About Us

Mission Statement

To support, research, and create botanical remedies for human disease and water pollution.

Goals

Surfing Medicine International is creating an international coalition of people willing to share knowledge, time, and skills for the benefit of humanity in the following ways:

• Water quality improvement through bioremediation;

• Primary bioassay screening of botanical remedies for cancer and HIV/AIDS;

• Education and curricula development through collaborative research and video documentation.

Background

Our personal experiences of seeing our loved ones suffer from both cancer and the treatments prescribed by traditional “Western” medicine led us to form the 501 (c) (3) non-profit group, ‘Surfing Medicine International’.

Summer Austin, ethnobotany student and co-founder of Surfing Medicine International, saw her father and former pro-surfer Bill Austin battle Multiple Myeloma, and Jason Nalu Bogle, pro-surfer from Hawai’i, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. Both Jason and Bill found relief from their suffering through surfing. This connection to nature motivated them to surge on. Unfortunately, Jason recently lost his battle to cancer at 26 years old. Bill, however, is in remission and going strong, getting his dose of surfing medicine every chance he gets.

Another friend of ours, Culture Evans from Jamaica, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Being a Rastafarian, he refused traditional “Western” therapy. He was looking for a natural plant-based treatment but couldn’t find one in time. He passed away last year.

Jamilah Star, two-time Billabong XXL women’s big wave surfing champion and member of our crew, lost her mother to cancer shortly after “Western” treatment. We believe that remedies exist that can help cancer patients live. Surfing is one, and for those who don’t surf, or need more, plants can provide that option.

One of our long-term goals includes working on land and at sea on a research and disaster relief vessel where traditional healers and scientists can collaborate to create sustainable medicinal plant systems for coastal communities suffering from the effects of flooding, pollution, and landscape degradation, and educate and provide sustainable medicinal plant systems and knowledge transfer amongst healers and communities in developing nations.

Ideally, during natural catastrophes such as floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, landslides, etc., our crew will be able to travel via the coast and inland waterways via boat in Hawai’i, Jamaica, and Africa to access flooded areas to provide and plant medicinal herbs, shrubs, and trees for people in need.

As Marcus Garvey, back to Africa advocate and original incorporator of the Black Star Liner said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

Read the Surfing Medicine International Bylaws.

The information and claims made and provided about specific products, herbs, and treatments on or through this site have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not designed, intended or approved to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon or used as a substitution for advice your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment.

We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.

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