Shows
Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.The Final Episode - Surf Hypnosis For You!Are you ready to become your most confident, fluid, in-tune surfer? Go to 5:19 for a Surf Hypnosis Meditation - BUT NOT WHILE DRIVING!And now, a brief farewell, dear friends. I began these conversations three years ago with women surfers to find out if surfing had transformed them as profoundly as it had me. Check! It has been such a gift to interview dozens of ROCKING women, and be moved, and lifted, by their stories. As I reflect back over the conversations, I see one clear throughline: surfing is more alchemy than sport, or even therapy...
2024-10-3127 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.REWIND - Dr. Candice Myhre - Kauai, HI - From Season 1, Ep 2REWIND UPDATE: Just a short 32 months ago (!!!) I interviewed the spectacular ER Doctor, Candice Myhre, who saves surfers and regular humans from death and destruction on the regular. In that episode, she mentioned a book she was planning to write, and now she’s done it! Well, ALMOST done it! Her manuscript for Sex, Surf, Sutures, Scars: A Surf Doctor’s Story of Love and Trauma in the Lineup is in the final editing stages, book proposal is finito, and she has been firing it off to literary agents. She continues to create mermazing stories in her everyday life, and up...
2024-06-031h 11Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.REWIND - Aurélie Madec - The Very First Dropping In Podcast!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 months have passed since my last podcast!The reason is simple. I...
2024-03-311h 03Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over."Auntie Mo" - Maureen McNamara - Maine"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 “Auntie Mo” is a character she created to manage her own grumpiness about the bulging surf scene and her...
2023-12-221h 23Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Mermaid's Lament - Island of Hawaii“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 ocean.” Stars Dayva Summer Escobar and Justina Mattos share their stories...
2023-11-151h 12Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Victoria Feige, Vancouver and North Shore, HawaiiPara 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 neuroscience is sexy (isn’t it, though?) Trained as a...
2023-10-041h 17Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Mindy Pennybacker - Oahu, Hawai'i🏄♀️“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 love of surfing. Mindy’s personal story spans the whole saga of women elbowing their way onto waves from Gidget to today, and glorious moments in between the jostling. Mindy...
2023-08-041h 27Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.BONUS (RANT) EPISODE: Get Out Your Pom Poms! Women Pro Surfers Need Our Cheers, Today!!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) sports industry. I got extra fired up about the inequities still...
2023-07-1330 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Dr. Stephanie Han, Honolulu, Oahu“To be in the water like this is to be in movement to a musical note, it is to be one with color while painting, to be with a line while drawing.” From the upcoming, Break.Dr. Stephanie Han, Korean-American author, educator, speaker and self-proclaimed “bad surfer” came to surfing with a dream - to stop the splintering of her family. Instead, the ocean exposed the jagged, reef-like edges, of her marriage, and herself. Though her relationship with water has been complex—the haunting of a childhood near-drowning, years of phobia, and a hella long learning curve to swim—th...
2023-06-291h 09Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Melissa Volker, South AfricaMelissa Volker found a way to obsess about surfing in any conditions--by obsessing about writing about surfing! A mid-life blooming writer and water woman from South Africa, Melissa’s delicious fiction blends “surf noir” with “environmental romance suspense.” (Check out the addictive Shadow Flicker!) In our pod, we chat about the coastal topography and bathymetry of South Africa’s breaks (get out your pencils) and she indulges my obsession with South African sharks. (Did you know you can get a gig as a Shark Spotter in Cape Town?) The South African waters are wild and intimidating, and though she grew up lear...
2023-05-051h 17Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Lena Siebertz, Cold Water Sirens, Northern Germany and DenmarkLena Siebertz, founder of Cold Water Sirens, not only braves near-freezing conditions, but relishes them. In temps as low as 37F/2.7C, Lena is forging a community of feminist surfers in Northern Germany and Denmark to transform surf culture beyond the old competitive paradigm, using cold water as part of the reset. Lena and I bonded over surfing head injuries earlier this year, sharing our progress as our stitches healed and trauma ebbed. We found the true meaning of community! Lena and her surf grrrl gang are creating something truly unique in their gatherings - including systemic coaching, cold...
2023-04-0559 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Jade Chang Sheppard, Los Angeles, Oahu and Popoyo, Nicaragua“If I didn’t have this fear, what could be better?” Jade Chang Sheppard has made it her mission to inspire women to ask and answer that question. On the surface, she seems to have fear *licked*. She built her own fortune in her 20s, birthed 3 gorgeous kids, had a successful marriage *and* divorce. She redesigned her life during a “mid-life awakening,” to include traveling the world to learn to surf. But it took an ayahuasca journey and surf epiphany to bring Jade to a new threshold, and you will want to follow her off that cliff. Jade’s epiphanies t...
