Caliph Assagai

Caliph grew up in Sacramento, CA, and had the privilege of living on a manmade lake in a neighborhood bordered by the Sacramento River. This is where he developed his love for water! He also visited San Diego every summer for a few years. A few years after law school, realizing he was unfulfilled in Sacramento and craving a different kind of life, he was inspired to move to San Diego to become a surfer and recapture his childhood memories and honor his connection to water. 

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He chose to be a part of Paddle for Peace to contribute to getting more people of color in the water and making the beach a place for everyone. He is aware that his upbringing was very privileged, but doesn't think access to the water should be a privilege. Through his role here, he hopes to work to get more kids of color in the water through our Annual Juneteenth Celebration and year round Surf Lessons.

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Professionally, he is a lawyer by training but works as a policy advocate, life coach, and motivational speaker by choice. He enjoys surfing, hiking, running, biking, and buying too many plants. He began surfing and collecting plants 4 years ago when he moved to San Diego. He is passionate about education, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and ocean conservation.