Gone surfing, be back never.
Salt crusted my skin as I sat overlooking Praia do Amado, my muscles pleasantly fatigued from a double session of surf. It’s the kind of fatigue that permeates your bones, feeling slightly overcooked – skin a slight tinge of pink from hours upon hours of undiluted sunshine, and the raw texture of sand and salt rubbing miniscule grains against your skin.
The late afternoon sun painted the beach in amber hues, and I couldn’t help but laugh at where life had taken me – or where I had taken life. A team effort, I suppose, between intention and surrender.
Answering the Ocean’s Call in Portugal
Nestled in warm sun-baked sand, I reflected about how it’s been less than two weeks into hitting the reset button on the Scandinavian life I had been building for six years. Less than two weeks after I planted my feet in Portugal, and less than one month since I intuitively changed all my life plans to follow a gut feeling to learn how to surf.
As the sun slowly sunk closer to dunking itself like a glowing cookie into the Atlantic, I watched waves build, form, roll toward shore, and break. Small dots that were surfers watched, waited, and began paddling. Or they didn’t.
Learning to Read the Atlantic Waves
Suddenly the ocean is something to analyze and understand – an enigma that exists beyond a pretty surface.
How is this wave different from the wave that came before?
What made the surfer paddle for this one, but not the others?
What were the cues they saw?
What did they feel from the water that wrapped around them?
With so many currents, what better place to learn to surf than the Portuguese coast. Most beaches I came across warned of dangerous rips, so the only way to enjoy the water required a board.
Surf, unexpectedly, became my compass to pivot. Even though that was my plan, it caught me by surprise that an ocean swim was often not an option.
But not just any kind of surf. I was in pursuit of surf as a lifestyle element, interwoven with a high focus on clean nutrition, mindset training, immersion with nature, supplemental strength and mobility training, and ideally – a likeminded community of fellow athletes. Not surfing as an escape from “real life,” nor an excuse to party; but surf as a sport to be taken seriously and balanced with supportive lifestyle practices. That, to me, is the true representative of what it means to be living real life – not escaping it.
Suddenly with waves guiding my feet, the world became less overwhelming and more focused. I’ve spent a lifetime experimenting with different cultures and ways of living, traveling in search of belonging and a feeling of home. My self discovery process has shown me over and over again what I don’t want. For the first time, I was guided by a very specific thing that I did want.
Finding Focus in a World of Infinite Choices
As the world grows smaller, all of us have the potential to become overwhelmed with too many options. How do we choose when endless choices span across the entirety of 360 degrees, and the infinite decimal points in between?
With an inevitable international move on the horizon, whirling around an enormous question mark of which direction to point my compass, the choice to surf narrowed the vision of my future: whatever the path forward, my recalibration pointed toward chasing waves – which also meant that I would be guided by the seasons.
I couldn’t help but to laugh at myself because never in my life had I felt much interest in surfing, and here I was: about a week into my travels with surfing guiding my every move.
It made no logical sense, and that itself is a clue that this was the right direction. As a Manifesting Generator, I’ve learned that I need to follow what feels good. My hell yes or f*ck no is a voice that I feel, not from my head – but from my gut.
When I was running through the woods near my home in Stockholm, the message repeating in my mind insisted:
“If it was a decision of the mind, I would have made it already.”
I would have calculated, strategized, planned, researched – which I did. And yet, hesitancy kept me in limbo.
When we tune in with our bodies, hesitancy comes as a messenger. It was on this mossy run that the idea of surfing in Portugal came to me (a big thanks to the intensive work and reiki I was doing with Katie Sroka, that guided me here!).
You Are Your Own Anchor
Here I am. No home, no anchor pulling me anywhere. Just me, my life compressed to fit in a backpack, my sense of self infused in the present moment, a playful curiosity, an openness to adapting as I gather information and meet people…
Here is where I am, and this moment is all that I have.
