Tag: surfing

These are the Top Surf Gear Recs from the SWA Community

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When planning for a surf trip or retreat, packing often becomes overwhelming. There are so many options on the market for surf gear that it’s easy to get lost in the sauce of potential purchases. In this post, we’ve broken down our recommendations, straight from the Amigas community, so you can lose the stress next time you find yourself with an overflowing shopping cart.

SUNSCREEN

All Good – Overall best, multi-use sunscreen. The face sunscreen has a creamy, easy to apply consistency and is sold in an aluminum tin. There are tinted and non-tinted options. Many options for face and body, plus a sunscreen stick that is bound to be your lip’s personal guardian angel. It’s great reef safe, chemical free sunscreen. Our favorite part about this company: it’s female-founded and made in California, USA!

Avasol – We rate this sunscreen best for face, a mineral sunscreen with zero waste packaging! Not to mention, all products are USDA Certified 100% Biobased – that means it’s
completely natural, with no fillers, synthetics or preservatives.

Some other sunscreen favorites include: Summer Lotion, Naif Care and Sunbum mineral

HATS

Kaiola – Our all time favorite surf hat, impeccable design and engineering with small yet strong straps — this hat stays on and keeps you protected. Now available in bucket, visor, and baseball cap styles!

Some other favorites include: Sunward Bound and Dakine

BATHING SUITS

Salt Gypsy – Ethically made Australian swimwear brand, we especially love their surf shorts and rashguards (many come in turtleneck style for extra neck coverage!).

Seea – We rate Seea best for its one piece surf suits, rash guards, unique vintage-inspired styles and great prints! Suits are all California made.

September the Line – Very high quality surf suits, rash guards, and leggings that last long. Timeless, elegant and sustainable!

Dkoko – An amazing women-owned and operated bikini company based out of Costa Rica! Some of our favorite items from this brand include their onesie surf suits (pictured below), and surf leggings (made with a super helpful drawstring so they never fall down).

Jolyn – Our amigas say these suits stay on, have awesome drawstring bottoms and are sold at great price points!

Left on Friday – Long lasting swimwear that performs well in strong surf! Our Amigas recommend the Hi Tide bottoms and Sunday top.

Sensiswim – Our amigas say these suits stay on and last for years!

Carve Designs – Great, supportive tops for bigger chests. Many size options and women-owned!

Sweaty Betty – Our amigas highly recommend Sweaty Betty one pieces.

Oysurf – We love Oysurf for their fun color options and bikini styles that are supportive and snug in the surf.

If You Can Relate to This, You’re Officially a Surf Rat

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Angie Surf With Amigas Costa Rica

How did you realize you were truly living the salty awesome life of a surfer?

If you’re in love with surfing as much as we are, you probably find yourself in unique scenarios that your non-surfer friends just don’t understand. Is your shower filled with sand? Have you ever canceled plans for epic waves? Has salt water ever dripped out of your nose during a work meeting?

Surf With Amigas Costa Rica

We recently did a fill-in-the-blank on our Instagram to find out how Amigas knew that they were living the life of a surf rat (a salty-haired, surf obsessed human). Enjoy the following compilation of hilarious submissions about the surf life from fellow Amigas.

YOU KNOW YOU’RE A SURF RAT WHEN ____.

“You don’t poop for 4 days because you’re on a surf trip in a van.”

“The last thing you do before going to sleep is check the forecast.”

“You don’t wash your hair because you know you’ll be surfing the next day.”

“Your feet are still sandy when you get to work.”

“You bail on your ‘land friends’ for your ‘ocean friends’ based on the forecast.”

“There is always a perpetual little pile of sand in the shower.”

“You cancel plans with your friends because the waves are pumping.”

Can you relate? Join us on an upcoming retreat to surf + explore with other women who know all about sandy showers and salty hair by clicking HERE.

River and Sea – A Life of Reading Water

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After adding our first ever Adventure Retreat to the schedule (a 3-day whitewater rafting and camping trip in California) we decided to catch up with fellow surfer, kayaker, and yoga teacher, Saanti Steyer. In the excerpt below, Saanti recounts all the things that she’s learned by spending time in rivers and oceans, and the synergy of two sports- surfing and white water rafting.

As I’m floating along the river I feel a sense of calm, the river is calm. The water is peacefully moving downstream, swiftly but with ease. It reminds me of sitting out in the ocean, those moments in-between sets, dangling off my surfboard, body submerged in water, waiting for waves to come. The water goes quiet for a moment, resting, and I take in my surroundings, the beauty of the California Trinities seen at a river’s pace. I think back to the dense Southern Costa Rican jungle being lit up by the first light of day.

Southern Costa Rica Surf With Amigas

This view of land from water, from river, from ocean, it’s my favorite thing.

Continue reading “River and Sea – A Life of Reading Water”

Who Are The Amigas? Q&A with Danielle Gustafson

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We’re back again to catch up with more alumni amigas that you may know!

this month we’re chatting Q+A style with mother, surfer, and world traveler danielle gustafson to learn more about the why behind her surf journey + a bit about her personal retreat experiences. Stay tuned for monthly stories and updates from our good friends across the globe.

Q: Think back to when you attended your first SWA retreat. Why did you book that trip? What was that first retreat experience like for you?

A: I’ve been obsessed with surfing for 20 years, but I never committed. I was a white wash wahine. As my kids got older and started shredding, I recognized that I had to learn to surf or lose them to their passion. My main motivation to finally commit was to keep a connection with them. It only made sense to send myself to SWA. That was four and a half years ago. I had no idea it would change the course of my life in the best possible ways. 

