The art of Burlesque.

Is Burlesque feminist friendly? More importantly, how does Burlesque correlate to a blog about women's surfing?! 

Dear readers, I do have a point and I promise this post will make sense (or at least I'll have a good stab at it)...

Last night I went to my local theater and watched a Burlesque cabaret show with my mom. It was AWESOME and surprisingly it was also really funny. Among the strip teases there were moments of real hilarity where the women on stage poked fun at their art, doing slap stick routines and clowning around. I was literally crying with laughter because although they were glamorous, each lady on stage had a real persona in which their personalities were able to shine through. 

As an ex dancer I've always been intrigued by Burlesque as an art form rather than a cheeky way to see some flesh. The elaborate costumes and the theatrics which go into a performance makes me appreciate it as a form of expression rather than something sleazy. 

What was really wonderful was that the women performing were literally all shapes and sizes. There were different complexions, heights and dare I say it...they had cellulite. Do you know what though THEY WERE ALL BEAUTIFUL. There were tall athletic blondes, petite brunettes, curves in all the right places red heads and even a bloke! 

It was a celebration of the female form and boy did the audience appreciate the party! What was funny was that the crowd consisted mostly of women and husbands there under duress. I love that women are able to support one another like this, we weren't there to scrutinize we were there to enjoy confident women who could remind us that it doesn't matter what your body type is, confidence is what really is attractive. 

[...And now for the tenuous link to surfing] 

Surfing is possibly one of the only sports which women picked up simultaneously to men. Women  in Hawaii could be seen charging the waves just as much as their male counterparts and do you know what...they did it naked. 

One of the reasons I love surfing is because women of all shapes and sizes do it, there is a real sisterhood when you get out in the ocean. Surfing makes you attractive not because your getting sun kissed and beautiful ocean curls (especially not if your surfing the North Sea) but because it makes you trust your own body and marvel at its capabilities (err standing up on a board...hello impressiveness)! 

Sexiness is doing things your own way, not worrying about who your trying to impress but relishing how it makes YOU feel. 

And now for a visual mash up of Burlesque and surfing!

 

 

 

 

Until next time stay strong, surf well! 

The Chatty Ape.

"Imagine a chimpanzee, so like us in so many ways, reaching out to us across that chasm. There is an unspoken question. "Will you acknowledge me as 'kin'?" If you dare look into his eyes and take hold of his hand, he will look back toward the other animal beings and then back to you with a question, "What about them? Don't they matter too?" Indeed, the great apes are like us in so many ways that they serve as ambassadors for all the wonderful animals with whom we share the planet." - Jane Goodall, Primatologist

Last night I went to bed thinking about relationships and woke feeling that it is the relationships we chose to make whilst on earth which define us and our existence. As a young twenty something it is fairly stereotypical of my age group to concentrate on romantic ones, it is after all the years in which we establish ourselves as independent adults. Along with all that striving and asserting ourselves comes the heavy, sometimes hard to swallow love affairs, which end up shaping us.

For once though I'm not talking about that kind of love. Today I want to focus on my friends, the wonderful surf family I've developed over the last year and the friends who are embedded in my life history.

These relationships we develop in a non romantic context are possibly the most important in terms of defining us. They are permeable, sometimes fleeting and have problems which cannot be healed by having sex (unless you take the bonobo chimp approach to life,which is to base your whole society on sex and use copious masturbation and copulation to resolve conflict)! 

With friends you continually have to make an effort as there is no certainty that they will weather all storms in your life, unlike the unconditional love of your family. Of course you develop some relationships which do become like family but I always feel you shouldn't rest on your laurels or take this for granted. Friends don't have to be there if they don't want to be. 

Newly single I'm reflecting on my friendships and other relationships as an important vector for change in my attitude and how I intend to move forward.  From my work colleagues, to my awesome, philosophical taxi driver all these people are valuable wonderful pilgrims to learn from as we trek towards whatever it is we're trekking towards. 

