Windsurfing Legend Fred Haywood Helps Clean Up Maui’s Coastline

Windsurfing legend Fred Haywood, together with Pacific Home Loans and Maui Jim, has partnered with social good platform PixlBank to launch a campaign that will turn photos into funds to help clean up Maui’s beaches and coastal waters.

The campaign launched together with Haywood’s new book, “Racing with Aloha,” which hit virtual bookshelves around the world on Sept. 1, 2021.

The book is an inspiring journey of a humble barefoot Maui boy who becomes a world champion in the water — both in the ocean and in the pool.

From growing up on Maui to becoming the fastest backstroker in America and the fastest windsurfer in the world, much of Haywood’s life story takes place in the water.

It was through the retelling of his story that he became determined to give back, Haywood said, “While I was working on this book, I became really inspired and motivated to do something to give back and take care of the beaches and the ocean where I have spent much of my life.”

Having surfed and windsurfed around the world, Haywood was already familiar with the Surfrider Foundation and the incredible work they do to preserve, protect and clean up the world’s ocean and beaches. He also knew they had a local chapter on his island home of Maui.

Haywood said he wanted to create something that would make it easy and fun for people to give back and wanted to create something that would inspire people to share their love for Maui and for the ocean.

Through a mutual connection, Haywood was introduced to the CEO of the social good platform PixlBank, a social media platform whose purpose is to spread awareness and fund causes around the world.

As it turned out, the PixlBank team was already developing a campaign called “Share the Aloha,” which was being created to leverage and monetize the millions of photos taken each year by visitors and residents of Hawaiʻi.

The funds raised by these photos were planned to be channeled directly to local organizations doing work to preserve the local culture, support the local community and protect and restore the natural beauty and delicate ecosystems of the Hawaiian islands.

Together, PixlBank and Haywood decided to create a precursor to the much larger “Share the Aloha” initiative, which is set to launch this October.

For this first campaign, people will be able to show their love for Maui and the ocean by visiting the campaign page on the “Racing with Aloha” site. Once there, people can easily upload a photo of themselves throwing their best “Shaka,” and share their photo on social media to unlock a $10 donation from Pacific Home Loans, up to $1000. Also, wherever photos are shared – in a text, email, direct message or on social media – people can simply tap to give them a “Boost” with a donation.

All of the money raised by these photos will go directly to Surfrider Foundation Maui to fund beach cleanups.

To help inspire people to share photos and motivate others to Boost those photos with donations, Haywood’s friends at Maui Jim have donated 30 pairs of sunglasses as prizes. Winners will even get to pick their favorite style on the Maui Jim website.

As an additional mahalo, Haywood will be giving away personalized copies of his book to the first 25 people who share a photo in support of the campaign.