Darren’s Story
To understand the foundation of UV Skinz, you must understand the legacy from which UV Skinz was born. You must understand Darren’s story.
Darren Lee Farwell was always up for an outdoor adventure. An avid surfer and snowboarder, Darren couldn’t begin to count the number of serious sunburns he had suffered as a kid. He was not aware that just one severe sunburn during a child’s first fifteen years could double the chance of developing skin cancer as an adult. Darren was young and full of life and never thought about skin cancer or how deadly it could be.
The reality of skin cancer touched Darren in 1996 when he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Darren stayed positive and lively for his three young boys, Ethan, Seth and Caleb and never gave up hope during his long five-year battle with the disease.
On September 14th 2001, at the far-too-young age of 32, Darren succumbed to skin cancer. The legacy that Darren wanted to leave was to encourage people to “stay healthy” and to “take responsibility of their bodies.” Darren’s wife, Rhonda Sparks, her family and the couple’s friends founded the Darren Lee Farwell Foundation on December 1st, 2001 to help fulfill Darren’s legacy.
The Foundation was created to raise general public awareness of the ever-growing dangers of UV radiation from the sun; to educate children and adults as to how to protect themselves from over-exposure by using sunscreens, hats and UV protective clothing; and to facilitate early detection of skin disease by teaching people to be aware of their bodies and to look for the warning signs of skin cancer development.
In subsequent years and in tune with her “live safely under the sun” philosophy, Rhonda would travel to Hawaii and bring home surf rashguards as sun protection for her sons. Friends would ask where they could get more and Rhonda found that the shirts were very difficult to find. When she could find shirts, either the styles were undesirable and/or the sizes were very limited. Recognizing the consumer demand married with the passion to protect children from the damaging effects of the sun, Rhonda jumped into two years of research and development. In the Spring of 2005, UV Skinz was born.
Skin cancer is 100% preventable if caught early! Protecting your skin during the first 18 years of life can reduce the risk of some types of skin cancer by up to 78%. Darren wants his children and ALL children to be safe from the dangers of the sun. But we must take action toward eradicating this disease. Educate yourself! Enjoy all that life has to offer under the sun but BE SUN SAFE!
For more information on Darren’s story, please visit www.DLFfoundation.com
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Live in Our Skinz! | The Happy Housewife™ said
[...] cancer, Rhonda Sparks has, she lost her 32 year old husband to the disease several years ago. After her husband died she turned a tragedy into something positive and started UV Skinz, a company that sells swim [...]
Donald G Needham said
I have lived with DARREN SKIN DIESASE ALL MY LIVE. I first came down when I was station in Pamama Canel zone with the army that 1960 I have been fighting Darren for a long time. I’m in one stage none over the year I have been going up and Down
M/Sgt Donald G Needham US Army Ret
ARREN
Meg said
Bless you for spreading the word. Melanoma runs in my family – my dad, his father and his uncle all died from it. My dad was 41 – I was just 14 when he died. I get checked regularly and am religious about sunscreen (much to my teenage boys’ chagrin).
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[...] tragedy to advocacy for melanoma awareness has been unbelievable! If tragedy hadn’t touched Rhonda’s life there wouldn’t have been the opportunity to educate or help people who have also been [...]