Episode 39: Enjoy The Ride: A Regenerating Journey From The Surf To The Turf with Ed Lewis/Enjoy The Farm and Enjoy Handplanes

Grey Matters Now

Enjoy: "To enjoy something is to take delight or pleasure in something."

Upcycling: “The act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function. In doing so, the finished product often becomes more practical, valuable and beautiful than what it previously was.”

Ed Lewis started his first business in 1996 right out of college and since then his goals have shifted significantly. In the beginning work was all about self and making a living… admitting that in his twenties he couldn’t see too far past himself.

photo credit: Nate Perraccini

In 2005 after experiencing the birth of his daughter, something shifted for him and he suddenly had a view of the world that was less about self and more about others.

In 2010 he cofounded Enjoy Handplanes with the mission of making products from other peoples trash. It was a cool way to save broken surfboards, old wetsuits and production waste from going to the landfills while creating products that are fun to use and environmentally responsible.

He describes this time as an awakening that got him thinking seriously about the environment and how doing business could actually have a positive impact on his community locally and globally. In the process of doing business he also became a filter for community and became a resource for people to drop off their trashed products.

Over the past 10 years he has been a pioneer in the space of converting trash to beautiful, functional products and his business became a lab for him to think more and more outside the box. In this experience, he has learned valuable lessons along the way and has helped to inspire others around the world to do the same.

His latest venture is Enjoy the Farm. Enjoy The Farm is a 9.5 acre upcycled maker space, learning center and regenerative rare fruit farm located in North County San Diego and is focused on DIY regenerative - food, water, energy, materials, shelter and soils.

This passion driven endeavor created a space to come learn how to incorporate upcycling and holistic land management into lives and businesses, and most importantly cultivate community.

This is definitely not just a story of a business evolution. Can we also upcycle what life tosses at us and to us? Yes Indeed, and Ed is the perfect example of an evolution of personal growth through regenerating experiences. This up cycled energy is infinite and will germinate and spread like collards.

Enjoy!

https://enjoy-the-farm.com/

https://www.enjoyhandplanes.com/

Instagram @enjoy_the_farm @enjoyhandplanes

Intro Music: J45 & Dime by Will Kimbrough Episode Artwork Photo Credit: Alia Lewis