Q: Now that you’ve been on several SWA retreats, what keeps you coming back?

A: I can’t get enough. Every retreat has been epic. I gift myself at least one a year. Hey, I invest in my kids’ summer camp, tutoring and sports development. Why wouldn’t I offer myself the same level of self-care? 

Continue reading “Who Are The Amigas? Q&A with Danielle Gustafson”

Watch This Video For Some Female Longboard Inspiration!

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Our retreat locations in Northern Nicaragua are situated just a short walk from a big sandy bay with peeling rights and lefts. It’s our favorite playground in the area for both longboarding and shortboarding! With waves for everyone, the bay provides the perfect layout for us to connect to the ocean and just have FUN.

We hope you enjoy this surf video celebrating Amigas of ALL SURF LEVELS, ages, sizes, and backgrounds, catching super cute waves on their longboards in Northern Nicaragua!

 

 

How Does SWA Give Back to the Community in Northern Nicaragua?

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Mujeres Que Mueven is a non-profit organization in northern Nicaragua that inspires and empowers women to better self-manage their health through movement, group support, and dietary awareness. This is just one of several organizations that SWA supports in rural northern Nicaragua. We believe that travel is more meaningful when you have a chance to give back and support programs that improve the lives of locals wherever you are.
When you join a surf with amigas retreat In nicaragua, this is how you’re helping give back!

Last year SWA funded Mujeres Que Mueven’s annual nutrition challenge, and we’re proud to be funding the event again this year! The inspiring event in the village of Aserradores gives local women access to a month-long intensive program that is focused on exercise, nutrition, healthy cooking, and healthy habit forming.

Aside from the annual nutrition challenge, Mujeres Que Mueven holds exercise classes every afternoon, and each month offers one educational workshop and one women’s night. The women’s nights are built around wellness practices that include affirmations, vision boards, empowerment circles, self massage, and reiki.

MQM is empowering women in rural Northern Nicaragua to take charge of their personal wellness to lead healthier and happier lives.

At many of the monthly workshops, Nicaraguan women are invited on behalf of the organization to come to the village and teach local women about nutrition and self care. An amazing workshop was hosted in April 2022 that focused on education about the menstrual cycle and how to use menstrual cups + period panties. Over 30 cups were donated by Lenacup and MQM purchased panties to give to the women who attended. Over 25 women from the surrounding area attended and there were even families of three generations. Check out a highlight of the incredible event here.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MUJERES QUE MUEVEN AND HOW TO GET INVOLVED, CLICK HERE.

Q&A with Holly Beck: From Pro Surfer to Surf Therapy Intern

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After a career as a professional surfer, SWA Founder Holly Beck ran off to Central America to find herself. She built Surf With Amigas (and a family) over the course of 11 years living between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In 2021 she decided to move back to calling California home base.

The ocean was always a place holly went to escape and find healing.

Now, she’s pursuing a Master’s in Counseling on the path to become a licensed surf therapist. She’s interning with Groundswell Community Project and partnered with Jess Ripley to create and lead surf therapy programs in Southern California.

Q + A with Holly

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in working with women in the world of holistic surf coaching?

A: After spending the last 12 years involved in surf coaching, i’ve realized that beyond the physical tips like looking down the line, putting more weight on the front foot, and all the other common bits of coaching advice that i’m typically giving Amigas, there is often a mental component as well. Whether it’s the un-helpful voice of our inner-critic, a fear of bigger waves, anxiety about getting in someone’s way, etc., there’s a lot going on in our heads that affects our surfing performance. I’ve been really interested in exploring that internal stuff both in my own life and then also adding it to a coaching program to create a more holistic approach to surf coaching that would be even more effective in the water, but also spill over into benefits to someone’s personal life as well.

Q: You’ve made a few big career changes in the past year. Looking forward, what are you most excited about?

Continue reading “Q&A with Holly Beck: From Pro Surfer to Surf Therapy Intern”

Surfing with Shelly in Morocco

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With a gorgeous cliffside backdrop, super stylish surfer, and phenomenal videographer, this windy afternoon in Morocco was a recipe for greatness. Well, now that I think of it, the entire retreat season was destined to be great!

The retreat setup looked like this: We surfed long, peeling rights every single day, then relaxed at the luxury villa in between sessions. We explored old cities and shopped for Moroccan treasures, then slid down sand dunes at sunset. We laughed, cried, danced, and ate a TON of amazing food. For each and every one of us, it was the surf adventure of a lifetime.

Enjoy this video of SWA surf coach Shelly Massie taking an afternoon slide at our retreat location in southern Morocco
To learn more about our 2022 Retreats in Morocco, click here.

*videos captured by @itchyfeetmood & @amine_nader_photography

It’s Never Too Late to Become a Surfer: Mary’s Story

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Mary joined us this season at the Southern Costa Rica Longboard Surf House with a few of her closest surf friends. These ladies surfed for hours every day and reminded us that it’s never too late to just go for it and try the things you’ve always dreamed of trying. 

“I’m going to turn 70 and really what I think about is that it’s time to do everything that I really want to do. There’s no time a wastin’ here.”

Enjoy Mary’s surf story below

Preparing for your Retreat (Workout Video)

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Frequently asked question:

What surf specific exercises can I do to prepare for my retreat?

Surf With Amigas’ head yoga instructor Reesie just made this perfect compilation of workouts and stretches that you should do to prepare for your next retreat with SWA. Expect to do pop-up practice, stabilizing core workouts, and a few juicy hip openers. After completing the exercises in this video (a few times) you’ll be ready to go!

Interested in more surf-related tutorials or workouts? Let us know!