Florida Surfer Handcrafts Rescue Boards to Save Lives

Mike Karol knows what it takes to pull someone from dangerous ocean waters, and now he's building the tools to make those rescues faster and safer.

The Port Salerno surfer and former ocean rescue lifeguard won a $6,000 contract to handcraft four custom rescue boards for St. Lucie County's lifeguard team. After more than 10 years as an EMT lifeguard for Martin and Palm Beach counties, Karol understands exactly what rescuers need when seconds count.

"I had been advocating putting a project like this together for quite a while," Karol told local reporters. When the county needed new boards, his name came up.

Karol has been shaping custom surfboards since 1998, starting in his parents' garage and launching his Stoke Surfboards brand a year later. But rescue boards require different engineering than regular surfboards.

"It needs to be buoyant. It needs to move fast through the ocean. It needs to be easy to handle," Karol explained. The boards must also self-correct in rough water, similar to how boats right themselves.

The precision matters. Rip currents account for more than 80% of beach rescues nationwide, according to the National Ocean Service. Florida's popular beaches see thousands of swimmers caught in these powerful currents each year.

Why This Inspires

Karol could have simply bid on the contract as a business opportunity. Instead, he's pouring his lifeguard experience into every detail, imagining how each board might perform during an actual emergency.

"I think it's pretty exciting," he said. "That's one of the main motivators."

His work represents something bigger than craftsmanship. When someone with frontline rescue experience designs the equipment, those tools get better. Lives get saved.

One day soon, a St. Lucie County lifeguard will paddle one of Karol's boards through churning surf to reach a struggling swimmer, and all those years of experience shaped into fiberglass will make the difference.