“Allow it to be easy” is a mantra that I picked up from a mentor. Easy, aaaaah, what does that feel like? I wouldn’t say that it was easy to get here, especially if adding up all the modes of transportation it took to arrive here. But there is a feeling of ease that has accompanied my journey. Some call it flow, or even magic. What it really comes down to is slowing down enough to hear the whispers of the Universe, the flutters of your heart, and the pulls of your gut… and listening to those messengers to guide you down the path of least resistance. That, and a good amount of trust that everything is unfolding how life is meant to be (but again – only if you listen).
Trading Mountains for Waves
Watching the waves roll in, I thought back to my childhood – mostly grown in Colorado, but with roots in the Northern Coast of California. I mention this because some part of me believes that we will always come back to the seed from which we were born. If not the geographic place itself, some element that nourished us in utero. Is it the cold, rolling waves? Or the old growth forests? For me, maybe it’s both.
But because of that childhood spent in the landlocked mountains of Colorado, the ocean was far from daily life. My room was decorated in dolphin paraphernalia, and anything connected to the ocean felt like a dream. The idea of oceanside living was synonymous with the luxury of Santa Monica price tags. Even when I went to school in Santa Barbara, the image in my mind persisted. Yes, I had temporarily made it in one of the most adorable towns on the American west coast, but how sustainable was it really?
As I began my journey learning to surf in Portugal, I saw I had been mistaken. Here I was – my lived experience proof that not every inch of coastline in the world has been gobbled up by hungry developers.
Not only that, but surfing was even more accessible and affordable than snowboarding had ever been – especially with lift ticket prices continuing to rise. But for surfing, all you needed was a board and a wave. No ticket required for entry, and secondhand boards (and wetsuits) aplenty.
Both sports are still faced with growing challenges: global warming continues to shorten the riding season in waves of white powder; and the growing popularity of surfing is beginning to over-crowd the very limited resource of perfect waves. They are, in their own unique ways, limited resources of fun.
Permission to Pivot
So here I sat, toes curled in the sand, with my eyes tracking lines of waves rolling over the horizon. Less than a month ago, I was planning a move to Italy – researching housing in my favourite city of Firenze, contacting farms in Umbria. Everything except buying the plane ticket. Beneath the hesitancy of that final detail was the whispered message from my body – change plans and pivot to the unknown. Waking up fully living the calling toward salt water and surrender was nothing I ever planned for. What a gift.
I have a tendency to lean into the masculine – planning, structure, discipline, power, strength, control. As a coach this has only intensified, with a passion for maximising potential across all areas of life. Using visualisation tools plays a strong role in preparing for the future. And yet, no amount of visualisation prepared me for this turn of direction.
CrossFit Meets Surf: Strength vs Flow
Contrary to my masculine defaults, for this new chapter in my life I was invited to lean into the feminine: trust and intuition. I couldn’t help but notice that this intuition parallelled the qualities of the ocean Herself, and ways of being that one needs to apply to surfing in order to successfully catch waves and find balance.
A decade of CrossFit had been a supportive practice in teaching me how to sculpt my body (and mind) into a master (Er, mistress? If we’re getting feminine…) of controlled movements and measured progress. I was programmed in the CrossFit box to see that success meant hitting precise numbers, maintaining perfect form, and pushing through with sheer force of will.
Just take a look at the name of the gym’s container: Box. Rigid, symmetrical, precise.
But here in the ocean, there are no ninety degree angles, and I quickly discovered that that same strength worked against me. My rigid posture and symmetrical movements – so prized in CrossFit and other more conventional fitness models – put me in a position that had me fighting the waves, rather than flowing with them.
Each attempt to muscle my way onto a wave taught me that power without fluidity was just wasted energy, often sending me tumbling into the washing machine of rolling foam.
Embracing Feminine Energy in the Ocean
The ocean demanded a different kind of strength altogether. Just as I was being invited to step into a new way of being, in which the arrow spinning pointed toward heightened intuition and awareness of the gut mind – surfing extended an invitation for me to reprogram not only my body, but my mind’s tendency toward rigid control.
A powerfully built structure is useless in the ocean if it can’t soften and surrender to feel into the waves.
The ocean, I began to understand. She was like any woman: to understand her meant to feel her.
Again, I unearthed another lesson applicable to life off the surfboard. You can change your external environment, but if you don’t change your habits and thoughts, not much else about your life will change. Suddenly the cliche “wherever you go, there you are,” clicked.
