Holland Origin Stories: Surf’s Up

Holland Origin Stories: Surf’s Up

from time to time we get asked about certain names, phrases, stories, titles – and sometimes we gotta prove or bust some myths!

Surf’s Up – (idiomatic) It’s time (to do something)

SURF’S UP! In 2020, we’ve asked a bunch of friends to contribute to Holland’s Surf’s Up program for KWNK 97.7FM – we thought we’d shine a light in why the heck “Surf’s Up!” became a Holland motto.

In early Holland days, we picked up two rubber stamps to use at the door to mark wrists of people who paid. Neither were cool (the other was a cat!), but Julian (longtime Holland doorman and wrangler, aka Chairman of the Chairs) took a shine to the Surf’s Up stamp and used it most often for years….so it became synonymous with Holland shows. We lost the original stamp at Forage (our big summer shindig) when we took it to Idewild pool for the rock-n-roll pool party. Kristin (then venue manager/queen) recreated it on the DL when she was working at Kinkos and moonlighting at Holland.

So Surf’s Up ink on people’s wrists continued. We’ve had two other versions since the original. In 2017, we asked Casey Conrad and Em Jiang to create Surfs Up artwork as the rallying motto for Holland’s 10th Birthday.

And when KWNK launched, Surf’s Up became the title for Holland’s signature program!  PS, it’s the code word you text to 44-321 to become a Holland member. Long live that first ugly stamp, that has become such a key part of our lives and our story. Surf’s Up forever!