Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over‪.‬ Sheila Gallien

REWIND TIME! Two and a half years ago, I paddled through an impact zone of technophobia, stagefright, and impostor syndrome to launch an experiment called the Dropping In To Power podcast. My question: Had other women's lives been transformed by surfing like mine had, and did they want to talk about it, and did anyone want to listen? Yes, yes, and yes, it turns out.It also turns out, that transformation is never-ending. I looked at the calendar today, and realized that more than 3 month...

"Auntie Mo" - Maureen McNamara - MaineOn Halloween of 2023, when Surfline shared her (now viral) video, we fell in love with a salty New England surfer hurling clean insults and sage advice to an offending “whippasnappa” in the lineup. “Auntie Mo” barreled into our hearts and has since graced our feeds with her elixir of deep surf knowledge, self-deprecating humor, and truly helpful surf (and life) tips embedded in gentle ribbing. Talking to the "the whole Mo," I discovered that “Aunti...

“Moments before drowning, she became the sea.” - Mermaid’s LamentIn this episode, we temporarily ditch our surfboards and plunge into the raw power of the ocean, its intersection with salvation, and creativity. I talk with the director and stars of Mermaid’s Lament, a film about trauma, grief, resilience, imagination and…mermaids! Shot entirely on the island of Hawaii with a regional cast and crew, director GB Hajim has created, in his words, “a love letter to all people who find peace in the...

Para surfer Victoria Feige, the winningest female adaptive surfer on record, unveils her inner nerd and offers us a breakthrough that will rock your world: a simple, visual explanation of the mechanics of the DUCK DIVE and WAVE MECHANICS. I promise, you will have an AHA moment! At heart, beyond her injury, Victoria is just a girl who LOVES to surf and has thought a LOT about it (and a lot of other things). Our convo touches on how hands make us human, how resilience informs grit, how neurosci...

🏄‍♀️“Surfing well with a smile is the best revenge.” Mindy Pennybacker 🏄‍♀️ Mindy Pennybacker, lifelong soul surfer, author, journalist, and surf columnist for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, just released the gorgeous tome, Surfing Sisterhood Hawaii, a history, celebration, and, really, guidebook for how women have ruled and can rule the waves! Her axiom, “Our place is in the waves," leaps off of every page, a celebration of ordinary and extraordinary women surfers with a shared lo...

One of the joys of women flocking to the water is how we are learning to cheer for one another. (I know, some of us, ahem, are still working on this on particular days and in particular conditions.) This is NOT something we are raised with, cheering for other women, especially successful ones. We come up against our own competitive feelings (no one should be smart, pretty AND talented), as well as the constant messaging that women athletes are "less than" by the misogynist (yes, I said it) sp...