Women of all Shades, Riding the Waves

Women of all Shades, Riding the Waves

Four friends found each other through online communities, bonding through their shared love of surfing and their desire to change the face of the lineup. They came together to found Textured Waves, a platform where they can inspire the next generation of female surfers of color and change the norm in the lineups. With the recent launch of their collaborative project with Seea, a short film called Sea Us Now, they are making waves and opening up possibilities. We caught up with Danielle, Chelsea, and Martina to learn more about their badass organization, Textured Waves, and what’s next for them.

Can you tell us about yourselves? 

Textured Waves was created to propagate the culture and sport of women’s surfing towards women of color and underrepresented demographics through representation, community, and sisterly camaraderie.

 

What inspired you to start Textured Waves and what’s the goal? 

Growing up we never saw ourselves represented in aquatic spaces. We collectively decided we wanted to change the narrative that kept perpetuating our newsfeed, and started by creating a static Instagram page where we posted imagery of water women who inspired us. That trickled into more community engagement and connecting with brands to create content to normalize black voices and black faces in predominantly white spaces.

How/When did you first fall in love with the ocean and surfing? 

Danielle: my mother and father are both water people, so my brother and I learned to swim before we could walk. I grew up in the Bay Area and our family spent much of our time in the sea and in nearby rivers and aquatic spaces. I don’t remember the exact moment I fell in love with the ocean, she has always been a part of me. It’s been a lifelong love affair.

Chelsea: I didn’t grow up in a coastal town so I discovered surfing much later in life. My husband and I were on a year-and-half-long backpacking trip and we both decided to learn to surf when we were traveling through Indonesia. After spending a month on Lombok learning to surf we sought out surfing for the duration of our trip, surfing some of the longest lefts in Peru and even finding some secluded waves Madagascar. After our travels we returned to the States and knew we had to live on the coast and make surfing a part of our daily routine. 

Martina: I grew up in Florida within a half hour from the beach. Because of this, my parents imbued ocean and water safety in me from a very young age. I didn’t begin surfing until later in life, but I always had comfort in and around the ocean thanks to swim lessons early in life. Surfing therefore was a natural progression after years spent in and around the water. I attended a surf camp where, in what is rare these days, surf etiquette was hammered in before we ever practiced a pop-up. It was truly an immersive experience and it gave me the most important “surf lessons” that I take with me to this day. The camp approached surfing as an “everything, but;” we spent less time popping up, and more time learning to read the ocean and others around us.  While in Florida, I honed my skills and embarked on a multi-year journey of early wakeup calls, sessions with no waves, surf trips abroad, misread surf reports, wipeouts and basically a lot of waiting and observing -in this rite of passage we all face when first getting into the sport. Eventually I started figuring it out, but 10 years on, I still (like we all do) have a lot to learn. No one ever truly “masters” the ocean, we are forever her students and that is the most attractive thing about this sport. I eventually relocated to Hawaii a few years back and surfing has become a part of my daily routine. My “morning coffee” if you will. 

 

 

Do you feel that positive action will come out of recent events? How has this affected your organization and you personally? 

People are starting to understand that systemic racism bleeds into all aspects of life, even leisure. Since the recent events, non-POC surfers are beginning to look around their lineups and recognize the lack of diversity.

 

With surfing already being a heavily male dominated sport, what does that space look like for a woman of color? 

It can often feel isolating being the only one, or one of few POC in the lineup. There is constant pressure to prove yourself, to show that you deserve to be there taking up space like everyone else. 

 

If you could change anything about the surf world what would it be? 

We would love to level the playing field and have coastal access and access to the sport be openly available to everyone.

“The ocean is a healing space that everyone
should have the opportunity to enjoy.”

– Textured Waves

 

What makes you stoked to wake up everyday? Do you feel positive and hopefully about the next generation of surfers? 

Yes, the next generation will have that visual representation, which is so powerful, to look to. To strive to be better than we are. 

 

What’s in the books for 2020 for Textured Waves? 

We just made our second short film, Sea us Now, with a women’s surf brand, the Seea. It’s pretty iconic in its own right with an African American director, and an all female African American cast of surfers. Next up, we have some exciting offers on the table. Long term we plan to hold retreats for WOC surfers and continue to engage with our local communities to create space for more WOC to feel supported when they enter the water.

Watch full video and round table session, here. 

What does kindness mean to you? What role does kindness play in your life? 

It’s important to be a good role model in the lineup, practice good etiquette, and be a friend to new faces. 

 

What is your advice for people that want to get involved?

Work with organizations you trust and who have the greater good at heart. We offer a resource page on our website of vetted organizations, but we still encourage people to do their own research. 

 

All photos from @fancybethany