Titus seems an apt name for a 20-year-old from Encinitas who’s pursuing his dream of being a professional surfer while simultaneously going to college.

Most pro surfers never go to college, so it says a lot about Titus Santucci. He gives off a chill, So-Cal vibe, but underneath it all, he burns with passion and the desire to be the best at whatever he does—whether as a surfer, college student, or role model in the Filipino American community.

I’m not the only one impressed by this local shredder. The Got Milk? campaign recently featured him in a billboard campaign seen across the state.

He also has a starring role in a Netflix documentary. And, he’s on the radar of Westcliff University, which aggressively recruited the student-surfer with a generous scholarship.

Titus Santucci was named after “the legendary surfer Titus Kinimaka from Kauai,” mom Irene tells me, “who had an undeniable aura of greatness and quiet strength,” qualities she hoped would rub off on her son. She added a second name with a Hawaiian meaning, Kaimana, or power of the sea.

Titus was on a surf trip in Indonesia when his mom-manager urged him to audition for the Got Milk? role. The Got Milk? campaign, launched in 1993 by the California Milk Processor Board, featured billboard and print ads with celebrity and athlete “milk mustaches.” But for its 30^th anniversary, organizers added a twist – big names like Serene Williams were out; authentic California icons in.

Titus sent an audition video recorded “from the balcony of this sketchy Indonesian hotel,” he told me via Zoom. He spoke about wanting to be “a good role model for Filipino youth and encourage them to go for it, whatever their passion or mission in life is…aim high and know that your Filipino community will always support you.” Titus’ message, values and electric smile resonated with the Got Milk? staff, and he was selected.

Hundreds of billboards and posters featuring Titus were “plastered all over California,” says Irene, including one overlooking Sunset Boulevard and another downtown by the San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park. One of his billboards featured a tag line – “It’s about being from Encinitas.” Another: “Titus, an Encinitas catcher of endless waves, inspiring kids to surf higher and dream bigger, a spirit that shows how real freedom feels.”

Titus can add the Got Milk? campaign to a list of honors and achievements that he’s already received in his young life: First Filipino American male surfer to earn a spot on the U.S.A. Junior National Surf Team, often a prelude to the Olympics.

While Titus’ identity as a professional athlete and surfer is important to him, so is his identity as a Filipino American. Over 200,000 Filipinos live in San Diego County—largely concentrated in National City, Chula Vista, Eastlake, and Mira Mesa—where Tagalog is the third-most spoken language.

He’s currently featured in a Netflix documentary “1 in 7641,” a six-episode series backed by the Philippine Department of Tourism (7,641 refers to the number of islands in the country). His episode documents a Filipino-American surfer experiencing the Philippines for the first time, exploring the country’s “board culture” and surfing some of its best spots.

Reflecting on his upbringing, he paused, then said decisively: “With my parents, school always came first.” The Encinitas local surfed religiously before and after school, “and the rest of the time was dedicated to studying.” He had a 4.3 GPA when he graduated high school, but that didn’t guarantee he’d go to college. In the past, elite-level surfers have had to choose between turning pro or going to college; they could not do both simultaneously because of being “on the road” a big chunk of the year.

Enter Westcliff University, based in Irvine, which features classroom and online instruction. They gave Santucci a four-year, “massive collegiate athletic contract,” he said, noting that Westcliff is the only university in the nation “that recognizes surfing as a collegiate sport and not just a club.”

Attending college (his major is computer science with an emphasis in AI) while trying to make a name for himself in elite-level competitive surfing is a lot to balance, but he seems up to the challenge: “I’m just working really hard, training really hard,” he says.

Titus competes in college-level contests for the Westcliff team and in the World Surf League-sanctioned regional Qualifying Series. He hopes over time to advance to the Challenger Series and ultimately to the Championship Tour, the big leagues of professional surfing.

Of Westcliff University, he says: “It’s great, super flexible. I’m doing their classes online and compete for their surf team in all the events.” After a recent contest, he went “on a surf trip to El Salvador to train.” While there, in between surf sessions, he was on his laptop completing his courses.

And yet with all the accolades being thrown his way, Titus remains remarkably humble. He has a healthy and wholesome vibe, saving his radical antics for the water.

Follow Titus on Instagram as he pursues his dual dreams of being a professional surfer and a college graduate.