Grant Noble is always on the hunt for a tropical left point and this is what happens when two rippers collide in Mexico… If you haven’t heard of Dan Pascacio, well now you have, we also sat down with Dan to learn about what life is like as a mid 20’s surfing hot shot.
For those who are unfamiliar with your career, can you introduce yourself? How old are you, where did you grow up, what’s your life like as a multifaceted surfer, competitor, shaper, host, and teacher?
Hola, my name is Dan Pascacio, I am 25 years old, I grew up in Los Llanos, Guerrero, Mexico - the small village inland from La Saladita. I started surfing when I was around 14 years old. First time I competed was at Mexilogfest in 2021. Since then, I competed in different longboard festivals like the Vans Duct Tape of Rio de Janeiro, Malibu Classic Invitational, Gliding Barnacles in Portugal, Love Log Festival in France… During this time, I started coaching people who wanted to learn how to noseride here in Mexico so I could afford traveling to these festivals. In 2022, I co-founded Log Surf Retreats with my girlfriend Elise Laine who is a photographer/filmmaker. We offer longboard surf retreats here at my home break La Saladita to longboarders who want to learn how to noseride and for the surfers who feel like they’ve hit a plateau in their surfing and want to improve. We have about 8-10 retreats per year and the rest of the time, I offer private surf coaching.
I started learning how to shape boards in 2022 as well, but mostly for fun. Craig Johnson, a shaper living in Troncones, Mexico has been teaching me how to shape my first boards.
What is the biggest difference between life as a surfer in Guerrero, Mexico vs what you observe about your friends in the US?
I am lucky to live in La Saladita because I have perfect waves every day, all year long and I can surf everyday. But I feel like surfers in the US have more opportunities than surfers in Mexico. There is no money in the surf industry here in Mexico and no sponsorship opportunity.
You have a really unique style, what did La Saladita teach you that another wave never could?
The waves here are always perfect all year round so it helps a lot to improve your style and technique if you surf every day. So many professional longboarders have also been coming to surf here over the years, which has inspired me. Just watching them and observing their different style has taught me a lot.
Who are some of your favorite surfers you’ve been able to compete with?
Andy Nieblas, Alex Knost, Tom Morrat, Harrison Roach at the duct tape!
What was it like to receive an invitation to the 2023 Duct Tape in Brazil and what did you take away from that experience?
Getting an invitation to surf in the Vans Duct Tape had been a dream of mine. In 2022, I was invited as a guest to the Vans Duct Tape of Sayulita as a Vans Mexico team rider but I did not have the opportunity to compete that year. One year later, on the morning of my birthday - February 7th - I received an invitation to the Duct Tape of Brazil. Best birthday present ever!
Conditions were big in Brazil - they even took the jet skis out which was a first time for me!!! I ended up going to the semi finals at the Duct Tape which was super fun ! I loved the surf culture of Brazil, everyone there is so passionate about surfing. There were kids in the streets asking for photos and autographs and all the Brazilian people were so nice and welcoming!
What's something you believed about longboarding at 18 that you completely disagree with now?
When I was 18, I was only surfing shortboards so I never thought I would end up longboarding haha. Now I think that learning how to longboard was the best decision I ever took because of all the opportunities it brought me.
You’re also a businessman, can you tell us more about your project, Log Surf Retreats, and what it’s like to be a co-founder on that project?
I love teaching about the techniques of longboarding. I feel like most surf retreats in the world are for beginners or surfers who want to shortboard, they don’t teach you how to progress on a longboard. I wanted to create a technical surf retreat for intermediate surfers who feel like they are stuck and hit a plateau in their surfing. So many people that came to our retreats said they made more progress in one week with us than in 5 years of surfing. This is our goal. We had so many people hitting their first hang fives during their week at Log Surf Retreats and that’s really rewarding! Most of the people coming to the retreats also end up being good friends now, so I have friends from all over the world!
You can check out our website here: https://logsurfretreats.com/
You’re one of Grant Noble’s team riders, how did this relationship arise?
Back in 2020, a friend of mine from New York - Greg - gave me a longboard from Grant Noble. It was my first longboard ever and I started following Grant on instagram. Grant had been coming to surf in Saladita for years and I had always seen him surfing. We then connected in the water during one of his surf trips. At the end of his trip, Grant offered me his personal pink Wilbur Longoard which ended up being my magic board. This is my favorite board ever and I feel like it is the board that helped me find my style surfing. Best boards ever!
I can’t decide if I enjoy your surfing more on a fish or a log, do you have a favorite model from Grant?
I love surfing longboards as much as I love shortboards!
My favorite model for longboards would definitely be the Wilbur. And the Snub as a fish!
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Want to tap into the ride everything philosophy? We have two demos for you to come in and test drive through the Daydream Research Center:
9’4” Sangria
9’7” Wilbur
We also have a few new sticks from Grant Noble for you to mind surf: