There's a moment every surfer knows. You're standing on the jetty rocks at Hammerland, El Segundo's legendary hometown break, feeling the salt spray on your face. You take a breath, you jump, and suddenly you're dropping into a barrel, the wave wrapping around you like liquid glass. It's cold, it's exhilarating, it's the kind of moment that makes you feel completely alive.
Phil Roberts has been capturing that feeling for decades. A renowned surf artist known for Surfer Magazine covers, the Hermosa Beach Surfer Walk of Fame, and Hollywood film posters, Roberts has made a career out of translating the sensation of waves into visual form. In 2024, he brought that gift to El Segundo Brew Co. in a project that turned out to be more than just a mural and more than just a beer label. It became an experience.
"Fresh Wave" started with a simple idea: create something for El Segundo Art Walk 2024 that honored the city's coastal roots and its blue-collar surf culture. Event producer John McCullough and Roberts wanted to celebrate Hammerland, the local break that's been shaping generations of El Segundo surfers. They also wanted to do something different, something that could capture not just the look of surfing but the feeling of it.
The mural went up at 140 Main Street, right at the El Segundo Brew Co. taproom, which served as Art Walk headquarters. Roberts painted a vibrant surf scene that instantly became a visual anchor for the event. Waves barrel. A surfer launches off the jetty. The whole composition pulses with energy, catching the eye of everyone passing by.
But Roberts and the team knew they could take it further. For the limited edition "Fresh Wave XPA" beer brewed specifically for Art Walk, Roberts painted the label digitally with a specific purpose in mind. Every element—the sand, the backwash, the underwater clouds, the wave, the surfer—was separated so it could move.
That's where Reality Experience Design, led by Christian Enriquez, came in. They created an AR lens that brings the beer can to life. Visitors scan a QR code, point their phone at the can, and watch as the surfer leaps off the jetty into a barrel. Waves roll. The coastal scene unfolds in real time, right there in your hand. It's the same rush Roberts has been chasing in his art for years, now translated into motion, into interaction, into a moment you can share.
The collaboration was tight. Roberts worked closely with McCullough and the AR team to make sure the animation captured something essential: the authentic, unpretentious spirit of El Segundo's surf scene. This isn't Malibu or Huntington Beach. It's Hammerland. It's locals who surf before work, who know every rock on that jetty, who've been riding these waves their whole lives. The art had to reflect that.
The beer itself was designed with the same care. Fresh Wave XPA comes in at 4.9% ABV, low enough to enjoy over the course of a long Art Walk without calling it a day early. It's refreshing, easy-drinking, the kind of beer that pairs perfectly with walking Main Street, checking out murals, and scanning AR experiences on beer cans.
The response during ESAW 2024 was immediate. Crowds gathered at the taproom, drawn by the mural and staying for the beer and the AR experience. Social media lit up with videos of the animated label, people sharing their own moments with the digital surfer. It became more than a marketing gimmick. It became part of the event itself, a talking point, a reason to visit, a memory people took home.
What makes Fresh Wave significant isn't just the technology or the art, though both are impressive. It's the collaboration. An iconic surf artist, a local brewery, event organizers, and AR designers all working toward the same goal: celebrating what makes El Segundo distinct. Not trying to be somewhere else, not chasing trends, just honoring the place and the people who call it home.
The project set a new standard for how artists, businesses, and tech innovators can work together in El Segundo. It showed that you don't need to choose between tradition and innovation, between analog craft and digital experience. You can have both, and when you do, they amplify each other.
Phil Roberts has spent his career trying to capture that moment when you jump off the jetty into a wave. With Fresh Wave, he finally found a way to let everyone feel it, whether they surf or not. You scan a can, you watch the surfer drop in, and for a second, you're there too—in the barrel, in the moment, in the heart of what makes this place special.
El Segundo continues to prove that the best way to celebrate local culture is to keep finding new ways to share it. Fresh Wave is surf art, craft beer, and AR technology all breaking in the same direction, toward a future where community, creativity, and innovation ride the same wave home.
