Surfer celebrated as ‘humble man’
Santa Cruz shark attack victim remembered by friends as a ‘legend’
Kyle Pitchford was back in the ocean on Monday, one of the few close friends of Ben Kelly ready to return to surfing.
He paddled out at the spot the two of them and other friends frequented, a beachbreak on the fringes of Pleasure Point within walking distance of Kelly’s home — far from the Aptos break where a shark had taken Kelly’s life two days earlier.
At 26, Kelly was the young pup among a tightknit group of friends who had bonded over their love of surfing, the beauty of where they lived and a shared devotion to their Christian faith.
Pitchford, Steve Craig and
Mark Hillenga are all youth pastors at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos — one in his 30s, one in his 40s, one in his 60s. Yet it was the bright-eyed millennial who typically supplied the most wisdom.
“If one of us had an incident in the water, he’d be the one trying to bring peace,” said buddy Zach Shull.
“If I got mad because I blew a wave, he’d be the one telling me to let it go,” recalls Pitchford.
The young surfboard shaper and entrepreneur used his religious devotion as a guide map for channeling good energy to his friends and an open hand to strangers.
Daily life was Kelly’s ministry. And everyone he encountered provided an opportunity for giving. As Pitchford puts it, “It just naturally poured out of him.”
But it was Kelly’s authenticity that left the biggest impression.
“He had none of the inhibitions the rest of us have about telling people how they feel about them,” friend Alex Kelso said. “Ben was never afraid to tell you he loves you. He did it every time he saw you.”
“When you said goodbye to Ben,” recalls Baker Carroll, “he’d wrap you up and give you a giant bear hug and two slaps on the back and say ‘Love you, brother.’ ”
So Saturday’s tragic event, the first time a shark has killed a surfer within Monterey Bay waters, naturally shook the faith of an entire community.
In a surf town where hard edges and gruff looks are worn with pride, where territorial bad vibes lurk right around the next cliffside corner, Ben Kelly provided a refreshing antithesis.
“He was a good, godly, humble man who deserved many, many more laps around the sun and more than a few good waves,” Shull wrote in an Instagram testimonial. “I miss you Ben. Was really looking forward to a Baja trip with you.”
Authentic Approach
Kelly, an Orange County native, leaves behind his wife of three years, Katie, whom he met at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. Their close circle of friends and family have surrounded her with love and support and set up a GoFundMe campaign to “carry on Ben’s legacy of love and generosity.”
Kelly had begun shaping surfboards while attending college in Southern California. He used his burgeoning skills as a surfboard shaper to connect to people and share what one friend called “the enthusiasm and joy of 10 people.”
“Ben actually cared about how it worked for you,” Pitchford said. “He just wanted people to be stoked.”
One of his customers was Carroll, who had moved to the area shortly after Kelly. Carroll said he sought out a young underground shaper like Kelly, hoping to learn about the craft while getting a perfect surfboard.
He got way more than he bargained for in a good friend and adventure seeker.
“He was always on the move, dreaming big and chasing it — whether that was finding the right wave or starting his company,” Carroll said.
Kelly and his wife began a social marketing company called Authentic Approach, focused on helping small businesses get off the ground.
The nature of the business allowed them to chase their own adventurous spirit (they recently spent a month in Oahu where Ben checked surfing the North Shore off his bucket list) and connect to others in their coastal community.
“He was so passionate about creating businesses,” Kelso said. “They started it not to fund their life as much as ‘Our whole goal is to serve these people and help their businesses.’ ”
Adventurous spirit
That Kelly would be surfing “The Beaches,” a stretch from Sand Dollar up past Manresa and La Selva, didn’t surprise those who knew him best.
Even though it has been a haven for juvenile white sharks, giving some surfers pause, Kelly frequented spots north and south of Santa Cruz known for even greater abundances of aquatic wildlife.
“Ben was an explorer to the core — always down to find some uncrowded little mysto wave,” recalls Kelso. “I can’t tell you how many times he’d start out the day looking at Waddell Creek and end up surfing at Asilomar.”
As Pitchford puts it: “He was for sure a ‘We can’t live our lives scared of everything’ person.”
It wasn’t unusual for Kelly to pick up and drive to Big Sur for a solo camping and surfing excursion. It gave him the perfect setting to recenter and refocus on his faith. But he also loved his boys trips near and far.
Carroll says Kelly saved his life on a big day at a notoriously shark-filled spot up north, calmly helping him navigate an energysapping rip current. But he most remembers the surfboard Kelly was going to help him shape and the final bear hug he didn’t get.
“I swung by his house to talk about the board he was going to help me make,” he recalled. “When I left, because of the coronavirus, we had to just do the air fist bump thing. I feel robbed I didn’t get that hug.
“But I’m gonna see that board through for him.”
As heartbroken as they are trying to process his loss, Kelly’s friends are secure in his legacy.
“He’s a legend,” Kelso said.