2023-02-281h 08Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Lifeguard Jessie Kilgour - Outer Banks, North CarolinaAre you a tasty treat for a shark during your period? Finally an answer to the question that plagues every woman surfer, at least once a month! Lifeguard Jessie Kilgour has a pretty strong take on the subject, but you’ll have to get to the end to find out. You’ll want to, though, as Jessie brings a fresh take on everything from where she surfs, to what she surfs, and how she lives her life around the water. Anchored in the Outer Banks, manager of megalodon Real Watersports school operation, Jessie speaks kitesurfing, windsurfing, foiling, water safety, and...
2023-02-021h 18Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Injury Interlude -Sheila Takes A Fin to the Head and Has an EpiphanyWhat a start to Season 2! I had a serious surf accident last week with a major head trauma - so I thought, why not do a mini-podcast with a concussion!? This is a little "bonus episode" of me sharing the blow-by-blow of what happened, and the epiphany I had on the other side of the miracle.Coming soon: I have four *amazing* women lined up for podcasts that will be dropping over the next couple of months, as soon as I am fully back in action. Can't wait to share them with you!
2023-01-2022 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Injury Interlude -Sheila Takes A Fin to the Head and Has an EpiphanyWhat a start to Season 2! I had a serious surf accident last week with a major head trauma - so I thought, why not do a mini-podcast with a concussion!? This is a little "bonus episode" of me sharing the blow-by-blow of what happened, and the epiphany I had on the other side of the miracle.Coming soon: I have four *amazing* women lined up for podcasts that will be dropping over the next couple of months, as soon as I am fully back in action. Can't wait to share them with you!🏄♀️💜 Interested in hypnotherapy...
2023-01-2022 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Junko Yamasaki - New South Wales, AustraliaJunko Yamasaki went on holiday to Australia from her native Japan at 20 years old, and never looked back. Breaking away from her culture’s traditional expectations, she trailblazed a life fueled by curiosity, compassion and courage. Over her 52 years, she has embodied many aspects of both personal and professional womanhood - daughter, sister, wife, step-mother, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, aunty, friend, migrant, client, translator, cat’s mum, counselor, and transformational coach. At 49 1/2, she paddled through her lifelong fear of the ocean, including the trauma of near drowning, and, not even knowing how to swim, took up surfing, which she credits for teac...
2022-11-2149 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Surfer Stacey Mac - Costa RicaStarting at 43 in Boston (!!!), Surfer Stacey Mac rocketed into a pro career as a SUP surfer, defining diehard as she chased hurricanes across state lines to hone her skills. A natural adrenaline junkie, Stacey funneled her focus into her newfound passion, creating a career as a competitor, judge and instructor and moving full time to Costa Rica. But there was a shadow side to her success. In this episode, Stacey shares for the first time how bipolar disorder contributed to that hyperfocus and relentless energy level. And now, choosing to manage her condition with less volatility, she’s learning to...
2022-09-261h 10Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Jenni Lund - Kona and Costa RicaJenni had become expert at many sports, vocations, missions, but, at 55, living in Hawai’i, she was still ruled by an old story of “I can’t surf, I’m too old to learn, it’s never going to happen.” When Covid hit, she found herself surrendered to the call she had been hearing her whole life, breaking through the fear and doubt, and committing. And did she ever commit! Following a surf epiphany, she uprooted her life, scooped up her teenage son, turned over her home and business, and bailed Hawai’i for nearly a year in Costa Rica. After a...
2022-08-151h 11Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Curvy Surfer Girl Elizabeth Sneed, Honolulu, HawaiiElizabeth has overcome so many obstacles on her shero’s journey to becoming the Curvy Surfer Girl - a harrowing childhood, very real near drowning, a landlocked life, and zero representation of surfers who look like her. She has not only returned from her ordeal with shining success, but she has brought back an elixir--her gift of inspiring and uplifting women! In this interview, she gets absolutely raw about her struggles, especially the negative voices that nearly killed her dream, and what exactly she does to work through them. She bares her heart and soul with spine-chilling moments of her...
2022-07-211h 27Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Captain McKenzie Clark - Kona, HawaiiMcKenzie Clark is a self-made waterwoman who headed to Kona on her own at the tender age of 18--with a mission. Her life since has been a testimonial of courage, adventure, humility, and badassery. From solo adventures around the world with a backpack and a Lonely Planet book, to surviving a shark attack, to getting her captain’s license in her 40s, Mckenzie has consistently modeled a life unconstrained by fear. An accomplished surfer, she shares deeply about her victories and vulnerabilities in the water. Her willingness to cop to her own competitiveness took us into the deepest conversation we...
2022-05-191h 23Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Sara Wright - Join Surfing Moms - Santa CruzSurfer moms—current and future—this podcast is for you! My guest is a newly minted mama fitness trainer, and the founder of Santa Cruz's chapter of Join Surfing Moms, a non-profit that helps moms get their much-needed waves. Sara's story is so important for moms to hear! She grew up surfing, but even with all that experience, she lost her confidence once adulthood, and, especially, motherhood, set in. The loss of her surfer self rattled her sense of identity, though it took years for the impact of its loss to register. Sara shares her epiphany, her moment of comm...
