Girls who surf - Lisa

Where do you usually surf?
Bali

How did you get into surfing?
Through friends while living in San Diego, CA.

Why did you start surfing?
I tried it because it looked fun and exciting, like playing with a wild part of nature. I kept surfing because it feeds my soul.

What was your biggest fear when you started?
Being hit by a mega set and held under.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other surfer girls?
To keep developing trust in yourself, it’s the key to confidence and being able to do hard things. You develop self-trust by keeping your word to yourself and doing what you say you will do, just like how you build trust with others.

Tell us a funny, embarrassing, or inspiring surf story!
I’ve always been hard on myself when it comes to performing, in school, at work, and in surfing. When it came to surfing, it showed up mainly as this need to be a badass, to not be scared of bigger waves or steep drops. And when I was, I would have this internal battle where I pretended I wasn’t, trying to push myself to overcome it by ignoring my fear.

This all led to a deep disconnect, where I always just felt like shit, like I wasn’t tough enough, but I also wasn’t true to myself. Like I was mean to a part of myself that just wanted to be heard and held.

Once I started listening to the voice that said I was scared, when I looked at that part of myself and gave it comfort, when I invited it back in, I could finally start working through the fear. And despite being shit scared, I was able to take the steep drops and bigger waves again.