The SurfGirl Launch night was a great success, bringing together the surf community with an esteemed panel of inspiring women for the launch of our latest magazine.
The Women in Surfing discussion panel was hosted by London Surf Film Festival’s Demi Taylor who interviewed Hayley Lawrence from Waves and Words and Family Surf Co, Allanah Blanchard co founder Gather and Glide and Ellen Caldwell founder of Figure Creative Wetsuits and House of Glass. These dynamic women shared their experiences of balancing the challenges of running their own businesses with their passion for surfing, offering valuable insights into how they achieved this.
The event continued with two highly anticipated films, Make Way by Abby Hyland, which explores male domination in the line up and the empowerment of women. This was followed by White Horses directed by Meg Wriggles, which captured Emily Grimes exploring the coast of North Scotland on horseback in search of waves. Both films had a great response although unfortunately we had a technical hitch with White Horses but for everyone who attended you can watch it in full here…
Before the panel talk, Nell Sanders aka Skydan3r, set the mood with classic tunes, then wrapped up the evening with a D&B session. Nell also got to premiere her creative underwater video, Atlantica, “Atlantica is about the fall of Atlantis and the hope in the aftermath,” she explained. “As ocean lovers I feel many of us have this pull to Atlantis and maybe it’s in our subconscious, so this track sort of came to me about giving hope of healing from that and what comes next.”
One thing that became clear during the evening was how important it was for the surfing community to hold events like this.
“Surf magazines really are the cornerstone of our culture – a place to share tales and dream big. Congratulations and thanks to Louise and the Surf Girl team for giving us a place we can call our own, and for hosting a beautiful evening of community and conversation – what a pleasure to get to spend time talking with such an inspiring bunch of women both on and off the stage!”
‘I was nervous about getting on a stage and talking about myself, something I don’t do often! – However, when I looked up and saw a room full of inspiring women who, like me, are driven by a deep love for the ocean and a passion for surfing, I felt at ease. The growing women’s surf community here in Cornwall is amazing, it was a brilliant evening where we all got to connect and celebrate what we love together!’
“I think it’s important to hit all levels of the surf community, whether you surf or not, like the ocean, outdoors or just want to be a part of something where you can meet people, if you can hold a safe space for anyone to help them feel comfortable in that moment, you’ve made an impact, you’ve done something special !”
“You can’t be what you can’t see.” SurfGirl has played a vital role in representing, and championing, the women’s surfing industry. In what’s historically been a male-dominated realm, female surfers have had to fight hard for recognition.It’s not just about performance and the girls smashing it and taking surfing to new levels; it’a about being able see and understand surfing from female perspectives. Which is about community and inclusivity, well-being and fitness, independence and carving our own paths – being connected to nature and each other.It was incredible to feel the vibes, connection and support of this warm and inclusive women’s surfing community to celebrate the latest issue of SurfGirl magazine.”
Photos by Sophie Smith. Thanks to Connie Glaze vodka, Project Eighty Three and all the crew for helping out.
