Headline Article LA Charities

5th Annual Celebrity Expression Session Surfrider Event Raises $29,600 for Cause

Cash for your car

Christina Applegate and fiancée Martyn Lenoble, hosts of the Surfrider event

Musician Martyn Lenoble (bassist, Porno for Pyros) and fiancée Christina Applegate joined forces to host the 5th Annual Celebrity Expression Session Surfrider Foundation Event in Malibu on Sept. 11. Surfrider is a non-profit organization that strives to continue the fight against pollution and mistreatment of the earth’s natural oceans and beaches.

The event centered around a 45-minute surf for the participants, and it raised $29,600 for Surfrider to continue protecting the beaches. That total is a 500 percent increase from last year’s funds.

Participants in the surf included musicians Lenoble, Eric Avery (bass, Jane’s Addiction), Anthony Kiedis (singer, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Flea (bassist, Red Hot Chili Peppers). Also in attendance and riding the waves were actors Austin Nichols (One Tree Hill), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), Eric Balfour (Haven) and Sam Trammell (True Blood).

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Anthony Kiedis, Eric Avery, Brian Geraghty, Austin Nichols, Flea, Martyn Lenoble, Sam Trammell and Eric Balfour

Sponsored by Barefoot Wine, Cali Bamboo and Malibu Surfing Association, the event was set up that for each wave caught and ridden, a donation of $200 was made by these sponsors. The celebrities also took to social media to encourage fans’ donations through www.crowdrise.com, and an additional $4,600 was raised.

Chatting with the Surfing Celebs

The first to arrive to the event were Austin Nichols and Brian Geraghty. Nichols found this Surfrider event especially close to his heart this year with the current events in America.

“I’m thrilled to be here for the Surfrider Foundation for this Celebrity Expression Session. I recently got really, really angry about the oil spill in the Gulf and that is what got me going on this,” Nichols said, who recently began an active Twitter account to raise awareness and funds for the country’s oceans, @Aus10Nichols. “I’m really happy to be a part of Surfrider and try to raise money for you guys.”

After the event, he tweeted: “I just surfed with Flea and Anthony Keidis. Thanks @Surfrider for a great day!!!”

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Austin Nichols and Brian Geraghty

Eric Balfour arrived soon after, excited about the opportunity to surf and help protect the beaches. He revealed that one of his favorite places to surf is in Zuma Beach in Malibu, though would not give the exact location of his special, secret hangout.

“Today was amazing. I got to hang out for an hour in the water surfing and having fun and supporting the Surfrider Foundation with some of the coolest artists around,” Balfour said after the event. “I got to surf with Flea and Anthony Kiedis those guys are my heroes…my idols growing up. Surfrider made my day. And I’m just so happy to support what they do. And you should too. Go to www.surfrider.org become a member. Save the ocean.”

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Eric Balfour and Sam Trammell

Surfrider participant Sam Trammell stated that he most wants Snoop Dogg to guest star on an upcoming episode of his hit TV series “True Blood” after a rumor claimed the actor was against the idea. “So I’m saying, on line, I want Snoop Dogg now.”

The actor, who is reading “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” right now, explained his love of surfing, “It’s so amazing to get out in the ocean and bein nature…being in the ocean with all of the animals, the dolphins, the fish, the birds, and it’s just fun to be a part of nature and feel that natural course.”

Hosts of the Celebrity Expression Session, Lenoble and Applegate have a large stake in Earth staying clean and safe for future generations, as the two recently announced they are expecting their first child.

“Surfrider is a great organization that protects and cares for our environment…,” Lenoble explained, also saying that he has only been surfing for a few years, but he is “hooked.” He continued, “Part of the money we’re raising today is going to go to water sanitation in the Gulf of Mexico…I love the ocean, I love our planet, and I think it’s really important that people take care of it.”

Applegate—who revealed she would love for her child to learn to surf—added, “Surfrider is bringing about the importance that we have clean and safe beaches not only for ourselves, but for future generations. This is a gift we have been given and we need to maintain it, take care of it and love it. I love the creatures that dwell in it. I’m really happy to be a part of this”

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Celebrity Expression Session participants and hostess Christina Applegate

For more information on the Surfrider Foundation, visit www.surfrider.org and for details on the Malibu Surfing Association, visit www.msasurfing.org.

About the author

Mandy Rodgers