The Gudauskas Brothers, sometimes known as the G boys, the Gudang trio, or many other warmly adopted names, have made a mark in the surfing world for being some of the most kind, creative, and talented people to ever do it. The electricity and stoke that each of these San Clemente natives has in and out of the water is unmatched, and their impact with the work they do is felt worldwide.

Having recently welcomed Pat and Dane to join Tanner in the RAEN family, we wanted to dig in and share their story. We spent a day with the trio to talk about their earliest memories together, their path through to the other side of competitive surfing, and what this next chapter looks like for each of them.

Tanner: I think we were just baked into beach going. And whether it was boogie boarding, kick boarding, swimming, and then surfing... we just did everything together. Same car, same room, same everything. It made it easy.

Dane: I don’t think it was ever any of us against the other. There were of course lots of instances where we had heats against each other, but in the big picture it was just us working together. There are so many talented surfers out there. We knew that in order to get to that level and achieve our dreams, we needed to work together instead of fighting each other.

Dane: In the beginning, competition was the way you improved and spent time with friends; it was a community effort. But growing up around all the freestyle guys at lowers and then being able to be on Vans and looking up to guys like Nate Fletcher and Joel Tudor—that really sculpted the way we looked at competition. It was exciting to compete and definitely a dream. But as time went on, I realized that competition just wasn’t the ingredient for me. There’s so much more out there in surfing.

So, when I had the opportunity, I got a fresh start and went on the road with Reef McIntosh, Danny Fuller, and Nathan Fletcher and we got some amazing waves. I fell in love with tube riding and being around people who saw surfing in a creative way that wasn’t adhered to anything else and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve found that if you open yourself up to spending time with elders or people who see surfing in a whole new way, it just broadens your perspective of it.

Pat: I spent about six or seven years on tour and it was amazing. I love performing on a wave, the discipline of performance, and feeding off my brothers too. I was also passionate about improving myself personally as well as in my surfing whether it was in big waves, small waves, boards, or any aspect of it. The framework of competing was always a challenge and a constantly fresh canvas—it was fun to figure out how to paint that performing art.

It was a shock when Dane decided not to compete anymore because it was always me and him doing everything as a team. And that was the first time in our lives where one of us broke off and said, ‘I’m not going to do what everyone else is doing.’ But these boys really inspired me in the movement they took away from competing and seeing their personal growth outside of the jersey was really cool for me. They inspired me to take the challenge and growth aspects of competition and channel them into creative passions like PVW, or raising a family, or making films... it just all changed for me after seeing them do it. That passion and energy is still there, it’s just for different things now.

It’s really unique that all three of us have found passion in the same space and have all excelled in that space too. But ultimately, it’s cool to be able to find your own voice within that and we’re really grateful for the opportunity to do that.

Dane: I’m more optimistic than ever about the future of surfing. There are so many communities engaged and excited about surfing and accessing the ocean. That has potential to grow surfing in such beautiful ways and create more of a diverse look at how surfing is presented, experienced, and shared. I think surfing is moving towards a more open-minded approach and there's so much out there to be experienced. There's enough for all of us and there will always be if we take care of the ocean.

Images by Zak Bush and Jack Antal