Sep 23 2021 41 mins
This episode is for all powerhouses in our lives—our moms!
Elizabeth Madin and Anna Shoemaker, the founder and founding member of Surfing Moms, share what their nonprofit organization is all about, their mission, and the magic and beauty that this community has created in their lives and hopes to create in the lives of other surfing moms out there.
Elizabeth Madin is a mother of three, the founder of Surfing Moms, and an Assistant Professor of marine biology in Hawaiʻi. She started surfing in her 20s - first in Hawaiʻi, then in California, and most recently in Australia. She took an unintended surfing hiatus after her first two children were born, which might have continued indefinitely had she not found Surfing Mums. Getting back into surfing - regularly, and with an amazing group of supportive and fun mothers - was such a game-changer for her that when she moved permanently to Hawai‘i, she knew she had to start a Surfing “Moms” group there. Elizabeth’s research focuses on ocean health. Likewise, she sees Surfing Moms as a way to help moms keep themselves happy and healthy (and catch some awesome waves at the same time!).
Anna Shoemaker, on the other hand, is a founding member of Surfing Moms in Hawaiʻi. Surfing Moms is a way for Anna to care for herself on a regular basis as well as provide postpartum support to like-minded moms in the community. Anna posts for the Surfing Moms' Instagram and from there does much of the organization’s community outreach. In the Summer of 2020, she learned how to pilot a drone to film their Surfing Moms Documentary. This is a new skill that she loves to work on!
From a handful of moms and keiki (Hawaiian for children) who started meeting on the beach to do ’surf-swaps’ about three years ago, they are now an established nonprofit organization that encourages moms to continue to follow their pre-motherhood passions and remember that before they were amazing moms, they were already incredible women.
Social Media Profiles:
- Website: http://www.surfingmoms.org/
- IG: https://www.instagram.com/joinsurfingmoms/
- FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joinsurfingmoms/
- YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-994a3lE0DpSEXzXwqXNQ/featured
Topics Discussed:
- Tell me a little about your background?
- The roots of surfing moms go back to Australia—how did it start?
- What are some examples of how you accomplish your mission?
- Do you meet regularly and how is the meeting structured?
- How are the Dads responding to the movement?
- How are you getting the word out?
- How difficult was it to set up the nonprofit?
- Do you have a strategic plan to move around?
- If someone wants to start a group, what are the steps?
- What was your first surfboard?
- What was your best wave?
- If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
- Any departing comments?
Location: O'ahu, Hawaii
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This podcast is produced by Derek Dodds, founder of Wave Tribe and lover of the sea.
For more info, email [email protected]
https://www.wavetribe.com/
https://www.instagram.com/wavetribe/