Daily Inspiration: Meet Dunk Johnston

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dunk Johnston.  

Hi Dunk, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was nine years old, I went to summer camp for the first time. It was unbelievable. As soon as I stepped foot on the property I was in love. The friendships, the feelings, and the experiences I get to have and remember because of that camp are too many to count. Right after that experience I was pretty dead set on starting my own someday. Around the same time, I got into skateboarding. After that, my buddies and I would bring our boards up to summer camp year after year and build little jumps and courses in the woods. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that all the time. 

Well two years ago, after graduating college I started chasing the dream. The first person I reached out to had an incredible connection with a retreat center in the Bellevue area. It’s a little mountain campus in the woods, with a lake and a lodge. I fundraised, got a lease with this property, built a number of skateparks up there, and invited 150 skaters from all over the states to come party for the summer. There was a lot on the line, and it took every fiber of my being to pull it off, but shoot… It was Heaven on Earth all summer. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Parts of the journey fell into place in mysteriously smooth ways. I can’t claim credit for any of the things that just fell into place. I’m very blessed in that way. But There were also a handful of challenges that destroyed me. In order to build all of our parks up in a remote mountain campus, we had to pull off some miracles. I was working close to 70 hours a week for a year, and a lot of those hours were spent banging my head against a wall. Thanks, God, for my volunteer team, couldn’t have pulled it off without those folks. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Camp Goodbuddy is a non-profit based out of Fort Collins Colorado. We’re focused on serving the skateboarding community and other members of the action-based artform communities such as surfers and snow sports. We have fallen deeply in love with this people group and want to do our best to help them live life to the fullest. Our first step was creating an incredible campus to host other skate non-profits from around the states. We’re partnering with mentoring figures in different skate communities and providing a space for them to connect with kids from their community. An average day at camp includes a swim in the lake, a skate session or 3 or 7 sessions, a few great meals, games all around campus, and a massive bonfire to cap the day off. 

In the next few years, we hope to pioneer some surf and ski trips focused on crazy adventures and developing uplifting practices. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
In all honesty, I feel as though I hardly deserve any credit in the grand scheme of this story. My family, my mentors, my friends, and the volunteer team took this thing from zero to hero. I was just a crazy 9-year-old kid who was probably pretty annoying when this story started, and people were willing to invest in me back then. I’m just doing my best to return the favor and get a few good laughs along the way. 

Contact Info:

• Email: dunk@campgoodbuddy.com
• Website: www.campgoodbuddy.com
• Instagram: @campgoodbuddy

Image Credits
Raven Rivera