Santa (aka me) bought my oldest son his first foam surfboard when he was 7. It was probably Santa’s winningmost year and my son (now 23) has been surfing ever since. As a mum to a young surfer I spent countless hours taking him down the coast and watching him surf. As a mum to a surfer who can now drive himself, I have spent countless hours watching him surf the break at Uluwatu in Bali on our family holidays.
Surfing is magnificent. I can only imagine the thrill of catching a wave.
I have always wanted to learn how to surf. I have tried a few times, but I am supremely uncoordinated and I have always felt ridiculously self conscious – everything from the bathers I was wearing, to the weirdness of the wetsuit, to the fact that I am blind as a bat, to being a woman who clearly cannot surf encroaching on the territory of the young, agile, tanned and (often) masculine. Mostly, I didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself (why is it that we think that all eyes on the beach will be trained on our hapless efforts?).
For a multitude of reasons (aka excuses), I have not followed up on this long burning passion to ride a wave. And that’s simply not good enough. Because it’s my life and it’s my saggy butt in the bathers.
Turning 50 has changed my life and the expectations I place on myself. I have more time than I have had in years. My kids are independent. I am wise and fit and healthy and I have far less f**ks to give in terms of what other people think of me. It is my turn to shine and if I want to learn to surf then I am going to learn to surf.
Enter Belinda Bradford, CEO and Founder of Surf Getaways – a surf travel company dedicated to empowering women to embrace the joy of surfing with increased confidence, fitness and improved skills.
Bel is living her best life. To be honest, Bel is living MY best life. Based in Bali, running a magnificent global business designed around empowering women to step into their magnificence, Bel Bradford is very seriously at the international forefront of breaking down every single surfing stereotype that has held women like me back. Why? Because she saw a gap in the market for ‘us’ – women who want to participate in an environment, in a sport, in an ethos that was not designed for us. Bel describes us as the first generation of women that are educated, independent, sexually emancipated and with money – we are women who have taken a step into the space of joyful irreverence.
God yes.
When Bel first wanted to learn to surf she felt completely invisible. Her only option was to learn from an 18 guy (who I am sure was a lovely kid) who had no idea about her insecurities. And she is not alone, 80% of Surf Getaway’s clients are a size 14, and yet it is only recently that wetsuits have become available in larger sizes (maybe because women like Bel and the new CEO of Rip Curl – a woman, actually ‘see’ us?). The conventional surfing industry simply didn’t recognise women as a market. She was told by other surfing schools that Surf Getaways wouldn’t make money because ‘women don’t surf’.
More fool them.
Surf Getaways is Bel’s 5th start up and she has tapped into a swell (sorry, couldn’t resist) of women who want more. Women who want to have joyful, exceptional, life changing experiences doing something they never dreamed they could, all while surrounded by a community of other awesome women cheering us on. Ironically, most of the investors in Surf Getaways are men – they get it, they get the vision, but they don’t know how to tap into this movement of women. But we do.
A clear driver for Bel is giving women the opportunity to feel safe and connected. Many of her clients are experiencing a time of huge transition – coming from divorces, or empty nesting, or losing partners – and they are looking to challenge themselves. Surf Getaways’ most prolific customer is a 74 year old widow who has been on 5 surf getaways around the world – she told Bel that she could ‘either be waiting to die or I could be doing this.’
Bel is focussed, driven, smart, engaging and incredibly generous with her time and her experience. She is passionate about opening up pathways for women in surfing and is bringing female surfing coaches into the business and giving them a career path that they can’t get elsewhere – No-one really knows what to do with us – for the first time in history we can do whatever we want, and we are doing EVERYTHING!
And so I am committed. I am going to learn to surf. This year. Bel sums it up beautifully – If you believe you can do it, you can. The opposite is true. It takes as much effort either way, so you may as well believe that you can.
I can and I will. Stay tuned.
If you want to join me on my magnificent surf retreat with Surf Getaways in August – click here for all the details!
