My work in bodyboarding

I like to think of myself as a pretty versatile being. I feel I am pretty multi-talented in handling many tasks that a pro bodyboarder is required to manage.

Over the years, my main priority has been to really promote women's bodyboarding. I'd like to see it grow for the girls to the extent that hopefully in a few years time, a decent number of girls will actually be able to live their dreams as professional paid bodyboarders.
I have been working on promoting women's bodyboarding in a number of ways:

1. In a partnership with Turbo Surf Designs I have launched a girls bodyboarding brand: Milkshakes Designs, Boards that Girls Love to Ride.
   Milkshakes has created a label exclusively for girl bodyboarders, with boards for girls of all abilities. I'm really stoked about it and the response so far has been great! We are already established nation wide and distributing globally! And we have only been in business for one year! For more info, here is our website: milkshakesdesigns.com
   
   
2. I am the president of the Womens Bodyboarding Association (WBA) in Australia. A bodyboarding club for girls that we started a couple of years ago. The aim of the WBA is to recruit, promote, and encourage girl bodyboarders all over Australia, and create fun competition and coaching for girls to enjoy. We held three club contests in 2009, with divisions for girls of all abilites, and have dress up themes at each event. In January 2010 we are holding a coaching clinic in Cronulla for beginners. We also have a website: womensbodyboarding.com
   
   
3. I write the Riptide magazine "Sisters" page. Riptide is a bi-monthly Australian bodyboarding magazine. A few years ago I campaigned to include a girls page in each issue, and here it is! Some of my articles have included
   interviews world champions, up and coming girls, surf trips, a paraplegic bodyboarder, and more! I have a great relationship with the guys at Riptide, they are very supportive of the girls in their magazine and on their website: www.riptidemag.com.au
   
   
   
4. I am a photographer. Well, not really a professional photographer, but I am learning. I share photography duties with good friend Emma Roby who owns an awesome Canon40D set up with waterproof housing. We have shot photos of each other at various locations with great results. Our first photo trip was in Tahiti in 2008, we stayed in front of Teahupoo for a month and shot water pics of each other at the infamous left.
   It was such an awesome learning experience, from getting in the right position to get the shot, to diving under bomb sets with heavy camera gear in hand! Two international magazines ran full feature articles with photos from our trip (Sth African "Sixty40" mag and US "Bodyboarder" mag), and more have been used in other magazines and advertising. Since that trip, we have also shot in some heavy waves locations around Oz and Canary Islands (Riptide mag ran a story on our adventure at "Luna Park" the heaviest left in Victoria and possibly Australia)
   
5. I want to see women's bodyboarding go mainstream! I have contacted numerous women's (and teen girls) magazines over the years to include articles about bodyboarding. A couple of highlights include being in Dolly and Chik magazines (for Chik I had a full interview, then a regular monthly page where I advised girls on health and nutrition). I am always looking for ways to get girls' bodyboarding into the limelight.