3, 2, 1...dropping.

Hi, I’m Chris Clark, the artist behind Delicious Salt Bagels — a San Francisco-based creative endeavor capturing the fleeting beauty of waves from a perspective few ever see: the inside of a barreling wave.

My work is rooted in a lifelong love affair with water. As a kid, anywhere I went, I always wanted to know — is there a pool? Or a beach? If there was, I'd be the first in and last out. And if I was told to stay away, I'd most certainly find a way to "fall" in. In my tweens, during a short stint living in Southern California, I was a Junior Lifeguard on Newport Beach's Balboa Peninsula — just up the beach from the world-famous Wedge — where I learned to love bodysurfing.

Years later, I discovered the hollow shorebreak of San Francisco's Baker Beach, where I rekindled my love for bodysurfing. Coincidentally, at the same time, I had a front-row seat to the incredible creation of the GoPro, groundbreaking capture technology that I was soon taking into the water with me to capture new and unique perspectives as a hobby. Until now.

Delicious Salt Bagels is the fusion of these passions — a dream I've been nurturing for years. The time to bring it to life turned out to be January 2025 — and the June 2025 launch of my website makes it feel official. My hope is that my art transports you with me into the belly of a wave — one of my favorite places to be. The name Delicious Salt Bagels is a metaphor that came to me while shivering between pre-dawn waves. The salty water that touched my lips was as delicious as my views — and looking through the barrel of a wave reminded me of looking through the hole of a bagel. And lo and behold, my favorite kind of bagel just happens to be the salt bagel. It all clicked that morning, and I began tagging my photos on Instagram with #delicioussaltbagels.

I capture images almost exclusively while bodysurfing, which means the perspectives are from my point of view inside in the wave. When I see the Golden Gate Bridge with my eyes, I know my camera likely caught it too — always a thrilling moment.

So here we go. After nearly 30-years in communications and the last decade at GoPro — an innovative company that taught me a lot about storytelling, technology and so much more — I've shifted my focus to become a full-time artist and entrepreneur, taking a leap of faith on a long-held dream, with equal parts excitement, uncertainty, and, candidly, some self-doubt that seems to accompany my creative pursuits. At launch, Delicious Salt Bagels offers a few product lines I've poured a lot of heart into: handmade greeting cards crafted in my studio in the Outside Lands of San Francisco, fine art prints produced in collaboration with trusted photo lab, WhiteWall, and the beginnings of a brand merchandise line.

Since January, I've been selling my handmade cards — and in some cases, small prints — in a handful of local San Francisco Bay Area shops that showed enthusiasm for my art from the start. I'm incredibly grateful to The Laundromat SF (home to truly delicious actual salt bagels), Fleetwood SF, San Franpsycho, Mollusk Surf Shop, SF Mercantile, Traveler Surf Club in Pacifica, and the Russian Hill Bookstore for giving Delicious Salt Bagels a place on their shelves — and for joining me so early in this journey.

The wonderful people at these shops have offered a mix of enthusiasm, encouragement, new ideas, and advice that I've put into action. That kind of support fills my cup and has given me a needed boost as the challenge and complexity of building an ecommerce website was sapping my patience and energy (a special shout out to Dante at Seven Circle Media, for his terrific design and patience with me as I grappled with the website construction process).

Now that it's finally live, I'm excited to welcome you into this little world I've been building. Whether you’re passionate about waves, San Francisco, or simply drawn to original art — I’m glad you’re here. Take a look around. Thanks for your interest, your support, and for joining me on this ride.

3, 2, 1...dropping!

—Chris