Beyond The Break: The Surfers Shaping New Jersey’s Future
ROB KELLY, BEN GRAVY AND JEREMY DEFILIPPIS
Redefining New Jersey surfing—at home and around the world
Posted up on the beach in Margate on a recent sunny Saturday were three of the most notable faces in New Jersey surfing.
There was Rob Kelly, the professional surfer whose powerful style carried him from the beaches of Ocean City to some of the world’s best waves. Ben Gravy, the YouTube phenomenon who built an international audience by chasing surf in places most people never imagined waves could exist. And Jeremy DeFilippis, the Beach Haven entrepreneur who turned $1,000 pooled by five friends into Jetty Inc., one of the East Coast’s most recognizable surf and lifestyle brands.
I was there for Beachstock, Margate’s annual celebration of surfing, music, and beach culture. Ben Gravy’s Foamie- Free-For-All was underway and all three were keeping pace. Kelly, Gravy and DeFilippis weren’t simply making appearances. They were talking with fans, helping behind the scenes, supporting one another, and doing what they’ve always done – finding ways to grow New Jersey’s surf community.
One passion. Three careers. Three very different journeys. One found success through competition. One through storytelling. One through entrepreneurship.
All of them flying the flag of New Jersey, and all of them making an impact far beyond the Garden State.
For Kelly, surfing began almost by accident. Raised in Bucks County, PA, he spent summers visiting family in Hawaii, where an uncle first introduced him to surfing at age 10. Back at home, he couldn’t stop talking about that free-flow experience. Rob’s father Jim, now a newly-elected city councilman, and mother Donna, who runs a thrift boutique Downtown, took a visit to Ocean City one summer, walked into 7th Street Surf Shop and asked a simple question: “Do people surf here?”
“That moment at 7th Street truly changed my life,” Kelly said.
Years later, when his family permanently relocated to Ocean City, it felt as though summer vacation simply never ended.
“When I was 15, it felt like that summer vacation never left,” he said. “I’m 36 now, and I still feel like I’m on that summer vacation.”
Over two decades as a professional surfer, Kelly watched the industry evolve. Early in his career, success meant living out of a suitcase, traveling the globe chasing contests.
Today, social media, brand partnerships and content creation have transformed what a professional surfing career can look like.
“I can spend more time at home in Ocean City and still make a living through surfing,” he said.
Those changes eventually led him to partner with Jetty after a 20-year relationship with Billabong.
Rather than simply representing another surf company, Kelly says he enjoys helping a homegrown New Jersey brand grow while sharing the experience he gained working with one of surfing’s biggest names.
Ocean City, he says, remains his home base.
“Having traveled the world, I can truly say Ocean City is one of the most special surf towns,” Kelly said. “It’s rich in surf history, and you can definitely feel it.”
That pride runs even deeper.
“I’ve always had this deep gratitude for Ocean City,” he said. “The people in this town helped elevate me to where I am today. I’m always motivated to fly the Ocean City flag as high as I can. If my name helps bring Ocean City up with it, that’s the best.”
While Kelly chased world-class waves, Ben Gravy was chasing something entirely different.
“I really hate the term influencer,” Gravy admitted. Instead, he describes himself as something else.
“The main thing I’ve always been passionate about, whether surfing’s involved or not, is storytelling.”
That perspective has made him one of surfing’s most recognizable personalities. Rather than searching for perfect barrels in tropical destinations, Gravy built an audience by surfing flooded streets, river waves, Great Lakes swells and obscure novelty waves that many surfers would never consider riding.
“My brand of surfing is vastly different than what most pro surfers are looking to do,” he said. “What really gets me excited is finding a wave in a place nobody ever imagined there would be one.”
His biggest adventure began with a suggestion from viewers. After documenting surf sessions across the country, fans challenged him to surf in all 50 states. Most people would have laughed, but Gravy saw an opportunity.
“When I first looked at the map, I thought it was impossible,” he said. “That’s what gets me excited – doing something I truly believe might be impossible.”
The only thing holding you back from scoring is your mindset. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just a bad attitude.
Ben Gravy
Three years later, after countless hours researching river waves, Great Lakes storms, and hidden waves, he completed the challenge.
But perhaps the most important journey happened before the cameras were rolling.
In 2015, Gravy started his YouTube channel while committing himself to one year of sobriety.
“I saw my life as one thing,” he said. “When I decided to quit drinking, my life opened up substantially. My mind expanded, my heart expanded, and I was able to tap into portions of myself that I didn’t know were possible.”
That outlook continues to shape everything he creates.
“The only thing holding you back from scoring is your mindset,” he said. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just a bad attitude.”
For Gravy, success has little to do with wave quality.
“It’s not about the waves,” he said. “It’s about the journey.” Jeremy DeFilippis, like the others, took his passion for surf and decided he was going to do things his way.
In 2003, Jeremy’s four friends returned from a snowboard trip inspired to create an East Coast surf brand. Jeremy was all in with the plan and each tossed $200 into a hat.
That $1,000 became Jetty, Inc., beginning as five guys selling tees and hats out of a pickup truck, and becoming an surf and coastal lifestyle brands with 60 or so employees.
All while never losing sight of its New Jersey roots.
More than two decades later, the company has grown into one of the East Coast’s best-known surf brands while remaining deeply committed to coastal conservation and community through the Jetty Rock Foundation.
Today, DeFilippis sees partnerships with surfers like Kelly and Gravy as a natural extension of the company’s identity.
They’re not simply sponsored athletes, they’re people who represent the same values.
Together, the partnership has become more than a sponsorship agreement. Kelly and Gravy help shape apparel, collaborate on product launches, appear at community events, and represent the Jetty brand nationwide, while DeFilippis and his team provide a platform that connects authentic New Jersey surf culture with a growing audience well beyond the Jersey Shore.
Gravy says that’s exactly why the partnership works.
“They’re blue-collar, hardworking fellas just like myself,” he said. “It’s a Jersey brand, and I’m super honored to represent them and fly that flag around the world.”
The three men now find themselves connected in ways few could have predicted.
Kelly is helping shape the future of surfing through wave pool technology, working with engineers to develop artificial surf systems around the world.
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Ben Gravy in foreground and Rob Kelly in background at Beachstock 26. Photo by Bill Godfrey
Gravy continues chasing impossible adventures while developing affordable wave pool concepts of his own.
DeFilippis keeps expanding a company that has become synonymous with East Coast surf culture.
Different careers, different definitions of success, yet each still carries New Jersey wherever they go.
Perhaps Gravy summed it up best—not just for himself, but for all three.
“You should always be that excited simply to be alive.”
Jetty apparel, including collections associated with Kelly and Gravy, is available locally at Heritage Surf & Sport in Ocean City, as well as Jetty retail locations.
By Bill Godfrey