Surfa Sam

With its origins in 1963, Surfa Sam was created by Dr Leo Kalokerinos, a then 29 year old medical student, who transformed his parents’ small family home into Australia’s first “Sidewalk Surfer” company.

In the early 1980s after selling over 250,000 boards, the factory was closed. With no new boards on the market, the Surfa Sam brand lay dormant for over 40 years - until now. Reignited by his love for the rich cultural history of surfing and skating, Nick Dart sought to bring this iconic Australian brand back to life.

The objective of this project was to capture the rich heritage of the Surfa Sam brand, with a key focus on Dr. Leo Kalokerino’s grass-roots story. Nick emphasised the importance of featuring Dr. Leo's personal account as the cornerstone of the project, which would be supported by visuals of the board making process and archival footage of the era.