According to Sam, the two of them first met in January 2023 at a college group dodgeball tournament. Syd was dominating, as usual (two-time champ, no big deal), while Sam sat with his team on the sidelines. His team all wore jerseys, and Sam proudly sported Dak Prescott on the Cowboys. Without missing a beat, Syd didn’t bother introducing herself or saying hello, she immediately started roasting Sam for wearing a Cowboys jersey and for being such a proud fan. Looking back, Syd doesn’t remember this interaction at all. What she does remember is securing the win, which, in her mind, matters most. Four months later, Syd’s friend Cameron invited her whole friend group to support a guy named Sam from Grace College, who had a surf film showing at their favorite coffee shop, Field Day. Syd and her friend Mack were super excited about the idea of a surf film festival and made it to the show just in time to see Sam’s video. Cameron, however, was running notoriously late and did not make it. After all the films played, Syd and Mack congratulated Sam on a great video and explained that they were there on Cameron’s behalf to check out the event. They told him how awesome the surfers were and how cool the whole thing was, but then left soon after. Sam has no memory of this interaction whatsoever. That summer came and went without the two crossing paths again. Then, Syd’s friends Alex and Morgan invited her to become a youth leader at Grace Youth in Arroyo Grande. Syd agreed, feeling convicted to get involved in youth ministry after her roommate Anna started working with high school students. She quickly fell in love with the students and looked forward to Wednesdays. She also loved hanging out with the other leaders afterward, grabbing food at In-N-Out, relaxing, and enjoying each other’s company. It was during those nights that Syd started asking Morgan and Alex, “Who’s that cool surfer guy, Sam? The kids love him.” And the rest, as they say, is history.