Moving to the Sunshine State!

March 2025

March 22, 2025

After 7 years of being residents of the great state of North Carolina, the Bugg family is moving.  The last 7 years living, working, playing, celebrating in North Carolina will be remembered with great fondness, amazing laughs, incredible experiences, loving families, and the Lord showing His hand.  Our house in Hickory is the closest I (Ed) have lived to my parents since I left for College when I was 18. Both of our boys have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior in this community.  All of my siblings have addresses within an hour of each other.  There are also relationships that have turned into life long friends in this community.  God has been so good to our family in this season.  Saying we are moving away from this location is not something that came easy, or without the understanding of what will change.  So why would we leave? 

We are leaving North Carolina for Fort Myers, Florida to partner alongside Ride Nature.  Ride Nature is a non-profit action sports ministry with the mission to equip leaders globally with tools and resources to utilize action sports as a tool for outreach, evangelism and discipleship.  But what does that mean, what does Ride Nature do?  Currently there are three Headquarters of Ride Nature – Fort Myers, Florida, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and Oceanside, California.  At each HQ, local outreach takes place weekly at skateparks, surf breaks, mountain bike parks, wake parks, rock climbing gyms and coffee shops.  Discipleship takes place at each location with the empowering of new students each semester who come to learn, get training, lead in weekly local outreach, and work in the headquarter’s ‘business as missions’ efforts.  In San Juan del Sur and in Fort Myers, Ride Nature owns and operates a skate and surf shop, The House of Ride Nature, complete with its own coffee bar.  These shops allow for local community involvement and a way to offset the financial needs of the organization.  Ride Nature is built on going and giving in a way to meet people where they are.  Each month short term mission trips are organized and led to action sport hubs around the world.  These trips consist of various outreach opportunities like hosting local skate/surf competitions, mini shred sessions at local parks, VBS style outreach, as well as giving away donated boards to local kids.  So what is my role in all of this and how do we fit in?

I will take the job title of Director of Operations for the Global Support Team.  Throughout my schooling and “professional” experience, I have been trained to find gaps and seek out best practices for the organization and personnel.  I have a heart for effective processes and more importantly a heart for building up staff.  Both of these attributes will be my baseline contribution to the organization.  I will lead from the Fort Myers HQ and assist in the bolstering of each of the current locations, with the eye to plant new locations in action sport hubs around the world.  

Holly and the boys are excited and without their support this would be a void endeavor.  We are trusting in the Lord’s provision and security in this new season and His peace and covering as we start to leave our current community.  June 15th is the target to be fully moved to Fort Myers, FL.  Check out the Ride Nature website here and our bio page here.  Look forward to our next update in April.  Please feel free to pass this message on to anyone who may be interested (there is a link at the bottom of the page to subscribe). We would want nothing more than for God’s work in His kingdom to be shared.

Ed, Holly, Zane, Nolan

Link to the Ride Nature website

Link to The Bugg Family Bio on RN