And so I was preparing this great sermon and I'm delivering it, you know, as it began. And then, you know, it kind of began to take its own shape, you know, as I began to speak from my heart about my little brother. And as a part of that, you know, this promise came out and I said it very earnestly and I intended to honor it when it came out of my mouth.

Yeah.

And there was a few things I knew that I wouldn't be doing to help kids. I didn't want to be preaching to them or anything like that. So it took me, you know, some time for it to happen organically whereby That's great.

So to dig into Street Waves a little bit, Maui, so you have the vision, you're out on the board, you're on the water, you have this vision. Sort of what was step one? What was the first encounter with you being able to get into some of these neighborhoods and connect with some of these kids? What did that look like?

Yeah, it was really interesting. So when I first moved here, I became best friends with this rabbi that I met at Whole Foods. At the time it was called Wild Oats. I'm walking out of the store, I see this smiling guy. We just became great friends, you know, and I watched his children grow up and he's just one of my closest, closest friends. He's like a brother to me. And so I went to him and I said, Rabbi Mark, this is what I have a vision for. What do you suggest that I do in this situation? He's from South Florida, spent his whole life and had many connections. So he recommended that I approach the Overtown Youth Center. And so I gave them a call and I went to speak with them and it was just so beautiful. The executive director at the time knew my family from California and from Oklahoma and, you know, we just instantly connected and she understood my heart and what I was attempting to accomplish. And she was all aboard from day one. And so we started off with, I think it was 10 youth. I believe they were all boys, if I'm not mistaken. And we were fortunate enough to get some funding to provide them with 16 weeks of surfing for the entire summer. And it was incredible. We ended up on the front page of the Miami Herald. It was just a great, great, great time. You know, I harnessed a ton of volunteers that I knew, my friends. It was really special. And that's kind of how we got our beginning.

And so what was that like? You know, here you are, you're taking what, some of these kids that maybe had never been to the beach before. You know, was there skepticism? Was there resistance to wanting to be a part of this? What were some of those interactions like?

Well, of course there was all of that. There was some excitement as well from some of the kids. One of the things about the Overtime Youth Center is they really do a great job with the kids there just in terms of helping them to think outside the box and try new things. And, you know, they're very supportive. And so they really had that support group coming from that organization. So a lot of their trust was in them.

Right.

So they were trusting in the chaperones and trusting in the mentors. And then of course, you know, they were introducing them to us and I was just getting started with a bunch of volunteers and it was a very new concept, but there was a great deal of confidence around, you know, my ability to work with them in the water just because of my surfing history and the volunteers that I, you know, collected. And at the time, I was teaching surfing for a— for tourists, and I told them that, you know, I would love to, you know, help you guys with your surf school, but I have to be able to teach, you know, the inner city kids for free on Saturdays. So I had all of the equipment, and, you know, it was the reason that I taught for the tourists was so that I'd have that.

So, and for you, when you think about sort of the impact of getting these kids to the beach and getting them in the water, sort of what is— what does that mean to you? What is the impact that you see from your perspective?

Well, it's an entire ocean of opportunity. in such a fast way. You know, surfing is just the introduction to a multi-trillion-dollar industry for coastal children. So to me, it's very important for these children to have access to the blue economy. There's no reason that, you know, anyone who needs a boat captain should have to call all the way to Connecticut to get someone to come down to Florida to captain their boat. These kids have the time on their hands and they have the proximity and the access to the ocean. So our goal is to just, you know, develop a love for the ocean. And I think that surfing is a very plausible way of being able to do that. Because the ocean is here, surfing is a very Relatively inexpensive sport, you know, once you have a decent surfboard. You go and surf and you fall in love with it, and you become more ocean-minded and environmentally aware. And it's been magnificent to see this transformation in their lives. Some of them are now boat captains, some of them live on boats, some of them work in the marine industry. And ultimately, our goal is to To get them involved in the ocean lifestyle.

I saw one of your videos and a quote that you had, it just, it really hit me. I believe you said, we teach the kids how to surf and we let the ocean take care of the rest.

