Encinitas surfer Titus Santucci is building something of a personal brand as he pursues his dream of reaching the highest levels of competitive surfing.
Over the past year, the 20-year-old Filipino-American surfer was featured in an episode of the Netflix docuseries “1 in 7,641”, which explores Filipino culture and heritage—the 7,641 in the doc’s title refers to the number of islands in the Philippines archipelago. He was also selected to be a part of the iconic Got Milk? campaign—Santucci was featured in California Milk Processor Board billboards across the state, including a huge digital screen in Hollywood where he towered over Sunset Boulevard with a surfboard, head tossed back laughing with a glass of milk and the signature milk mustache.
Currently, Santucci attends Irvine’s Westcliff University on a full-ride surf scholarship as he chips away in contests on the World Surf League Qualifying Series, working toward his goal of making it onto the Challenger Series and eventually the Championship Tour.
“It’s hard, it’s a big step up from the junior tour but it’s a really good time,” said Santucci. “It’s kind of what we’ve all been dreaming of doing since we were groms.”
Santucci knows he is fortunate to have had some unbelievable experiences, all because of surfing.
Titus Santucci surfs the wave at Siargo, Philippines. (Kyle Jennermann)
In 2023, Santucci made history as the first Filipino American male to be named to the USA Junior National Surf Team—he went on to win the silver medal in the International Surf Association World Junior Surfing Championships in Brazil. He took a gap year after graduating from San Dieguito Academy High School in 2024. As a senior, he helped the SDA surf team win the 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Association National Championship, ending a 17-year drought.
After his junior surf career had ended, Westcliff reached out to him to offer a scholarship to surf for the college team—Westcliff is the first school in the country to offer collegiate athletic scholarships for surfing. Santucci hadn’t been sure that college would be a possibility for him, but he couldn’t say no when he was scouted and offered the full ride, making his proud grandmother cry.
He is now attending the online program to earn his degree in computer science, living in Encinitas and surfing Seaside and competing with the surf team in contests around the state throughout the college season. As the college is fully online, it gives him the freedom to travel and compete on the WSL Qualifying Series while still getting an education—he was recently able to take a surf trip to El Salvador, chasing 15-foot waves.
The opportunity to appear on Netflix seemed too good to be true at first: “We thought it was a scam”. The executive producer found him via Instagram, looking for a Filipino-American surfer. His mother and manager (self-styled mom-a-ger) Irene Navarro is 100% Filipino and they were offering them an all-expense paid trip to the Philippines to shoot his episode, funded by the country’s department of tourism.
It was Santucci’s first time traveling to the country and in the doc he describes feeling incredibly grateful and proud to be Filipino, trying out traditional foods like a banana leaf plate, experiencing the culture, meeting the local surf community, and learning the history from knowledgeable 62-year-old surfer Rodeo Novicio, the first ever Philippine surf champion.
Encinitas surfer Titus Santucci is interviewed at the San Diego Filipino Film Festival. (Irene Navarro)
“The place was amazing,” marveled Santucci of the country. “My favorite was Siargao, it reminded me of Bali and Indonesia.” At the Cloud 9 surfing area, he said the waves were almost perfect, like they were being made by a machine.
His episode was screened in a movie theater as part of the San Diego Filipino Film Festival.
Last year, at the urging of his mom-a-ger, Santucci responded to a casting call for the Got Milk campaign, the 30th anniversary of the iconic ads, which sought to feature everyday Californians. For his video application, he talked about wanting to be a good role model for young surfers and kids in his hometown of Encinitas.
“I had no idea it was going to be as big of a campaign as it was,” said Santucci.
After being selected and doing the photo shoot in Los Angeles, they revealed his poster outside of Dodger Stadium and he thought that was it. But then people started reaching out: “Do you know you’re on Sunset Boulevard?” Friends and family spotted him all throughout California in 2025—giant billboards in the Gaslamp, some in San Francisco, in Santa Monica: “It was a trip,” laughed Santucci.
His Got Milk poster reads: “Titus, an Encinitas surfer of endless waves. Inspiring kids to surf higher and dream bigger. A spirit that shows how real freedom feels.”
Competing on the WSL Qualifying Series can be expensive and it’s essential for him to get sponsors to help pay for travel, food and surfboards. His main sponsor is Psycho Tuna, a clothing and lifestyle brand that praises his individuality and “relentless drive”. He’s currently gearing up for the Vans Jack’s Surfboards Pro event in Huntington Beach on April 22-26, the first event of the season.
In the lead-up to the series, he’s surfing twice a day, hitting up Seaside where he’s been surfing since he was 14 years old and where he knows almost everyone in the lineup.
“I mean it’s definitely a dream, it’s what I want to be doing,” Santucci said. “It’s so fun, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”