When you think about NYC, surf culture probably isn't the first thing that springs to mind. But, if you were to rise early one morning in Manhattan, and head just a few miles east down the Belt Parkway, you'd find a passionate community of "dawn patrol" surfers in Rockaway Beach, Queens.

They're a vibrant mix of locals, ex-pats, and transplants from American surf meccas like Hawai’i and Southern California. Our very own Joelyn Dalit spent most of his life surfing the Pacific before relocating to the Big Apple—when he made peace with leaving that life behind. Now, Joelyn is a regular at Rockaways Beach year-round. We tagged along on one of his sunrise trips to catch a small glimpse of NYC’s surf culture.

Watch and read Joelyn’s full story below – told in his own words.

Watch the SeaVees x Bespoke Post Sierra Adventure Boot in Action

Joelyn’s Story

I remember the first time that I went into the waters here in New York City. After not surfing for two years, I felt such euphoria. I felt this connection to the ocean that I didn't think I'd ever miss. And I realized then that the ocean is part of my life. It's important to me.

Learning to Surf

I grew up in the Pacific Ocean my whole life. I was born in the Philippines and I immigrated to Southern California in a place called Oceanside, which has a lot of history with surfing. My older cousin left his Skip Frye board… so I picked up surfing, at a pretty early age. I ended up moving to Hawai’i. It's obviously the mecca of surfing over there. And I basically made my decision in life based on where I can surf.

Rediscovering Surfing in NYC

But this thing that was my vehicle to explore the world became something that I was going to kind of abandon going forward. When I got to New York I lived a few years without ever touching a surfboard. One day I decided maybe I should surf. So I went to the Rockaways one summer and, you know, I, I found that love again and I pushed myself to surf – even during the winters. So I'm in there in 43-degree water with the thickest wetsuit I could find surfing right before the sun comes up. And, I think in reality, cold weather surfing is the new frontier in the industry. I think that the thrill of finding something new is something that humans are just bred to do. Find new things and explore new areas.

Joelyn is wearing the Sierra Adventure Boot – a do-it-all, go-anywhere boot we designed with our friends at SeaVees to be resilient in wet weather, handsome in every situation, and competent on any terrain. Wearing the Adventure Boot took Joelyn back to his childhood, conjuring memories of when he first learned to surf.

Reconnecting to the Ocean

When I was a kid skating and surfing in California, we had, you know, it was something that I wore skating and surfing, classic high-top vintage canvas sneakers. And I think here it, it kind of took me back putting something like that on skating to the beach and surfing, putting on these shoes. It was something that like, helped me make that connection: a good pair of boots to get on the subways to go through the seasons. The Adventure Boot feels sturdy enough to be able to walk 10,000 steps in the city on a daily basis. But at the same time, it is comfortable enough to feel like you're on a beach in California. The boot is essentially an embodiment of this duality of lifestyles: the urban lifestyle in juxtaposition with the beach lifestyle. There’s something about the ocean that just calms you and you relaxes you. The city is just the exact opposite. For me, the boot is an embodiment of that duality of life.

Back Home in the Water

New York City is such an interesting place to say that you surf. People tend to forget that New York City is such a big place and it's on the ocean, Wherever there are bodies of water, there's bound to be some sort of surf. And I found myself back at home when I got back into the water in New York City.

Surfing in NYC and the SeaVees Sierra Adventure Boot