Surfing is more than a practice: it’s surrounded by artistic and musical currents that strengthen a community’s identity. In Charente-Maritime, the Kokomo association is one of its engines.
Surf Ink: shaping, ink and music
In partnership with the Shapers Club in Marennes, Kokomo runs the Surf Ink festival, fusing traditional shaping excellence, tattoo art with international artists, and live concerts, inside the 1,800 m² complex in the Zone des Grossines. An event where the workshop’s craft meets other crafts of the needle and of sound.
The Hardcore Sessions
The association is also behind the Hardcore Sessions: live metalcore and hardcore concerts, giving the French underground scene a proper venue with real sound. A demanding, against-the-grain programme that keeps culture alive year-round in a rural area.
A third place that builds community
This collaboration between surf craft and grassroots activism shows how an industrial site can become a hub of cultural life — creating strong social bonds for the Marennes peninsula and the Île d’Oléron.
It’s this collective dimension that sets the Shapers Club ecosystem apart: not just boards, but a place where surfers, artists and makers meet.