A Southern California beach was transformed into a mass remote work space Thursday after city officials initially told organizers to pound sand on future events.
Videos and photos from the event showed hundreds of remote workers ditching their desks for the sand, packing Law Street Beach in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood to soak up the sun while working remotely.
Some remote workers set up shop in fold-up beach chairs with laptops balanced on their laps, while others turned surfboards into makeshift desks as they logged into work from the sun-soaked shoreline. The beachside office even came stocked with bagels and coffee.
The latest meetup was organized by social media personality Scott Muirhead who encouraged WFH employees to step away from their home office desk and hit the beach.
The event took place from 9 am to 12pm.
“We’ll wrap up the event with a quick community beach cleanup from 12:00–12:30 PM. If you’re able to stick around, we’d love to leave the beach better than we found it,” a message on Instagram about the event read.
In his video he noted that the “city of San Diego has officially overruled corporate America and legalized remote work.”
Muirhead celebrated the event after he said the city decided the meetups were okay.
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“The event is going fantastic. We are legal this time and that’s a big win,” Muirhead told The California Post. “Between working from home or working from the beach I’m taking the beach every time.”
“This event works perfectly from San Diego. People from San Francisco keep reaching out so I think other beach towns want to try it.”
This week’s gathering happened to also fall on National Work from Home Day and was a welcomed opportunity for remote employees in the city to hit the beach and do some networking.
“I love working [at] the beach,” attendee Nadia Nowak said. “It’s the perfect way to start your morning, perfect way to start everyone’s meetings. You can’t beat this.”
“I recently moved here and it’s been my favorite thing being able to work outside by the ocean and be productive,” Lacey Mallow added.
“I work for Reef,” Steve Nass continued. “The company was born on the beach so what better way to be productive than to get work done on the beach.”
But the beach-vibe gathering was almost a thing of the past, after Muirhead’s event in March drew ire from city officials when trash was left on the beach after hundreds of people showed up.
Muirhead argued that it wasn’t his group that left the litter, but the city said future events would be sidelined unless he forked over money for permits, per the Times of San Diego.
“Organized events at Parks and Recreation facilities with more than 49 participants require a permit,” city spokesperson Benny Cartwright said, noting that permits can include fees, insurance mandates, security requirements, and other conditions depending on the size and nature of the event.
He later met with city officials who he said gave the green light for future shoreline events.