Surfing The Nations – Store Front
WAHIAWĀ, Hawaii (Island News) — What was once considered a “no-go zone” in Central Oʻahu is now home to bustling cafés, restored buildings, and thriving local businesses—all thanks to a nonprofit that’s proving business can be a force for good.
Surfing the Nations, a faith-based nonprofit, moved into Wahiawā over a decade ago with an ambitious goal: revitalize a struggling block through a unique blend of service, entrepreneurship, and community building. Today, the organization’s footprint along Kamehameha Highway includes Surfers Coffee, Antique Alley, Petite Sweets and several other storefronts that are breathing new life into the area.
A nonprofit in Wahiawa is transforming lives with a unique business model that combines business, volunteer service, and faith. Discover how Surfing the Nations is inspiring change and supporting local businesses.
Back in 2012, the stretch of road they now occupy was known more for crime, sex trafficking, boarded-up buildings, and poverty than for any sort of community energy. Surfing the Nations saw an opportunity not just to clean it up—but to build something sustainable.
The group’s model, known as the “Thruster,” is inspired by the three-fin surfboard design. It’s based on three core pillars: business, volunteer service, and faith—working in sync to lift up the neighborhood.
The results are tangible. Through partnerships with local volunteers and interns, the nonprofit operates multiple businesses, hosts weekly outreach events, and provides mentorship programs for youth. Proceeds from the coffee shop and thrift store go directly back into their efforts—fueling food distributions, job training, and feeding the hungry for those in need.
Each month, Surfing the Nations helps feed thousands of people across Oʻahu—many of them unhoused or food insecure. Their outreach includes free grocery distributions, hot meal programs, and weekly engagement with youth through mentorship and sports.
The block that once struggled to attract foot traffic is now becoming a small business hub. One of those new entrepreneurs is the owner of Petite Sweets, a locally-owned dessert business, opening its first storefront with support from Surfing the Nations.
For Bauer and her team, stories like that are the real reward. Over the years, Surfing the Nations has expanded its reach beyond Hawaiʻi, helping to train leaders in other cities and countries to replicate the Thruster model in their own communities.
Surfing the Nations calls it “business with a mission.” And in Wahiawā, that mission is working.
