MU Surf Club Surf Taco
Club & Greek

MU Surf Club Gets Sponsored by Surf Taco

It took one meeting, a couple tacos, 15 handshakes and an hour in the surf but after it all, the MU Surf Club walked out of the Long Branch Surf Taco with a new sponsor under their belt

In the weeks after winter break, Monmouth Surf Club President Tyler Sankey had arranged to meet with the who’s who of the local Surf Taco. You’ve seen them in the water, you’ve seen them getting into their wetsuits on the side of the road, but have you seen MU surfers in a business meeting?

“I reached out to our corporate office and they were stoked on the idea. I then set up a meeting with Tyler [Sankey] and the team, our director of operations, Micheal Courtney, the General Manager of our Point Pleasant Beach shop, Shawn Graul and myself,” said the assistant manager and social media coordinator Susie Dowling.  Dowling continued to say, “I didn’t know much about the surf team until [a coworker] mentioned it to me, but as a fellow MU alum of the Class of 2010, I knew that we should totally be involved with this.”

They are involved. MU Surf and Surf Taco have already teamed up at the men’s basketball games to give away free tacos to the crowd.

“We want the Monmouth community to know that [MU Surf] is part of ‘Team Taco’ and we’d like to help them get their name out there to the student body,” said Susie Dowling, a Surf Taco employee.

This partnership won’t be confined to just one task. Not only will you see Monmouth Surf-clad students handing out tacos but Surf Taco also recognizes the club’s ultimate goal.

“With lack of competition around here, we are aiming to help them raise money to compete in other parts of the country and make the Jersey Shore proud. We hope that the surf team will become an actual team sport at MU one day versus a club,” said Dowling. 

In addition to Surf Taco’s brand backing, they also aim to add life to an already prospering local surf culture. “Surf Taco was stoked about it from the beginning. I see a lot of big things in our futures. They’re gonna help us make apparel, stickers, and I see us collaborating at different events and working together to support and better our community,” said Sankey.

The Surf Club must obtain a positive neighborhood name and sterling reputation. To facilitate this goal, they need contacts. The connections that the team makes while in college are so important and can be beneficial years down the road. With that in mind, even deeper relationships are formed when friendship meets the sea.

“It was great because right after the meeting Tyler and I got to surf with Graul, one of the heads of Surf Taco,” said Paul Kelly, a sophomore student and surfer. “We kinda just all knew there were waves that day and we were sorta hoping the meeting would end so we could get in the water!”

With one sponsorship down and more to come, expect more to come from MU Surf.

PHOTO COURTESY of  Ryan Gallaghe