Second Breakfast with Surf With Amigas

In today's conversation, Holly and former pro surfer Alana Brennan discuss their experiences as female surfers and the challenges they faced in the industry. They chat about femininity and sex appeal in surfing and how it affected their careers, as well as the changing landscape of the sport. Alana shares her journey from growing up in Hawaii to becoming sponsored by Billabong and the pressure to...

Maddie Stone, a cybersecurity researcher and hacker, discusses her surf journey, her experience working in the tech industry,  and her recent decision to relocate to Central America. We chat about the culture in both tech and surfing, stereotypes, the challenges Maddie faced as someone who identifies as a plus-size female, and how she strived to embrace her own style and identity. Maddie's story e...

Chelsea, a single mom and avid traveler, shares her experiences of traveling with her kids and surfing around the world. She started documenting her family adventures after taking a trip to South Africa with her baby and toddler. Even after her divorce, Chelsea and her ex-husband continued to travel with their kids and found ways to make it work. Our chat emphasizes the importance of not letting t...

Today we chat with Molls and Grace from With It Girl, a platform that aims to empower and unite women in action sports and creative cultures. It was originally founded in 1996 by Molls, starting as a zine and later becoming an online platform, offering free access to content and mentoring opportunities. However,  in the early 2000s it faced challenges and eventually went dormant for almost 20 year...

Today's conversation with clinical social worker Karen Lane covers various topics including self-empathy, nonviolent communication, and how surfing can be a medium for understanding ourselves and our communication practices. Karen shares her surfing story and highlights the importance of understanding and meeting our own needs. We chat about various exercises used to explore different ways of thin...

Today we chat with talk to Alex White, a skateboarder, brand consultant, media and content producer and global advocate for women’s/non-binary and queer folks. We chat about her story and how she got into the sport in the 90s, social differences between pro skateboarding and surfing, style changes throughout the years, how skating can help your surfing and visa versa, and finally the challenges fa...

Gaby Scott, a filmmaker and director, shares her journey into surfing and filmmaking. Gaby discusses her passion for capturing the essence of surfing (specifically big wave surfing) through her films, focusing on local stories and the experiences of women in ocean communities. She emphasizes the importance of visibility and representation of female athletes in media and hopes to contribute to crea...

In the second installment of our mini series, Cold Water, Big Waves, we chat with Bianca Valenti. Big wave surfer Bianca Valenti believes that growth and fun lives within challenges; in her case the fun involves careening down the face of a massive wave. In this episode we chat about embracing fear, facing challenges head-on, and the importance of a positive mindset, both in life and surfing. We d...

In this episode we chat with Sachi Cunningham, an award winning filmmaker, water surf photographer, and Associate Professor of Journalism at San Francisco State University. Her work has been featured in global brand campaigns and for outlets including the NY Times and the Today Show.  In this episode, Sachi discusses her journey in the world of surf photography, her love for big waves, the challen...

Today we get to chat with Meg Roh, who at age 12 made a commitment to surf every day for 8 years. As a sponsored surfer and model for much of her young adult life, Meg has a wealth of adventures under her belt. From surf trips in California and Central America, to Europe, Indonesia and beyond, Meg offers a unique perspective into the surf industry and questions the intentions of large brands. In t...

We're kicking off season two with a deeper introduction to our host, Holly Beck. We're joined by Natalie Small, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of the Groundswell Community Project. Listen as the two chat about Holly's childhood roots, her evolving surf journey, how she found herself through the sport, what led her to pursue a life that revolves around waves in Central America...

It has been (nearly!) a year since we released our first ever episode with Second Breakfast! Time for a recap. In this episode, Holly and SWA surf instructor/podcast producer Beany review our last year on Second Breakfast. Listen to us banter about Holly's recent experience at the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch, some of our favorite highlights from our episodes this past year, and a rehashing of our orig...

The WSL, the governing body of pro surfers, has altered the rules about the competition qualifications in the women’s division, following along with the olympic guidelines based on hormone levels. This has led to great controversy, both in and out of the surfing world. Today we chat with Sasha Jane Lowerson, a trans woman who has competed and won both in the men’s and women’s divisions in Australi...

