Sarah Gerhardt on Surfing and the Mind-Body Connection

Originally published in Santa Cruz Waves Magazine.

Rather than sitting down for an interview, Sarah Gerhardt asks if we can go for a walk along West Cliff Drive. “My natural state of existence is very anxious,” she admits. Well known in the surf community as the first woman to ride the giant waves of Mavericks, the 47-year-old grew up with a bipolar father and a quadriplegic mother. As young children, Gerhardt and her sister often found themselves homeless, and they served as primary caregivers for their wheelchair-bound mother.

Six-Time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen Shares His Secret to Success

Originally published in Santa Cruz Waves Magazine.

To win the Ironman World Championship, Mark Allen knew that he had to try something different. His previous six attempts at the grueling 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race, and 26.2-mile marathon on the Big Island of Hawaii had brought him to the podium, but a first-place finish remained out of reach.

I’m registering for the Red Bull Magnitude, a women’s big wave video contest that will run from December 1, 2022 – March 1, 2023 in Hawaii. In order to apply, I need to show proof of my ability to surf big waves. Here is a sequence of photos of me surfing Mavericks on December 13, 2014. That’s me in the bowl and Mark Sponslor on the shoulder. Stoked to share a wave with this legend!

The Overlooked Connection Between Racism and Localism in Santa Cruz’s Surf Culture

Originally published in Santa Cruz Waves Magazine.

When Sterling Whitley first attempted to paddle out at Cowell Beach in the late 1950s, a group of surfers told him he had no business there.

Originally published in Santa Cruz Waves Magazine.

“It’s funner than surfing Mavericks,” claims Tyler Conroy, a regular at Mavericks. We are driving up the coast to go surf foiling, a sport I have never tried but Conroy has been obsessed with it since he first set foot on a hydrofoil surfboard two years ago. A hydrofoil is comprised of a long metal mast and two sets of wings that attach to the bottom of the board and allow it to lift above the water. “You feel like a bird,” Conroy says.