Chaz Bowser
Chaz W. Bowser
HMSO President 2009-Currently
US Army Ranger (Retired)
Born the son of a serviceman who was also the son of a serviceman, I grew up living the gypsy lifestyle, being stationed somewhere new every 3 years or so. Luckily, most of the places I lived had salt-water to play in nearby. In my middle and high school years, I truly gained a love for the ocean while living in Japan attending Kubasaki High School on the beautiful island of Okinawa. I used to hang around a little surf shop in the town of Naha called “Reef Break Surf Shop” and got the surf bug there I’d say if I had to pick a place in time where my infection started. That combined with exploring the island (usually underwater) or trampling through the jungle (mostly during school hours) armed with a knife and homemade spear created a lifetime love of the ocean and sense of adventure.
That sense of adventure led me to the best decision I could have made as a young man graduating without a real sense of direction or focus. For me, that was to enlist in the military serving my initial tour stationed in Miami, Florida where once again surfing entered the picture. I had a small quiver of boards in my barracks room and that was my weekend scene for the most part. Since Florida waves rarely strike above the kneecap on the best of days, the skill set was basically honed in solid “double over ankle” killer swells up and down the coastline wearing a neon spring suit of course (it was the 80’s man – what do you expect)… Fast forward to marriage, kids, college, a great military career and all the stuff in between – and throw in an assignment to Hawaii (or two, or three) and you can see how the love of surfing just got stronger and stronger.
Then comes along a war or two! That put a small kink in my plans but I was glad that the military had fully prepared me for what lay ahead. I left Hawaii and returned to my alma mater at a base in North Carolina where I was able to pacify myself from time to time on the Outer Banks when I wasn’t making friends with the Peace Loving People of Iraq, shooting guns, jumping from airplanes, making friends with the Peace Loving People of Afghanistan, etc. etc.
Alas, all good things must come to an end eventually so I decided to hang up my uniform and retire from the military to pursue another career in the civilian sector. And the Army gave me fantastic gift by allowing me to leave the tip of the spear where I was serving and take a final assignment back home in Hawaii where I could prepare for that transition effectively. Everything went as smooth as Sex Wax atop a black surfboard logo on a hot day and I now recharge my “fun-meter” daily living the dream on Oahu bathing in her waters daily for sustenance.
I’ve had had the great fortune (mostly due to my Uncle Samuel’s great generosity I have to admit) to surf the world over and my friends would all say that I am a truly classic “soul” surfer down to my inner-core. My quiver looks like a collection of museum quality boards plucked (circa 1969-1975) and I relish the ability to talk directly to a shaper who can handcraft my vision into a work of art. I enjoy everything that is surfing from Alpha to Omega – as long as it is real and handcrafted. I truly believe that surfing is more than just the act of catching a wave, having a deep respect for the ocean and the all-encompassing surfing lifestyle. I prefer to carve classic lines on a single fin boards made from foam mowed by a shaper armed with a Skil Planer and a real vision of form following function. Ideally everything about surfing to me starts with an “Endless Summer” and ends with a “Morning of the Earth” if you know what I mean.
Being retired from active duty after a quarter of century of early mornings and late nights waiting for an 18 sequence or a call to go somewhere to do “bad things to bad people” is a welcome change I must say. I own my own small consulting business on Oahu working as an advisor to companies across the globe that aid our troops to be more lethal on the battlefield and more survivable so they too can finish their time, come home to their families, and hopefully get the chance to paddle in a wave themselves.
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