Today we chat with Leah Dawson, a style icon in surfing. Leah has lived through incredible growth in women’s surfing, confronting many challenges of her own in the industry while also bringing a unique perspective to the sport. In this episode we learn about how Leah’s philosophy of surfing and style has changed throughout life, different techniques Leah teaches in women’s surfing, and Leah’s goal...

How can we prioritize our health through food? Lisa Hoopes is a registered dietician, who’s own journey with nutrition stemmed from early difficulties surrounding food and body image. In this episode we chat about inner self dialogue, alternative sailboat living, the science behind metabolic health, and ultimately answer some of your top questions surrounding foods, seed oils, and intermittent fas...

How can we ensure that all surfers are safe in the water? As a Mexican American, Dionne had the idea to start an organization, Wahine Project, to get more underrepresented humans surfing and feeling welcome in the water. Her organization’s goal is to help individuals overcome whatever barriers they may face in order to have ocean access, in turn bolstering our own health and that of our planet. He...

Today we chat with Gina Jurlando, the founder of Yeasty Boys, a fem focused, beginner surf club and community group based in Rockaway Beach, New York. Yeasty Boys was born from the desire to support diverse groups of people in the surfing world, and stand against the intimidation factor that often coincides with the sport. In this episode we discuss allyship, the New York surf scene, creating supp...

Rachel Gordon, cold water charger and Alaskan surf guide, just became one of the first women to surf in Antarctica. Looking for a lifestyle filled with outdoor adventure, Rachel moved up to Alaska for a summer and after 9 years, she still hasn’t left. In this episode, we chat about how life and surf in Alaska is different, connecting with nature and people, surf boats, thriving in uncomfortable si...

From competitive swimmer to endurance paddle boarder and now free dive instructor, Morgan has pursued a life full of water-based activities. For 20 years she trained to qualify for the USA olympic swimming team until she realized she needed a major life change, and pivoted to find more freedom. Morgan thrives when she is put her out of her comfort zone. Confronting her fears, in anything she does,...

Nadia is a frothy surfer and Chinese medicine practitioner. When she was younger, she had a dream that she would live in Nicaragua one day. After graduating from college, she made the dream come alive and starting working for SWA. Nadia tells her adventures of life in Nicaragua, from living on a farm and rescuing stray dogs to scoring perfect waves to herself. She considers her time in Nicaragua t...

At age 18, a snowboarding accident left Victoria Feige, now a 5x world para surfing champion, paralyzed from the waist down. But Victoria wouldn’t let her accident slow her down; she has an incredible attitude and takes life by storm, even from a wheel chair. Play is her wheelhouse, and she’s relearned how to move through the world and remake her passions in a new body. Even while being airlifted...

After struggling to find a high quality women’s wetsuit, Angela decided to make a major career change, pivoting from tennis coach to wetsuit manufacturer. She had the goal of creating the best women’s wetsuit on the market, made of soft but durable materials. Angela has witnessed the incredible growth of women’s surfing, from the 90’s until now. Her brand, Mamala Wetsuits, aims to represent femini...

What’s your relationship to alcohol? Alcohol is one of the most common casually used substances in the world. Yet more and more people are quitting drinking, and alcohol culture is changing. Today we chat with Carly Fox, a former trip leader and surf/yoga instructor for SWA. We learn about her surf journey, discovery of surf therapy and counseling, and how she reevaluated her relationship with alc...

Today we chat with Natalie Fox, a surf therapist and environmental scientist from England. After discovering surfing, Natalie realized how the ocean provides an outlet to process emotional trauma and catalyze acceptance, compassion and growth. With a passion for surf and the impacts of human interaction with the ocean, Natalie was driven to study sustainability and research new kinds of surf scien...

Domestic abuse affects millions of women worldwide. It can feel extremely debilitating to be stuck in an abusive relationship, and even more difficult to find the courage to bring oneself out of those situations. For Drew Reinhardt, what started as a vacation to Nicaragua turned into a life transformation. Drew tells her story of her time living in a small town in Nicaragua, during a time of extre...