Board Women

This was the first in our new Confidence Sessions - a new series of online events which will be included with our upcoming membership. We thought we'd put this one out as part of our podcast to see what you think of it, so please do tell us your thoughts - what works or doesn't work, and what you'd like more of in terms of live events. This event was recorded on zoom and took place on Thursday 27...

Sally is the founder of  Yonder , the brilliant surf brand and community with a surf school at its heart, and a particular focus on getting more women in the lineup.  “I don’t think people ever ask themselves where there aren’t women in the lineup….it’s a huge conversation that really doesn’t get talked about.”   Sally works hard to explore and combat the issues that keep women out of the sea, inc...

Having taken up skating in her 40s and continuing to skate in to her 50s, Indigo says of herself “I am the opposite of a typical skateboarding story.”  War orphan, skater, academic, campaigner for inclusivity in skateboarding and founder of Respect is Rad , Indigo brings so much to the skating space.  There’s a lot to talk about in this episode, so grab a cuppa and settle in.  Episode highlights F...

The phenomenal Demi Taylor  is founder of the  London Surf Film Festival , author of several surfing books and producer of  The Big Sea - this years break out film bringing to light the darker side of the production of Neoprene, and therefore, much of the surfing industry. This was a phenomenally interesting conversation, not least because your assumption would be that brands who are so keen to pu...

Having achieved all she wanted to in her snowboarding career (she’d won the X Games 3 times), Jenny Jones suddenly had the opportunity to take part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. At the age of 33, she became the first UK athlete to win an Olympic medal at a snow event - a bronze in the women’s slopestyle. She is now a mum (having had her baby Wilbur at the age of 43), a TV presenter, podcas...

Learning to skate with your mum tends to be something that applies when you’re a kid, but in the case of Britt and Kaz it happened when they were 30 and 56. Two years have now gone by and they are both hooked. They now have a considerable following on instagram as @2girlssk8   Britt says of her mum Kaz: “I got my first kick flip because of my mum, and I still tell myself something she tells me. Th...

Yvette Curtis  is founder of Wave Wahines , a club she initially set up for her eldest child to have a safe space to surf. Since its inception eight years ago, it has broadened out to include both girls and women from all communities, as well from the LGBTQIA+ community, and it’s become known for fighting for diversity and inclusion in surfing. Episode highlights: how Yvette became an accidental f...

You'll know Lindsey as  @hotmomsofskateboarding  on instagram. Since launching her account and her skateboarding journey in January 2024, she has built a large following and created quite a stir online. She’s a vocal champion of the the right to joy for women, and she challenges the patriarchal system that can make some women feel like they don’t have a place in the sport. “I want other women to k...

Amy, aka @oldlady_skater , is an inspiration to us all. Having skated as a child, and even represented Vans, she stopped whilst still at school, and only took it up again at the age of 42 after her kids were grown up (her kids weren't in to skateboarding).  Now she is 60 and retired, she spends much of her time in the skate park. She’s an advocate for pushing a little, taking a few risks, and seei...

As Chief Marketing Officer of Finisterre , Bronwen Foster-Butler is passionate about how women are represented in the brand. “Is the woman leading or is she following? Is she on a big wave or is she on a smaller wave? It’s being aware of biases that we’ve internalised around how women are represented, and trying to challenge them.”    Episode highlights: Surfing dressed as a carrot at the Finister...

Having admired skateboarders for decades, music and culture photographer Sarah Brownlow took the plunge and tried it out for herself in her 40s. She says of that experience: “I got on it and I absolutely loved it - the feeling of flying and doing this thing that was so difficult and so dangerous, but so rewarding. A light went on and that was it, I was hooked.” Sarah went on to become a skate coac...

SUP racer extraordinaire Gemma Palmer-Dighton @getgemma is a #Shepaddles ambassador. Her mission is to demonstrate to others that the sport is open to all, and to improve its accessibility.  When Gemma began to get in to paddling she struggled to find representation of black paddlers, and she’s determined to change that.  Gemma has done some incredibly hardcore paddle races including the Great Gle...

Recorded live at the Tremula Festival in Brighton on Saturday 21 September, this week’s episode is a different format to usual.  Five inspirational women, all of whom are passionate about board sports, share their innermost stories and tips about confidence: having it, losing it, re-gaining it and holding on to it - all through the prism of being on a board. Featuring: Sarah Brounlow Sam Hadad  Ge...

