Join the Gremlins Gang

 

 

Join Us!

Gremlins Gang Charter Member 2023:  

$50 _ That's FIFTY BUCKS for a lifetime memebership. You receive a Membership certificate signed by Harry Conti and Froggy, a “Member” shirt, Stickers, and a 1-year mail subscription to PPNF VOICE. All Gremlins receive discounts on Pack Your Trash events and gear.  

The Gremlins Gang is the environmental club of Pack Your Trash. Gremlins of all ages are enlisted to conduct environmental activities that promote stewardship of the land, waterways, and the sea (and they might even cause trouble for litterbugs): Pack Your Trash is the Gang’s motto.

Gremlins Gang events include: beach cleanups, science education outreach, surf movie nights, dances, and more that are part of ongoing fundraising activities for a Santa Cruz Surf Museum.  *All Outreach activities include the Ohlone Native American concept of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to tie surf communities to native tribes and restoration of the environment along with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects, and healthy lifestyle activities.

Historically Gremlins are mischievous creatures known to cause trouble for Royal Airforce Pilots since the 1920’s and then written about by Roald Dahl in 1942.  Famous Gremlins include “Froggy the Gremlin” on the 1955 Andy’s Gang TV show and the 1984 blockbuster Gremlins starring “Stripe”. 

In “surf lingo” gremlins, gremmies, grommets, or groms are kids that want to surf like the the pros or the big kids.  Jim Phillips founded the Gremlins Society in 1960 (“Santa Cruz Surfing”, by Hickenbottom, notes this as the first surfing club in Santa Cruz since the 1940’s era) and Phillips went on to start the Pleasure Point Surfing Association soon after. Harry Conti grew up surfing with the Westside Raiders. In 1980 Conti teamed up with Phillips and resurrected The Pleasure Point Night Fighters (PPNF est. 1919) then quickly went on to form Pack Your Trash. Conti and Phillips were surfing buddies and environmental activists before it was cool! The iconic Pack Your Trash logo by Phillips showing “the Geek” tossing his Dorky Cola bottle is well known across the world.   Conti moved to Hawaii in the 90’s and in 2004 he joined the Board of Save Our Seas Hawaii led by Paul Clark. SOS and Pack Your Trash spread across the Pacific. Phillips Conti, and Clark teamed up in 2022 to revive the PPPN VOICE Magazine. In 2023 Conti and Clark formed the Gremlins Gang as a club for Pack Your Trash eco-warriors! 

TEAM:

Harry Conti Hanging the BannerHarry Conti cares about our coasts and surf spots plagued with trash! Harry is part Ohlone, Native American. Harry was “the enforcer” in Santa Cruz for decades. He's the co-Founder of the Pleasure Point Night Fighters and Pack Your Trash. Harry is on the VP of Save Our Seas Hawaii and he continues to spread Pack Your Trash across the world from Santa Cruz to Kauai: places known and unknown: Camp Earth. www.harryconti.com

Jim Phillips is a graphic artist who is best known for his surf and skateboard art. Born in San Jose, CA, he's lived most of his life in Santa Cruz, CA. Jim’s surf art began to appear in the major surf magazines during the 60’s. His earliest jobs were in local surf shops that were manufacturing surfboards, where much of his work Jim Phillips enjoys a clean coast!was applying art and designs to surfboards. In 1965 and 66 Jim studied fine art under a scholarship at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California. Phillips became sole artist and art director for NHS Inc. during their early years in the 1970’s and 80’s where he created thousands of decks, t-shirts, stickers, product illustrations and skateboard magazine ads. In 1988 he founded Phillips Studios where he trained young skateboarding artists to create designs for NHS. Jim’s art has grown even more popular in his later days and NHS currently markets his work in 80 countries. In 2016 – 2017. Jim is the co-founder of PPNF and Pack Your Trash.

Paul Clark is a University of Hawaii Hilo graduate. Paul is the coordinator of Save Our Seas Hawaii and “The Clerk” of Pack Your Trash. At the St. Regis Princeville, Kauai Paul was the director and owner of the Young Voyagers Club and oversaw all the private childcare and cultural guest activities. Paul was a K-12 marine science and digital media teacher at Kula High, Intermediate, and Elementary School on Kauai’s north shore and specialized in experiential marine monitoring (collecting data while snorkeling) field trips.  He was also the site coordinator for the first online school on Kauai: the Myron B. Thompson Academy. Paul’s business, Earth Surge, was the first Kauai business to provide biodegradable and compostable goods to the island.  He spent 10 years as a tour boat captain on waters of the Na Pali coast, Hilo and Kona.  Paul is a Divemaster and has worked as a scientific diver with UH and the DLNR establishing Marine Protected Areas in West Hawaii. He has three amazing children and likes to explore the backcountry