NATIONAL GET GNARLY DAY
Fast Facts
- CELEBRATION
- Embrace new ideas and put some gnarliness into everything we do
- FOUNDER
- Founded in 2016 by the Whirlpool Corporation
- CELEBRATED
- Each year on the last Friday in July
- FUN FACT
- The word "Gnarly" seems to have originated in the 1960s by surfers
NATIONAL GET GNARLY DAY
The last Friday in July provides an opportunity to embrace new ideas and toss out old ways on National Get Gnarly Day. Much like surfers challenging the waves, Get Gnarly Day challenges us to put some gnarliness into everything we do.
#NationalGetGnarlyDay
The word "Gnarly" seems to have originated in the 1960s by surfers as a description of waves while surfing. Any surfer knows the water in the wave can appear dangerous, scary, but can also be exciting. If you could ride the wave, surfers would respond with a "gnarly dude." Interestingly, gnarly was carried over into the 1980s in pop culture slang, meaning "excellent" or "gross."
A Gnarly Gal
Hulda Crooks, born in 1896, didn't start hiking and climbing until she was 54 years old after her husband's death. While she was an active jogger and walker prior to his death, she was by no means a qualified mountain climber. Crooks first scaled Mount Whitney in California, the highest summit in the contiguous United States, at the age of 66. She completed a total of 23 ascents of Mount Whitney and at the age of 91 climbed Mount Fuji in Japan. Mountain climbing added gnarliness to her life.
Surfers adopted the term to describe heavy, dangerous, or rough waves that looked twisted and intimidating. A "gnarly wave" meant high risk, but high reward if you could successfully ride it. In the 1980s, the skateboarding culture and Valley Girl slang entered the mainstream, "gnarly," developing a fun dual meaning—it could describe something wildly awesome and impressive or something completely gross, intense, or extreme.
NATIONAL GET GNARLY DAY CELEBRATION IDEAS
National Get Gnarly Day celebration depends on the person and what the individual thinks the day means. Someone may dress gnarly, while another may do a gnarly trick. Whatever you decide to do today to celebrate!
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Find a gnarly hobby and take it to the limit!
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Meet gnarly people. Take a cooking class, volunteer for a local charity, accept those invites you've previously declined. Stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time will introduce you to different experiences and as a result new people. It will make for a gnarly social circle.
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Get a gnarly passport. A first-time passport costs $135 including fees and can take up to 6 weeks to process. If gnarliness is truly your new way of life, you'll want to have a passport. Gnarly people are world travelers. Even if travel plans are not immediate, having a passport places the potential of global travel within reach and potential is pretty gnarly.
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Find a gnarly new style. Redecorate a room in the house or find a fresh new hairstyle. Both can revitalize an attitude and an outlook on life. Gather a group of friends and take turns helping paint a room in each other's home a gnarly color. The gnarly part? The homeowner doesn't get to pick the color. Be kind, though. Turn around is fair play. Apply the same idea to hairstyles or makeovers.
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Throw a gnarly party. Celebrate all this gnarliness! It's something to share, so be sure to let the enthusiasm show. Invite those new friends to fully incorporate them into your gnarly social circle. Show off the stamps in your gnarly passport and take lots of pictures to document for National Get Gnarly Day!
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Share your gnarly celebrations on social media using the hashtag #NationalGetGnarlyDay.
NATIONAL GET GNARLY DAY HISTORY
In 2016, Whirlpool Corporation launched a campaign to put some "gNARliness" into everything they did as a way to encourage their employees to get excited about reaching goals and satisfying customers. The "NAR" in "gNARliness" had special meaning, representing their North American Region. When the campaign kicked off, the employees' response was overwhelming. As a result, Whirlpool Corporation wanted to share this gnarliness by creating National Get Gnarly Day.
The Registrar at National Day Calendar approved the day in June of 2016.