The Guthrie family have always been big fans of the beach. Despite growing up in landlocked Austin, Texas, Jennifer Guthrie was the captain of her high school surf club and would regularly flip through surf magazines and go on annual surf trips. Fast forward a couple of decades and Jennifer and her husband Drew live on the Gulf Shore and now regularly take their three kids to the beach: Lil (9), Gracie (5), and Lloyd (5).
Although the Guthries spend a lot of time at the beach, busy schedules and lives have kept them from becoming regular surfers. But now that all their kids know how to swim, their summer plans involve a lot of beach time. And with their recent discovery of TANDM Surf, beach trips just got a whole lot easier.
Jennifer and Drew run a yoga studio in town and they’re all about health and happiness. Community is also another one of their core values and they’re all about bringing people together and helping each other out. When they came across TANDM Surf, they felt that their core values of togetherness aligned and they were excited to support the brand.
Prior to TANDM Surf, the Guthries were nervous to take their youngest kids out body boarding. Their youngest are new to swimming and they were worried about how they might fare once waves became apart of the picture. Luckily, TANDM Surf has helped to alleviate all of their fears.
“We haven’t had a lot of confidence in them going in the water and that was one of the things about TANDM Surf that I loved,” says Jennifer. “It’s so sturdy and almost impossible for them to crash or fall off, so it felt really safe. It put my mind at ease as far as my son being safe in the water and him and my daughter at ease because they could be with mommy and daddy—they weren’t as nervous or scared.”
As the kids gained confidence riding the boards, they began attempting to stand up with the help of their parents. As someone who has tried surfing, Jennifer appreciates that the TANDM board allows the rider more time to get to his or her feet and requires less focus on wave selection and catching waves. In addition to being a great bodyboard, Jennifer thought the TANDM bodyboards were a great resource for learning to surf as well.
On the Gulf Shore, waves tend to be few and far between and catching a good wave typically requires being in the right place at the right time. The Guthries don’t follow tide charts and track swells, so they appreciated that the TANDM boards allowed them to ride the waves all the way to shore and get more time on each wave than they would surfing.
“My favorite part was the family experience,” says Jennifer. “We were all there laughing and having fun and there were smiles on all our faces. It was real quality time and was better than an amusement park.”
All in all, the Guthries had a great time riding the TANDM boards and loved that they were easy to use, easy to travel with, and were an all around good time. The kids had fun riding waves with their parents and enjoyed cheering each other on and supporting one another. As owners of a yoga studio, they think TANDM Surf may even have a future as a resource for yoga.
“I think the TANDM Surf company, the story, the passion, and the likability as a brand sets it up for success,” says Jennifer. “The whole experience from the boards to the company to the whole vision, I was really impressed with the product. Everyone should try it!”