Yes, that's true. That's our philosophy. We let the water do the work. And so, you know, many of these children have really horrible Family experiences. You know, in your youth, the majority of your life experience is centered around your family, you know, because you're not on your own yet. And some of these children's stories are horrific. And to see the strength of character that they need to have to push through these experiences that they may be having in their lives is very inspiring. And so You know, we have all of our staff and volunteers know the importance of letting the water do the work, you know, letting the water be the therapy. We're not therapists. You know, we try to do our best not to get too involved in their personal stories and just allow the ocean and the swimming pool and the experiences in the water to, to kind of cleanse them in Yeah. Its own way, the negative ions, the energy in the water. There's a lot of studies in science about the power of water. There's a movement, an entire movement called the Blue Mind Movement where people are beginning to understand through research that being in, on, and around the ocean is so healthy mentally. And physically. So we really let the water do the work.

You mentioned, obviously, you've been going for 10 years now. And some of the, you know, to see some of these kids, how they're involved, you know, some of them are on boats and some of them are doing different things. You know, what's one of the more sort of inspiring stories that you've seen of a kid that's gone through the program and to see what they're doing now?

Well, there's so many, honestly. But, you know, I like to share with you, I guess, now the importance of the children who've stayed close to us over this long period of time, because those are the ones that I've been able to see, you know, great things happen in their lives, and knowing that they're close to us. Uh, has been, you know, a beautiful gift, uh, for me to see a kid, you know, 10 years ago, you know, who now is studying, say, you know, marine mechanics and helping Street Waves as a surf instructor and listening to different music and wearing different clothes and having a completely different approach and appreciation for life and different friends. That a child may not have had growing up, different experiences. Kids who may have begun to travel, and I say it, you know, plural because there's quite a few in our organization who have this similar experience. Some that have gone vegan, that have been like a staunch vegan for the last 7, 8 years because of their connection to nature and their care and concern about their body because they're utilizing their body in such an amazing way in the ocean. So I don't want to focus on any one particular story because we've had a great deal of success. And— but ultimately, when we see children's lives change completely in the matter that, you know, everything that they were exposed to as children and the direction that they may have been heading, they have taken a completely different turn and different direction.

Right.

Energetically, I would say spiritually, as well as even financially.

Now, Maui, when you and I got together with my wife and I and we had breakfast and I was explaining this concept of yes, and, right? And the idea of how it's working with what we have and then responding in a way that tries to make it purposeful or positive. When you look back at— and not that you're not doing this still— but when you look back at the early days of StreetWaves, You know, and I believe you were, you were living in the bus at one point. So at what point did you know that you had something and that it was going to work?

Well, I have to say honestly, from the very beginning, because in my situation, you know, I made a promise that I fully intended to fulfill. And so when I decided that, you know, this vision for StreetLids was going to be the way that I honor my promise to my brother, basically there was no stopping me. And there is no stopping what we're doing because it comes from such a higher place, you know, in my life. You know, sure, times were really tough in the beginning. You know, dealing with politics and dealing with code enforcement where the ocean is concerned, dealing with, you know, lack of funding to fulfill this vision, all sorts of things. Yes, at one point we acquired a bus to transport our equipment, and I ended up having to live on the bus. And, you know, I slept on the beach before. I mean, I just, you know— Nothing was going to stop me. So it didn't really matter what the current situation was for me whatsoever. Um, because I have a huge, you know, plan in mind, a vision for the planet, essentially, you know, starting right here in South Florida. You know, how, you know, am I going to, you know, make a situation where children are able to get to the ocean? free of charge and learn about the ocean free of charge around the country and ultimately around the world. So I have this huge grand vision and plan, and I'm looking at myself, you know, where I am in a situation that made me uncomfortable, but it really— there was nothing discouraged me in any way.

And so you had talked about Maui, how You know, the ability and how rewarding it is to see the lives of these young people change as they've been a part of the program over the years. How have you seen your own life change the most over these last 10 years?

Well, it's changed greatly. You know, the central focus of my life has become this organization and this work. And so, you know, whereas previously, you know, I may have been Looking into different financial opportunities to grow wealth, that's not as important to me as obviously taking care of my family, but more importantly, being able to do that and fulfill my vision. So yeah, it's changed a lot. It's become the central focus of my life. And my family as well. Hopefully this is something that my children think is important as well and desire to get behind at some point.

And so now being 10 years in, what does the vision look like from here?

