Siesta Key's 'sand manager' has made a career out of sand

The artwork at the Siesta Key Crystal Classic Sand Sculpting Festival may be impressive to behold, but working across multiple days in the sun to create sculptures isn't easy. 

Crystal Classic Sand Manager Andy Daily acknowledges the hard work involved in sand sculpting, but he says that once artists feel the bite of what he calls the "sand bug," they don't want to do anything else. 

As someone who grew up on the sands of Siesta Key Beach, perhaps it isn't surprising that Daily would make a career out of sand. 

The event, now in its 16th year and presented by the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, took place over the weekend and featured 24 world-class artists.

Karlis Ile of Latvia, was the 2025 overall winner.

Initially, Daily entered the realm of sand sculpting to impress his now-wife, Lara Daily, also a sand sculptor. 

However, he says his skill in the craft isn't really what she cared about, and says what sand sculpting provided was a community. 

"I stepped into this ready-made group of friends, and I was an artist myself," he said. "Sculpture was a little bit different, but it was a good medium, where I could practice without too much judgment, because I wasn't very good when I first started."

Daily worked at the Crystal Classic in 2011 and 2012 as a volunteer, and claimed a second place award in his first competition, the event's amateur competition, during the second year. 

"I was just so crazy about sand. I just thought it was so fun. It just grabbed me, and I just wanted to spend time doing it," he said. 

He then went to Fort Myers, where he also won second place, before taking a break from festivals until 2019. 

Since other artists invited him to work on their commercial projects, he began working full time in that field, establishing the company SandVenture Crew.

"I realized, like all of us with any sense do, if you want to make a living, you've got to work for yourself," he said.

He says for commercial jobs, clients aren't looking for a "life-changing masterpiece," but simply a logo or a sea creature, but he's comfortable with the lane he's found.

He says he's built sand sculptures for every Fortune 500 company.

Of course, there's plenty of work involved, which includes extensive traveling.

"That's kind of sand in a nutshell," he said. "It's a being willing to go and be uncomfortable, because I think people have the notion about sand, that it's all bikinis and sunsets, but it's a lot of uncomfortable," he said.

He says one aspect he enjoys is the friendship among sand sculptors. 

"For me, a competition is an opportunity to see friends I haven't seen from all over the world, and it's a pretty amazing thing to have dear friends from all over the world," he said. 

For his work, he travels to locations that include California and the Bahamas, while he has also competed in festivals in Texas, Clearwater, Fort Myers, Virginia Beach, New Hampshire and Colorado.

Yet one of his favorite aspects of his job is local; he enjoys teaching sand sculpting lessons for kids, families and adults, traveling to where people are located. 

"It's pretty crazy, really," he said. "It's not lost on me. I have a lot of gratitude for my life, but of course, I made it happen, just I worked hard to make it happen."

From 2013 he was a paid volunteer, but after 2019, took over the role of "sand manager," coordinating the activity within the sandy arena where the sculptures are located. 

"This is where I have a lot of childhood memories," he said. "This is where I feel the happiest, surrounded by this beauty. I mean, look at this place."