As ever surfing has given me a new family, one which is constantly growing (new members not births)! To all these people and my wonderful friends from school, college, university and lush job interviews, coffee counters, beaches and where ever else I manage to make friends Thank you. 

Here's a photo collage of a few of those people, I've probably missed people out because I'm rushing this post but that doesn't mean they are any less important. To all the wonderful people who keep me sane (that's relative I guess) thank you for being there.  

 

   

Until next time, stay strong surf well :) 

Woman vs Workout.

I love fitness which is probably a good thing because I also really like to eat. For me, doing exercise has always been a pastime or a form of therapy rather than just a way to lose weight. It's precisely why I love sport and challenging myself in different fields whether that be running, climbing, dancing or yes surfing. 

Surfing for me is the ultimate challenge combining cardio, core strength & coordination and stamina in a medium which is constantly changing. Its why I take my fitness out of the water very seriously, everything land based is done to improve my efforts in the sea. Not too long ago the attitude for surfers to improve surfing was...to go surfing. A new wave of thinking however is seeing the benefits of training like an athlete on land to compliment activities in the water. 

There is no average week in my books due to my rotating shift patterns at work but the one constant I do keep is what exercise I do and when. I workout around 4-5 times a week depending on what I have going on which can include anything from outdoor running, using the green gym in my local park, climbing, strength/weight training, spin class, swimming and then general day to day fitness like walking, taking my dog out and skateboarding. 

Whilst I love doing exercise and the way it makes me feel, I'm not going to sit here and say I genuinely get excited about celery and spring out of bed to do 2 hour work outs at 4am in the morning. That's a load of croc, anyone who does that is probably an actual athlete and even then are paid to behave like that. Therefore on the days when all I want to do is eat buckets of hummus, make cakes and watch surf films under a duvet here's a few things that get me motivated. 

1. The Playlist. 

This is not inconclusive and I'm sure there will be songs people disagree with, but if you want me to get up off my ass a combination of these tunes will suffice. 

N*E*R*D Anti matter 
Diplo vs DJ Fresh - Earthquake
Pearl Jam - Evolution
Apollo 440 - Stop the Rock
Dee-lite - Groove is in the heart
Ice Cube - You can do it 
DJ Fresh - Gold Dust
Flo Rida - Good feeling
Skrillex & Damien Jr. gong Marley - Make it bun dem
Shakira - She Wolf
World Tribe - Mullion
Aswad- Shine
Bob Sinclair - Fireball 
Vampire Weekend - A Punk
INXS - Unbelievable
ZZ top - Gimmie all your lovin 
Moby - The Beach (for cool down)! 

2. Watch Woman vs Workout 

Lauren Berlingeri is awesome, not just because she's a successful model from South Africa but because she takes on the most grueling male dominated fitness crazes and represents! I love her ethos of inspiring girls to challenge their bodies and minds, you go girl! 

  

 3. Get stoked about fueling your body the right way. 

After a 14 hour shift the last thing I want to do is come in and prepare a healthy meal which is why I research new interesting recipes and cook in bulk on my days off. My diet is mostly vegan (no meat or dairy) but I do have the occasional slip ups (I'm no Saint), so as much as possible I try to cook healthy vegan alternatives to stop me grabbing the bad stuff! 

The best way to eat healthy is to approach it like its a life style, find stuff you actually enjoy which also happens to be healthy. See it as a way of fuelling all the fun stuff you do in your life rather than a deprivation or chore. There's more to life than food but it should be a priority! Eat well, be well. 

Until next time stay strong, surf well :) 

Love Sophia 

Skater Girl.

I've bought my first skateboard at the grand old age of 24 (which may as well be 104 in the world of skateboarding)! I picked one up for the first time in Croyde last weekend and absolutely loved it post surf. For a land locked surfer girl skateboarding seems a viable distraction while I anxiously wait for another surf trip to come around. 

Today my beautiful neon pink penny board arrived and I've been skating in the hall desperately willing it to be morning so I can go out and play. (I'm determined to go out at the crack of dawn before the kids come to the skate park and make me look like a sad loner). 

Which brings me onto my next topic of conversation. 

