Former Gang Rivals Catch Waves

By Sarah Doss, November 12, 2008

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Santa Barbara gang members trade turf for surf.

For some, surfing can be a great way to improve balance, increase core muscles, and soak up the summer sun.

For Manny Raya and J.J. Ortiz, it was a way to stay alive.

Raya and Ortiz, both 27, grew up in the projects in Santa Barbara; Ortiz in the Goleta projects and Raya in the Westside projects. Before they were out of elementary school, they were settling into rival gangs, doing drugs and fighting other cliques who were from another part of town.

"The feeling I got from surfing was like the feeling I got from gangbanging," said Raya, who is studying for a Ph.D. in philosophy at SF State. "I'm at a high and there's a feeling of pride."

"There's nothing better than catching a great barrel," Ortiz said. "Surfing is totally unique."

"I was stealing cocaine from my uncle by the time I was in junior high [school]," Ortiz said.

"When I was 14 years old, I was determined to be the best gangster there was," Raya said.

Yet years later, after discovering their passion for surfing, Raya and Ortiz created Turf2Surf, a camp where they teach surfing to kids involved in gangs.

Raya and Ortiz were both immersed in the world of gangbanging until the age of 19, when they were given the choice to go to prison or college. They attended Santa Barbara City College and eventually got their B.A.'s from UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge.

Being sent to the same college set both men on a different path.

It was in a philosophy class when Raya decided to turn his life around. "We were reading Allegory of the Cave when I realized that there was this whole world outside of gangbanging," Raya said.

Raya started surfing early in college when he overheard some students raving about their experiences out in the waves. He saved up enough money to buy a board and began teaching himself how to catch waves.

It was also at SBCC where Raya and Ortiz took a class together and met for the first time.

"I didn't know Manny was in a rival gang because he was always wearing 49ers gear," Ortiz said. "When I found out, I wanted to take care of him."

But Ortiz found out his friends had already beaten up Raya before. The two gangsters settled their differences and soon became friends. "I learned we had a lot in common," Raya said.

When Ortiz and Raya became friends, they started surfing together and helping each other to do better. Instead of leaving their neighborhoods behind and forgetting their violent past, in 2001, Raya and Ortiz set aside a month of their busy schedules to run Turf2Surf.

Back in their neighborhoods, Raya and Ortiz were given a hard time for their new passion.

"Our cliques would make fun of us for surfing, but then they asked if they could learn, too," Ortiz said. That's when they decided that it would be a good idea to teach surfing to kids just like them.

They shared their dream with Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) mentors and word got to Eli Luria, a virtual legend at SBCC, where he served 27 years as a trustee and the college library bears his name.

Luria provided them with a full loan to get the camp started.

As Ortiz and Raya worked on a budget and teaching plans for the camp, they contacted Channel Island Surfboards. Owner Al Merrick, and his wife, Terry, became big contributors.

Then it was Raya and Ortiz's job to find kids who would join the camp. They went to their friends and into juvenile facilities that they had once been sent to, recruiting kids for the two-week long camp.

"We wanted kids that were like us," Raya said. "So we went to probation schools and continuation schools looking for them."

For the two weeks, Raya and Ortiz bring together troubled youth from all over the South Coast and try to unite them through surfing. "I love where I came from, so I don't expect the kids to leave their gangs either," Raya said.

They have both admitted the first day being the hardest, since most of the kids are programmed to hate each other. But Raya and Ortiz do their best to break up the fights and keep the students focused on surfing.

"We won't kick anyone out though," Ortiz said. "We want to give them unconditional love."

After all the tension breaks, students start showing a positive response to the program. "This is better than what I thought it was going to be. This is awesome," said Kevin Derrick, one of the Turf2Surf students.

One day in their camp, Raya and Ortiz decided to take the students to the U.S. Open for surfing. Not long after they arrived, police became suspicious of their activities. Within an hour, they were detained and Raya was being handcuffed.

The police were charging David Nunez, one of the students, for assault. Everyone in the camp was searched for drugs and weapons, but no one had done anything to prove illegal activities. Eventually, they were let go without any trouble.

"Fortunately, we had a great group of kids and everyone handled themselves well," Raya said.

After the two weeks are over, Raya and Ortiz say goodbye to the kids and give them new custom surfboards to take home. "The last day of camp is the hardest," Ortiz said. "You get attached to the kids."

As of now, Raya is in San Francisco focusing on his master's degree and working at the Olive Garden until he graduates. Ortiz is getting his tattoo shop, 805 Ink, running in Santa Barbara that just opened three months ago.

When summer comes back, they will meet up again and teach more kids to love surfing. "We're not going to change everybody from gangbanging and we don't expect to," Ortiz said. "But if we can do it for a small few, then it's worth it."

(back tattoo photo by Mytia Smith-Spencer )