A lawyer for her whole career, Marianne realised one day that enough was enough, jacked it in, and retrained as an endurance coach in swimming, triathlons and more recently in Surf Fitness. She picked up surfing and snowboarding in her 50s and runs the SurfFit class I go to in Brighton each week and is quite simply, brilliant. Episode highlights Marianne's love of fitness & how it inspires con...

Author of ‘Struggle: the surprising truth, beauty and opportunity hidden in life’s shittier moments’ , Grace ’s take on struggle fits brilliantly in to the world of board sports, and so we're delighted to be back after the summer break with this episode. Grace is an award winning speaker, author, chief encourager and struggle strategist, and for before joining this chat, she gave skateboarding a g...

In our last episode before the summer break (we're back in September), I talk to the phenomenal JoJo White @jojolecook , who has admirably managed to combine her career and passion for boarding from the outset.  After studying journalism at Bournemouth Uni, where she squeezed in surfing in to her studies wherever she could, she landed a job straight out of college working on Onboard Snowboarding m...

Danni Gallacher @danniinthewild is the founder of @girlskateuk and the exceedingly beautiful @theskateretreat which cleverly combines learning to skateboard in a natural and calm environment. Danni is an icon in the world of skateboarding, and this conversation gives a deep insight in to what has inspired Danni to do the work she does, and what she is planning next. Episode highlights: How Danni c...

This week’s episode is a bit longer than usual and features two guests - Harry and Nessy of Ride On Retreats - a luxury surf and yoga business. Both keen surfers, as well as beginner skateboarders, these lifelong friends bought the business from a mutual friend, and are busy turning their dream in to reality. It’s a really inspiring story.  Episode highlights: How Nessy and Harry came to join forc...

Host of the Everyday Adventure podcast and founder of Resilience At Work, Nicki Bass is an occupational psychologist and TEDx speaker. The focus of her work is to help organisations develop the leadership skills and resilience of their people. An ex-army officer, Nicki is also a talented snow boarder and surfer in her 40s.  Episode highlights: Failure is an important part of learning. How the Ever...

Caroline Paul is author of New York Times best seller The Gutsy Girl and more recently Tough Broad: from Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking - How outdoor adventure improves our lives as we age .  Whether it be walking mindfully and with awe in your neighbourhood, bird watching, hiking, surfing, or wing walking, the stories in Caroline’s new book are truly inspirational.  When we’re constantly told th...

Known for her amazing freestyle routines and tricks (including handstands on her board), Cornely @raizortail has competed in the European Championships, having taken up the sport in her late 30s. As a child she'd always wanted to skate, but she didn't want to stand out more than she already did, and so she decided not to. Now in her middle years, she's fully embracing 'dancing' with her board. Epi...

Introducing Board Women, the podcast - an exploration of women, board sports and confidence. Get on board. Join the movement. boardwomen.co @boardwomen Host - Caroline Keylock Producer - Selma Chalabi Photography - Clare Keylock Artwork - Rozi Wan Rimli  Music - Brother Brother by Benjamin Caleb Johnson, performed by BENSON Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full acce...

Get ready for the infamous @auntyskates.   Oorbee is well known for her social media images and videos of flying along on a skateboard in a saree.  Oorbee began her skating journey in her 40s after deciding she no longer wanted to sit on the sidelines, whilst her husband and children had fun.  Now almost 50, she has made skateboarding her career, inspiring women around the globe with her teaching,...

Dress Like A Mum founder, Zoë de Pass is an extreme fan of snowboarding, having spent 3 years doing a 'season'. “It’s just like being on top of the world. It’s like breathing out a massive breath. Going up that first chair lift and looking down the mountain, my shoulders drop, there’s relaxation. I just love it.” She now runs her own snowboarding retreats, and last year ran a surfing one too. She’...

Danni is a transpersonal psychotherapist, as well as surf confidence coach. Much of what she has to say about surfing applies to all board sports, so listen in - this episode is packed with lots of tips and wise advice. “When we go out and surf, whatever is happening in our real lives is almost an exaggeration of what is going on in our lives. Because we experience such highs in surf, especially i...