Well, you know, in the surf industry, you know, what has moved surfing and what has made surfing So popular has been the branding, right? So, you know, people think surfing is cool, and so, you know, you can go down to your local surf shop or to a department store and buy gear that makes you look like a surfer. That's kind of what, uh, has, has moved these brands. And so, you know, the business model is you get, you know, some good-looking surfers Have them surfing with talent and say, hey, you can look like this person too if you wear these clothes. And so that's grown the marketplace for surfing. And of course comes with that all of the equipment and gear as well. So we really feel like the Conscious Surf brand is our next step in order to create the type of outreach that's needed to have chapters of Street Waves along both coasts of this country and ultimately the other coasts on the planet as well. So we are really focusing on, you know, how do we grow this movement where surfers and volunteers are willing to reach back and spend, you know, a Saturday teaching some kids how to surf that would not normally have this opportunity.

Yeah, no, that's fantastic. And I want to ask this because The theme for the month for Inspired to Give is this idea of belonging. And obviously in the news the past week or so, we've seen a couple of high-profile cases of celebrities and suicide. And we see a country where kids feel separated and they feel isolated. So in the work that StreetWaves is doing, this sense of kids feeling like they're part of something, that they belong, that they belong to society or they belong to the world in a way that's valuable. How have you seen that with Street Waves?

Well, you know, one of the cool things that we've noticed over the years is that, you know, the ocean connects the whole planet. And so when we put kids in the ocean and they begin learning how to surf and they begin becoming more interested in what's going on around the world where waves are concerned. You know, they're looking at Surfline and they're checking, oh wow, look at how waves are breaking today in Hawaii, or how the waves are breaking today in Costa Rica.

Yeah.

Whoa, look at this too, Jaws is swelling. And oh wow, there's some great waves in Australia right now. You know, they're really connecting to a more global mindset. And so You know, they're thinking so far away from, you know, the little cliques and things that are going on around their environment that they kind of are growing kind of out of that mentality. We've seen kids that are in some really rough situations at home where their, you know, family members may be gangbangers and situations where, you know, they are willing to and desiring to retaliate because of things that are happening in the community or someone got shot in their family, you know, and ultimately when they come to us they think our story is soft, you know.

Mm-hmm.

They think that I should have tried to, you know, do something to retaliate for my brother, you know. And so they're seeing, you know, in reality the breaking of that cycle, you know, and what actually happens when you break that cycle. Ultimately our story is one of forgiveness. And when they understand the power of forgiveness and how much more powerful it is than the firearm, because the mentality is such that, you know, you kill me, I kill you. And so the more we expose them to the ocean, the more they begin to understand the importance of peace in life and that connection with nature. So they begin to have some spiritual development, you know, that doesn't really happen as much.

Uh-huh.

in the concrete world that they live in.

Oh, I love it. I love all of that. That's beautiful. I'd give you a big hug if I was next to you, Maui.

Oh, I wish I was.

So Maui, how can people find out more about StreetWaves, and what are some things that people can maybe do from afar who might not be really in the South Florida area? Obviously, the website is streetwaves.org. But are there some other ways that people can help or get involved?

Yeah, well, of course we have our social media. We love to be connected with people there. We try to stay as active as we can, and our website has lots of information as well. But we recommend that, you know, people try to see, you know, how they may be able to be of assistance in their Local community, you know. I think that's important. That's kind of the direction that we're going. We're kind of positioned now where we can offer a chapter elsewhere, you know. If someone that hears my voice that connects with what we're doing says, you know, I think I could do this here where I am, you know. We just left a beach community where we sailed to in North Carolina. I'm like, wow, this is such a cool little community. You know, everyone's having fun riding their bikes and surfing around. It would be so great, you know, if someone there was able to reach back into the community, you know, and bring some kids to the ocean and share, you know, this love that anyone who's ever surfed has, you know. So that would be a great desire as well. Obviously, donations help us to do our daily work, and there's a lot of it. But we really are looking for partners, you know. We're looking for Thank you. For partnering corporations. Many of the corporations that may hear this know that there's community service that has to be done. This is a great way to do it. This weekend we had WeWorkout, as I said, and just the excitement and the fun of volunteering on the beach, you know, and being able to see these smiles happen is just so magical. So We invite everyone that hears us to connect with us in some way. We're open to ideas as well, anything that helps us to move our vision and our mission forward. So we definitely welcome one. Yes, it is streetways.org is our website.

Well, Maui, thanks so much. Thanks for taking the time to be on the weekly Yes Am podcast and sharing your story.

Thank you so much, Travis. I love what you're doing. Keep inspiring others to reach and find greatness. And I look forward to chatting again soon.

Yeah, thank you.

All right, have a great day.