The iconic Endless Summer poster has been parodied and “borrowed” so many times that the silhouette of a surfer against a neon orb has become the universal clip-art for “we ran out of design budget but want to look chill.” At this point, we’ve seen every possible mutation: from cats staring at a laser pointer sun to weary office workers carrying briefcases toward a fluorescent exit sign. It’s the visual equivalent of a cover band that only knows the first four bars of “Hotel California”—instantly recognizable, vaguely nostalgic, and usually found printed on a polyester t-shirt at a gas station three hundred miles from the nearest coastline. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then John Van Hamersveld is currently being flattered into a state of permanent exhaustion by every craft brewery and local surf-shop-slash-vape-lounge in existence.
