John Rose is the founder of Waves for Water, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to clean water for everyone that needs it.

Seems like a simultaneously large but simple goal. He founded Waves for Water in 2009 when one in every six people on the planet did not have access to clean water. This means that one

and six people were subject to cholera, salmonella, e-coli, plus the myriad illnesses and infections

you are at risk of without basic hygiene. This problem is completely solvable. It can be solved with money and organization.

And Waves for Water is collecting, allocating, and distributing those things through solutions

including water filtration systems, drilling and renovating of borehole wells, and the

construction of rainwater harvesting and sorting systems where groundwater isn't accessible.

Over the past 11 years, Johns implemented 155 clean water programs in 48 countries and provided water for an estimated 3,750,000 people.

His organization has also provided disaster relief and responded to 33 major natural

disasters to date, including initiatives in Nepal, Bosnia, Philippines, Indonesia, Haiti, Japan, Chile, and Pakistan.

John Rose first arrived on my radar as a professional surfer in 1999. I was a senior

in high school reading every surf magazine that was available. Magazines published a list of

regional contest results at that time towards the back of the mag. And I saw John's name a few

times. Then eventually saw him featured in a Quicksilver ad

when Quicksilver offered up that precious space to someone other than Kelly Slater. This was the

heyday of Surf Magazines. Ad spaces were filled with everything from our beloved brands.

Vulcum was advertising Magnaplasm with a double page spread. The recently

launched Hurley was showcasing the Malloy brothers. Even Radiohead advertised their new album Amnesiac

Insurfer's annual big issue. You'd see the unlikely pairing of Kelly Slater and Bobby Martinez mugging together in a K-Grip ad,

and an endless list of now defunct brands like Red Sand Clothing, Anarchy Eyewear, and Animal

Watches.

All of this made for robust budgets, for photo trips, and supported a vast network of professional

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