Observed Challenges Leading to the Project

I found two surf shops close to this beach. 1 – Frijoles Locos sells brand new surfboards. I bought a new board there, the price double what I was used to in Florida. 2 – A smaller shop, Matos, has chipped paint on the walls and the door creaks open. After slowly becoming confident with my Spanish, I worked up the courage to go inside and check out their display. Old, damaged surfboards sat under a sign that said: “For Rent $6.” The difference between these shops was obvious: a shop accessible to everyone consisted of beat-up surfboards and another shop provided high-quality surfboards, but only to a very few.

I knew something had to be done. I brought this challenge to my IB CAS class, and over two years, I created a non-profit Surf and Skate shop, where all rentals are free and where my classmates display products they have created like reusable bags and painted skateboards. I called this shop the Boardroom.