Brand-new adventure for Half Moon Bay entrepreneur

“Sometimes you get a gnarly wipeout and say, ‘You know? I don’t want to surf big waves for six months. If you have a sponsor, I have to get that next big wave or they’re going to drop me,” said Lundgard, who has made a name for himself at Mavericks and other big-wave breaks around the world, including Teahupo’o and Cloudbreak in Tahiti, and Puerto Escondido in Mexico.

“Instead of having (a sponsor sticker of) Quicksilver on top of my board, I’ll have my own brand. … Basically sponsor myself and live that (surfing) lifestyle.”

To that end, Lundgard has founded a couple of his own businesses: Johnny Tsunami Surf School, based in Half Moon Bay and co-owned with older brother Peter Lundgard, and his latest venture, pardon the pun, an apparel brand called ‘VNTR’ (pronounced “venture.”)

The surf school is one of the most popular in Half Moon Bay and Lundgard said the popularity of giving surf lessons during the summer helps fund his other endeavors. He said this summer was the best season the surf school has had, in no small part to the pandemic, when outdoor activities were encouraged.

“We had a super good year because of the corona,” Lundgard said. “The business almost runs itself.”

As for VNTR, Lundgard was looking to create apparel he wanted to wear. While surfing was the inspiration for his clothing line, it may not be what you think. Mention “surf wear” and people may think of board shorts, bikinis and beach towels.

But dedicated Northern California surfers know that look is just in the movies and in videos. On the San Mateo County coast, the real surf season is in the winter and that means hoodies, wind breakers, hats and warm, cozy pants.

“You’ll notice a lot of my products … it’s all kind of cold-weather apparel. When I came out with the ‘Dawn Patrol’ joggers last winter, same deal. I was freezing cold checking out surf at 6 a.m.,” Lundgard said. “I created products I wanted for myself.”

Lundgard started honing his business sense as a youngster, finding deals on Craigslist and then flipping them for a profit. After graduating Half Moon Bay, he started taking business classes at Santa Barbara City College.

Setting the tone

“I was just doing random [general education classes]. Really just trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” Lundgard said. “I wanted to start a business, but I didn’t know what. I was just learning and teaching myself about business and e-commerce. How to start a brand online.”

While living in Santa Barbara, Lundgard took an entrepreneur class which, essentially, created the path he is currently traveling.

And it started with a pair of underwear.

“There was an entrepreneur internship class there and each semester, you have to start a company,” Lundgard said.

Lundgard decided he was going to start an underwear company and did everything associated with starting a business — coming up with the designs, choosing a manufacturer, researching materials, marketing, and how to position his brand in the marketplace, as well — the whole nine yards.

He even went so far as to travel overseas to meet with manufacturers. Anything that had to do with making and selling underwear, Lundgard learned about it.

“I just bought tons of underwear from a ton of different brands then did research for what I was looking for. I had no background in it,” Lundgard said. “So many people want to start a brand. It’s cool to say.

“It’s definitely not easy to start a brand.”

At the end of the class semester, there was a contest, which Lundgard described as “‘Shark Tank’ for college.” He was awarded $5,500 for winning the contest. He put that money back into the brand.

He took classes in Santa Barbara for about a year before deciding he was not getting out of them what he was looking for. He decided to go about learning about the business world on his own: doing research on the internet, getting books and guides from industry experts and basically just pushing full steam ahead.

“I’m not anti-school, but in this business class (I was taking) the program was … kind of in the 1980s. We have online advertising now and they’re talking about television and print (advertising),” Lundgard said. “I like to say I went to YouTube university. I just taught myself everything. Instead of sitting down and analyzing, I’ll just jump in head first.”

Just go for it

Chalk that up to his surfing passion. Looking over the lip of a 30-foot wave, there can be no hesitation. You drop in or don’t. The wave may land on your head —or in the case of a brand, may lose some money — but that won’t stop Lundgard from taking the next wave.

“For what you pay for school, if you gave me that (tuition money) per year, that’s a lot of money to start a business. Instead of paying this much for school, I’ll use it for start-up money,” Lundgard said. “So far, it’s working out. I’m glad I followed my gut.”

By following his gut, Lundgard hopes to turn VNTR into a million-dollar brand and at the same time, use it to help fund his surf adventures — and those of his friends. His relationship with rising Half Moon Bay charger Luca Padua has helped Padua realize his dreams of searching the globe for the next big wave.

“I grew up with all of them (the latest Half Moon Bay crew at Mavericks). I’ve always hooked them up. I wouldn’t say it’s an official sponsorship,” Lundgard said. “It’s still a pretty grass-roots brand. … We’re just motivated not to have a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday job. (Just wanting) that flexibility I’ve always been intrigued by.”

While there is still some soul to his goal, Lundgard is also driven by numbers and it’s those numbers that will allow him to keep him in neoprene and in the water for as long as he wants.

“My goal, I guess, is to grow this brand to a seven-figure brand,” Lundgard said. “That’s just a personal goal I’ve put on myself. In sales, you have to put a number on it to make it legit.”