Salvadore's Past, Present & Future of SURGE
SaveSURGE.org Hall of Famer Salvadore wrote in with his reflections on SURGE's past and his great experiences with Vault so far:

A long time ago before I knew any better I heard about a new drink called SURGE. I thought it was like any other soda just hearing about it so when I finally tried it I was entranced. This was like nothing I have ever tasted in my life. It was so damn good the only thing that sucked for me, I lived in Chicago and there was no SURGE to be found anywhere in Chicago so it was something I looked forward to every summer when going to my grandmother's on the west coast. And man did I miss it, it was always a treat and always something to look forward to. At that time on the west coast, it was like water, you couldn't turn around with out being offered a bottle for just 50 cents and free give aways galore, not to mention the machine with 12 buttons of JUST SURGE!!!! Man, those were good times. I looked forward to that soda so much through the year it made the summers worth it.

Well one summer I go over to Las Vegas, I believe it was 1999 and I was picked up from the airport I asked to go pick up a few 12 packs of SURGE. So, we go to a local gas station only to be told they're out. Ok, maybe they're just sold out, so we drove around for about an hour looking for SURGE (as my grandma knew how much I loved it). We didn't find any, I was heart broken. I couldn't believe it, how could it just go? I didn't see any the rest of the summer. I was so mad, I missed SURGE immensely and drove my family crazy talking about it. So after a few years I kinda realized that it may be gone forever and I couldn't bring it back. It was then I did a little searching around Google that I found a website, savesurge.org. After a little reading around I couldn't believe what I saw people just like me felt the same way. It was such an amazing feeling that it had the same affect on others that it did on me. It was then I knew this was way more than a soda it was a way of life.

This website renewed my faith in SURGE and along with the community I was doing everything in my power to bring this drink back. It felt so great, I felt so empowered. Through the years we have done some pretty cool things for the movement and this website was also good for seeing some cool memorabilia along the way. All the while Surge was still in production, just very limited so my hope was stronger than ever. But when it was officially announced that Surge was no longer being bottled I felt like giving up. Sure, I would keep on supporting the movement and who knows it may have even paid off but I came to a realization that maybe we will never see it again.

A year passes and all the sudden the boards flourish with talk of a new drink VAULT. Now I thought this was just a new drink and nothing more but there was still that speck of hope as a new website was made just for Vault my hopes and spirits had grown higher. Hey maybe this is Surge, maybe this will work out. I ordered some on eBay and holly crap this could be the solution to all our problems. But not to get too happy as it was only in testing at the time and Coke could have easily scrapped it if they felt like it. A few more months went by and the announcement of a national release, I could have cried I was so happy. Only a question of when.

Well about 5 weeks ago now Vault hit my area and I am so overwhelmed, especially because I believe that if it were not for each and every one of us Vault might not even be around. I am so glad that we won and that all of you are so dedicated to something you love and the only way to ensure its availability 20 years down the line is to let it be well known now and heavily support it. We got to make sure this drink stays.

We have won the battle now we can sit back and enjoy an ice cold Vault.

This is my personal reflection on the past, present and future of SURGE.

Right on, Salvadore!