Patience. 

As a surfer you learn (whether you like it or not) the fine art of being patient. Even when the waves are surfable there are pauses between sets where you have to wait to get the wave you know is going to rock your world. At work my patience is insurmountable, I don't flinch if someone's behavior causes them to lash out and I can be with a service user all day waiting for a task to be completed. In a work context I am exemplary. 

However. 

If we're talking about surfing or *ahem my love life then patience isn't my strong point. There were times before the land locked surfers club was established where I literally felt trapped in Birmingham. I'd look at the pavements and the confines of my life and allow myself the luxury of being ungrateful. Thankfully a shit load of meditation, getting a job I'm passionate about and learning to be mindful has helped overcome those initial feelings of inertia. 

I've managed to cultivate patience waiting for surf and its an approach I'm now taking in my love life. I've tentatively begun dating again in a very nervous, scared to be burned again kind of way...you know how it is. Its so early I'm not putting labels on anything I'm just hanging out I guess. 

And do you know what. Its exhilarating. Having the patience to take things slowly enforces you to keep interested in YOUR interests, which is so important in the first flushes of romances. Its easy to become lost in a relationship, which is precisely why I'm fully committing to this new approach of taking my time and really getting to know people before I dive in head first...And that's enough of that kind of talk, sometimes its important to keep some things private as much as it is to speak your truth! 

This week's inspiration

 
 
 

 

 Until next time...
Stay strong, surf & skate well (!) 

Love Sophia 

The Land Locked Surfers Part III

Before I divulge into the wonders of another Land Locked Surfers trip, I'd like to give a shout out to Surfdome. 

Not only are the gang there lovely to work with they've also provided me with a beautiful bikini to review. 

Below is said palm tree bikini which managed to survive my wipe outs and skateboarding!! This bikini was good value for money, good quality, didn't get lost in the ocean and didn't give me a wedgie - win, win in my books! 

  

Photography by Jemima Stubbs https://www.facebook.com/JemimaStubbsPhotography

Surfdome http://www.surfdome.com/

Bikinis http://www.surfdome.com/Womens_Bikinis-334/

triangle bikini top http://www.surfdome.com/surfdome_bikini_tops_-_surfdome_georgia_triangle_bikini_top_-_palm_trees-144436

the bottom http://www.surfdome.com/surfdome_bikini_bottoms_-_surfdome_narabeen_tie_side_bikini_bottom_-_palm_trees-144412 

The Land Locked Surfers Club III

I am still radiating happiness after my weekend with the Land Locked Surfers despite returning to the cold, bleak city. To this day I still don't understand the magic of surfing, how it is able to bring effective strangers and acquaintances together and create community. We had new recruits on this trip and rested our heads in a caravan for eight. Despite close quarters it happened again...that wonderful moment when people really gel - we even had sunshine for a little bit! 

This is all so ironic when I think about my actual surfing. I was terrible, I mean I had the mechanics down but my attitude was all wrong. I started to 'get in my head' to the point where I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing because I was so frustrated with feeling like I was surfing terribly. 

I hit the wall. 

This happened on day one so I tried to reassure myself that the next day would be better. Then on Sunday we woke up to wind and mush, it looked like a desert storm on the beach the weather was so bad. I went in anyway, in grey waves with wind speeds which exfoliated my face and had the best time yet. I learnt to surf in a blustery, Northern town in snow and hail, so sometimes I have to get a battering from the waves to remind myself why I'm doing it in the first place - for the sheer 'what the hell' of it. 

Surfing is always challenging and then there are these brilliant moments of opportunity. I love that I'm constantly learning and the land locked surfers club is giving me life long friends who I'm able to share this all with. 

Large high quality photos courtesy of Jemima Stubbs
(and the instagram ones are mine)!

The Land Locked Surfers (and Olivia the surf protegee)! 

 

Thank you to the Land Locked Surfers, Surfdome, Croyde Bay locals and Ruda Holiday park for another life affirming weekend away surfing! 

Until next time stay strong, surf well! 

Love Sophia 

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