Reset. Pivot. Find life and live it.
The Power of Playful Surrender
At the root of this intuitive quest to learn to surf and let it guide my way was another new way of being: Playfulness as a guiding compass.
Perhaps life doesn’t need to be taken so seriously. It sounded simple, but I knew that it wouldn’t be easy.
With a lifetime of conditioning in the Western world that tells us that we are supposed to hustle and grind, I knew shifting my mindset wouldn’t happen overnight. Even as someone who has had a business for over a decade and lived life according to my own rules: my relationship with intuitive ease, light-heartedness, and playfulness is one that needs some tender love and care.
As my frustration built in the ocean, I reminded myself: This is not the place to be frustrated. Learning to surf is meant to be playful.
“Allow it to be easy,” I told myself. This chapter is all about stepping into a new way of being.
As the sun finally dipped into the Atlantic, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply into my belly, surrendering to the rhythm of the waves. My masculine-infused mind wanted to analyze and control, but my body was learning a new language rooted in the feminine – one of intuition and flow.
The last light caught the spray of breaking waves, reminding me that the ocean, like any woman, reveals her secrets not to those who study her, but to those who feel her. Here on this remote beach in the southwest of Portugal, thousands of kilometers from my previously-planned Italian future, I had found something I hadn’t known I was seeking: not just a sport, but a teacher of trust, surrender, and play.
The ocean, like any woman: to understand her is to feel her.
To see more images from this series (fine art nude landscapes), hop over here.
Two years later, my search for a holistic surf experience continues…
Beyond Party Waves: A Continued Search for Holistic Surf Communities Worldwide
The salty air of Ericeira became my constant companion during the four months I called Portugal’s west coast home. While the waves were prime and the town’s charm undeniable, I found myself searching for something deeper than the typical surf scene. I was seeking a community that understood surfing as I did – not just as a sport, but as part of an integrated approach to wellbeing.
I was looking for more than just catching waves – I wanted a holistic surf experience that nourished body, mind, and spirit.
The Search for Conscious Surf Culture
During my Portuguese summer, I witnessed a disconnect between the raw power of the ocean and the prevalent surf camp culture. Pristine beaches often littered with beer cans, the air heavy with cannabis smoke – it painted a picture at odds with the athletic demands of surfing. While I hold no judgment against these choices, entering unpredictable ocean conditions requires clear-headed respect and preparation, especially when responsible for teaching others.
Local conversations suggested that such conscious surf communities existed mainly in the expected places – California’s coast or Bali’s wellness scene. But, if you know me, you know that I prefer paths tread off the beaten track.
Hidden Gems: Holistic Surf Destinations
Through recent research and conversations with fellow wellness-minded surfers, I’ve found only a couple of havens where surf culture meets conscious living in the way that I envision. These destinations integrate:
- Strength training and mobility work
- Mindfulness and mental preparation
- Nutrition education
- Nature immersion practices
- Sustainable approaches to surf lifestyle
Two standout discoveries include:
Raw Surf and Fitness – Costa Rica: Where jungle meets ocean, this retreat combines high-performance surf coaching with functional fitness and mindset training. Their approach mirrors my vision of what surf culture can be – athletic, mindful, and deeply connected to nature.
When I first started researching something else out there, what caught my interest was not only the unique pipe cabins, but also their pictures of a strength training set-up right in the middle of the beach. Yes, please!
(Images from Raw Surf & Fitness)
Unstad Arctic Surf – Norway: Beach bonfires, an organic cheese farm, frigid waters, and the midnight sun?! Sign me up.
Proving that conscious surf communities exist in unexpected places, this Arctic surf center offers an immersive experience where the raw elements demand respect and preparation. The cold water naturally attracts a more dedicated, wellness-focused crowd.
(Images from Unstad Arctic Surf)
Building the Future of Surf Culture
My personal search continues for more communities that honor both the sport’s athletic demands and its potential for holistic growth. If you’ve found your own sanctuary where health consciousness meets surf culture, I’d love to hear about your discoveries! You know, beyond the typical yoga and vegetarian diet. 😉
