Shaun Tomson Collaborates with San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy to Relaunch His Surfwear Brand Instinct

World Champion Surfer Devises Brand Strategy with High School Students

Shaun Tomson with San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy students wearing the first of the new Instinct Surfwear clothing they helped brand | Photo: Courtesy

Iconic coastal city and surf destination Santa Barbara provides the perfect backdrop for world champion surfer Shaun Tomson to relaunch his iconic Instinct Surfwear brand in collaboration with students from the San Marcos High School Entrepreneurship Academy (SMEA). Blending local tradition and a modern “Gen Z” approach, Tomson took to SMEA last week to engage with students in discussion about creativity and innovation in the new age of marketing.

Shaun Tomson confers with the San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy students | Photo: Courtesy

Being the winner of 19 major pro surfing events, author of best-seller The Code: The Power of ‘I Will’, and writer of award-winning documentary Bustin’ down the Door just scratches the surface of Tomson’s lifetime involvements and achievements.

The founding and owning of his surfwear brand Instinct is another of Tomson’s notable accolades. He initially launched the company at the peak of his professional surfing career in 1979, and after a decade of success, Tomson sold the company to focus on other endeavors. Cut to decades later when, frustrated by the unethical practices of profit-driven operators dominating the surfwear industry, Tomson felt compelled to relaunch his business in 2021.

Tomson transformed his grievances with unethical industry competitors into him formulating Instinct to be “the world’s first social purpose-driven surfwear brand.” By committing his business to sustainability, and offering eco-friendly apparel, Tomson achieves his mission “to unite and inspire people through the values of the Surfer’s code.”

Now based in Santa Barbara, Tomson visited the SMEA to collaborate with students, with the ultimate goal of refocusing his business approach to cater his business to Gen Z. With Tomson’s business savvy and the students’ grasp of modern values and demographics, this collaboration augmented the potential success for this business model as it reenters the modern market.

This experience was invaluable for both parties involved — Tomson gained crucial insight into his modern audience, and the students directly influenced the business strategy of a business with global reach. Instead of simply learning about the business from Tomson’s expertise, Graham Oleson, the director of SMEA, described how the program went a step further, allowing students to “actively shape the strategy for a brand with global reach,” arguably the most indispensable business experience.

Some of the new Instinct Surfwear clothing the students worked on | Photo: Courtesy

Students described this as an invaluable learning experience. “This opportunity made us feel like we were being taken seriously and valued for our insights. We knew that our take on Instinct actually mattered,” said SMEA members Hadley Schmidt, Stella Kramer, and Landon Johnson.

Oleson also gave insight into the collaboration, disclosing the strategic plan that Tomson and students devised to maximize Gen Z engagement, “dubbed ‘The Seven C’s of Communicating with Gen Z: collaboration, content, customization, commerce, challenges and competitions, culture and community, change.”

In addition to this, there was a social media competition among the students to encourage them to think outside of the box with their marketing strategies. Isidora Moller and Mianna Sturm won this competition and described their excitement beyond just winning, “By working on a project that involved a real company, Mia and I were able to tackle a real-life business. This kind of opportunity as in hands-on learning was super valuable and goes beyond something we learn in the classroom,” Moller shared.

Tomson emphasized his belief in connecting with the youth, citing that in order to do so, “you need to listen to them.” After conducting this workshop, Tomson expressed his awe toward the students’ visionary insights. “By incorporating their fresh ideas, we are confident that Instinct will resonate with the next generation of surfers and ocean lovers.”