Second Breakfast with Surf With Amigas

Do you dream of gorgeous sand-bottom beach breaks? Or galloping down the beach on horseback with views of volcanoes silhouetted at sunset? If that sounds like paradise, you should consider our Northern Nicaragua retreat location for your next surf trip. In this episode, you’ll learn all about our original SWA retreats in Nica, located at La Bahia and the Cocoloco Ecolodge. Nicaragua offers epic wa...

1 in 8 women get breast cancer and more younger women are experiencing breast cancer now than ever before. Alida Brandenburg, a former Amiga, shares her own breast cancer story. She begins by sharing her surf story, her practice of mindfulness in motion, an act that allowed her to get comfortable with failure and let go of perfectionism. Surfing picked her up and turned her life in a different dir...

The number of years you've been surfing doesn't always imply your level! In this episode, SWA surf instructor and podcast producer Emma, AKA “Beany," chats with Holly about our advanced surf retreats.  We break down who we consider to be qualified to join us on an “advanced” retreat, talk about upcoming advanced retreat options and why in many cases mixed level groups are better, plus a sneak peek...

SWA head yoga teacher, Reesie Richards, chats about her background and introduction to body movement, which centers around dance and yoga. Since age 16, she practiced yoga and furthered her education with Paul Greeley, the “creator” of Yin yoga. She chats about the differences between Yin and restorative yoga and how she caters her yoga practice specifically for surfers at SWA retreats. Reesie’s y...

In this mini episode, SWA's head yoga teacher, Reesie Richards, shares some of her most epic misadventure stories. From wild interactions with frogs, foreign hospital experiences and being lost and alone abroad, her stories show us how to ride the waves of unfortunate mishaps and become more comfortable with the uncomfortable. Connect with us at https://surfwithamigas.com/ or @surfwithamigas. Epis...

What is it like to identify as queer in a heteronormative and male-dominated surf culture? Kyla Langen, former pro surfer and founder of Queer Surf, an organization dedicated to expanding surf culture and supporting queer wellness, reminisces with our host Holly Beck about their time together on tour and surfing around the world in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. They chat about the structure and...

Sexism is pervasive in the surf industry. While the women athletes now earn equal prize money to the men and more brands are featuring a variety of body types and athletes of color in their marketing, there’s still room for improvement. In preparation for our episode to be released this week with Kyla Langen of Queer Surf, Holly shares her story of both experiencing and benefiting from the sexism...

Today we connect with Delia Bense-Kang, a former Surf With Amigas instructor and big wave surfer. Although she hasn’t always identified as a big wave surfer, since learning to surf as a young girl she has consistently run towards what most of us would consider to be big waves. She first began to push her limits in the cold, heavy waves of Northern California but is now living in Hawaii, where she...

Ever wondered how it feels to have a massive wall of water fold itself over your head? In today's episode, listen as Holly recounts just that, the story of the biggest wave she ever caught that also resulted in the biggest wipeout. Let's flashback to the year 2000. It's the early days of the modern era of professional women's surfing.  Holly tells the story of a trip to Tahiti on a photo shoot tha...

In this episode, Holly and Jackie dive into a conversation about international surf tourism with Tara Ruttenberg. Tara has a PhD in Development Studies and wrote her thesis on the decolonization of surf tourism. Tara shares her story of learning to surf, what brought her to study surf tourism in Costa Rica and discusses some of the topics in her thesis. Listen as Holly, Jackie and Tara share stori...

Anyone who identifies as a female surfer most likely has a story of a time they felt treated as a second class citizen in the water. Women often have to work extra hard to earn respect in male-dominated lineups. Former professional surfer Holly Beck shares a story of getting dropped in on during a session in Indonesia, the emotions that resulted and what she did about it. Listen for some tips abou...

Megan Halavais, Surf with Amigas trip leader, surf instructor and all around awesome human being shares her nightmarish story of being attacked by a great white shark at her home break in Bodega Bay, California. She opens up about getting back in the water after the attack, how she battled panic attacks and fear in the water in order to keep doing what she loves. She looks back on the attack as a...

Surf With Amigas owners, Holly Beck and Jackie George introduce themselves, compare and contrast their individual surf stories and their journey to create Surf With Amigas - a women’s surf and yoga retreat business. From the early days of feral, dirtbag, dusty living without internet in thatched-roof cabanas in Northern Nicaragua, to a thriving business spanning the globe, Holly and Jackie take us...

Welcome to Second Breakfast, a podcast by Surf With Amigas. In this mini episode you’ll meet our host and co-founder of Surf With Amigas, Holly Beck. You’ll learn a bit about who we are, the inspiration for this podcast and some sneak peeks of upcoming episodes. Connect with us at https://surfwithamigas.com/ or @surfwithamigas. Episodes produced and edited by Emma Roggenkamp.