Lāʻie resident Andy Pierce said he’s surfed Sunset Beach a thousand times.
But when he paddled out to a massive swell in early February, adrenaline and a lifeguard on a jet ski are what saved him from the water and to Kahuku Medical Center for what he thought was an arm injury.
After a CT scan showed a C6-C7 spinal fracture in his lower neck, Pierce was sent to Adventist Health Castle in Kailua for an MRI, which also discovered a herniated disc that was causing nerve pain (ergo the tingling sensation shooting up his hand and arm). He decided to do the surgery to correct the problem and shortly after, started physical therapy, “which has been helpful,” he told Aloha State Daily more than one month since the accident.
“Recovery has been difficult. I’ve been learning a lot about my own mental strength.”
About 15 years ago, he broke his femur at Sunset Beach. “People joke that it’s 2-0, the beach and I, but I’ve had way more really good sessions than bad, so it’s more like 1,000-2,” Pierce said with a smile.
It’s that kind of positive thinking that led him to create nonprofit iBounce Up with his wife, Lauralee, in August 2023.
“A 30-minute surf session turned into a week in the hospital,” she recalled. “In the trauma-informed curriculum we teach, kids and adults learn that bad things don’t define them. Andy is a walking example of resilience."
The idea for the nonprofit stemmed from the need for caregiver resources and training and quickly evolved to include addiction recovery and foster care system support. Today, its local partners include the Bobby Benson Center, EPIC ʻOhana Inc. and Makana O Ke Akua, as well as two organizations in California facilitated by iBounce Up Secretary Carrol Collins.
In 2024, the organization impacted 387 at-risk individuals through 27 trainings, totaling more than 700 hours. iBounce Up has an annual budget of about $140,000, which is made up of grant, fundraising and personal monies.
The nonprofit “equips individuals with the skills to navigate challenges, build healthy relationships and foster a sense of agency, enabling them to ‘bounce up’ and thrive despite adversity,” its mission statement reads.
“I had to deliberately use what I teach others on myself,” said Andy, the nonprofit’s director and co-founder. “And the kids we work with returned it back to me. It was emotional being on the other side thinking, ‘Why me? Why did this have to happen?’ I felt so much gratitude toward our community who helped turn the pain I was feeling into a positive.”
While in recovery, he has reminded himself of iBounce Up’s five pillars of resiliency: Self-awareness, self-control, optimism, mental flexibility, and relationships.
“If you change one person, you change a community,” Andy said.
Lauralee volunteers full-time as the nonprofit’s president and co-founder, fueled by a passion “to help create change,” she said.
“I’d love to see a healthier, happier Hawaiʻi, where everyone has access to the resources they need,” Lauralee told ASD. “People in Hawai’i want to see you succeed. We want to help create a community where everyone thrives.”
Andy added, “Hawaiʻi is home. Although the surf and waves are what drew me to Hawaiʻi, what’s kept me here is the local community.”
The pair is originally from San Diego. Andy attended Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi, which brought him to Oʻahu’s North Shore from 2007 to 2011. He moved back to the Mainland and received a masterʻs degree in performance psychology. Since 2017, he has worked in Hawaiʻi training Special Forces and Army Ranger soldiers. Andy also mentors young men at church.
Contact
iBounceUp
Andy and Lauralee Pierce, co-founders
Instagram: @ibounceup
Website: ibounceup.org
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