2022-04-2446 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Gabi Del Rosario - Cabangan, Zambales, PhilippinesGabi Del Rosario entered the sea in a shroud of grief and emerged like the proverbial butterfly from her chrysalis! This Manila city girl unexpectedly found herself in Covid lockdown on the Philippine coast, where everything about her life transformed. At first, surfing was not even in her consciousness, but the sudden death of her father drew her into the ocean, and ultimately, the waves. She caught the stoke, and surfed with appropriate newbie passion, meaning a LOT! She and her partner began to feel guilty - surfing day and night, all by themselves in the lineup, until they...
2022-03-221h 04Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Regina Orlando, Kona and OregonAfter 13 years, Regina left the surfer's paradise she had created in the mythical blue waters of Kona to answer another kind of deep blue call—becoming a police officer! In her 40s! On the mainland! In a city! This courageous life choice required her stepping away from the relationship she had cultivated with the water as a surfer, free diver and paddler. Oh, and girrllll, speaking of relationships, we get real on those moments when having a surfing partner can feel like a match NOT made in heaven! Regina’s journey of surfing beautifully mirrors her transformation into the woman...
2022-02-251h 07Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Ivana Bajic Nature of Surf Women“If you drop in with a full heart, you are going to get in return something bigger, stronger, and better than you could ever imagine.” Ivana Bajic’s gorgeous interactive multi-media project, Nature of Surf Women, is a real-time testament to her credo, and documentary evidence of the transformational power of surf. Ivana grew up as a girl in Serbia, connected to the magic of nature and water. After building a successful career as a film producer in London and LA, she was drawn back to the enchantment of the elements. On a trip to Costa Rica with her husband...
2022-01-3153 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Jeanne Fernandez-McShane Nosara, Costa RicaIt’s never EVER too late, and never EVER not possible! Meet Jeanne Fernandez-McShane, who at 67, has just started her surfing journey, and she is fierce! She is such an incredibly accomplished woman, you will want to just vibe on her grit! Jeanne’s story is a little different - rather than her whole life transforming from surfing, she brings her life’s wisdom and own transformation TO surfing. Jeanne, an engineer, relocated to Costa Rica, and is part of the growing group of women who are creating and being lifted up by community in the lineup. For this podcas...
2021-12-121h 04Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Kris Primacio, CEO of the International Surf Therapy Organization (ISTO)My guest this week is the phenomenal Kris Primacio, co-founder and CEO of the International Surf Therapy Organization (ISTO, https://intlsurftherapy.org/) Kris started surfing at 41 ,and in 10 short years metamorphosed her life into a sea-salty dream she never even knew she had. She starts her days frothing in the lineup, then peels off her wetsuit and brings that stoke to programs that heal and uplift marginalized and vulnerable people across the globe. Kris, like many women coming of age before the 2000’s, grew up in a world where women surfers were non-existent, or invisible. This lack of representation go...
2021-11-221h 06Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Me, Myself & I - Sheila Gallien, Kona, HawaiiMy own sudden health crisis derailed the interviews I had set up with amazing women, but, like paddling through an endless impact zone, I knew I had to keep going! This episode is me interviewing me - awkwardness and all - and telling my own story of transformation, TMI included. It definitely mirrors my surfing - moments of inspiration and flow, a lot of paddling around, and questionable timing. Thank you for paddling out with me!🏄♀️💜 Interested in hypnotherapy for surfing or any other issues? Learn more at www.sheilagallien.com and or schedule a Free 30-minute Zoom💜🏄♀️
2021-10-2950 minDropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Dr. Candice Myhre - Kauai, HIToday’s guest is Dr. Candice Myhre, @drcandysurfvival, surf doctor, ER doctor, mermazing surfer, and champion for equality for women in two male-dominated arenas - medicine and surfing. Coming from a surf city where women were not welcome in the lineup, it took a friend flaking on her to send her on the adventure that would change the trajectory of her life, help her through the rigors of medical residency, and learn that everything is timing. Trained as an ER doctor, Candice followed her passion to become a surf doctor on remote islands around the world, with mottos like “will...
2021-10-091h 07Dropping In to Power: Personal stories of the transformational power of surfing from women of all levels, all ages, all over.Aurélie Madec - Cornwall, UKMy very first guest is Aurélie Madec, a born storyteller with a divine accent. Aurélie is a teacher, surfer, and mother, who sculpted her career and life around her passion for surfing. In our conversation, she shares many pieces of her life, from her pioneering grandmother, having to save pocket money for her first board, traveling the whole world to surf, being a part of Surfing Mums in Australia, transitioning from cold water to warm and back to cold again. She also reveals her favorite surf spots on earth, how she has navigated serious injury, some deep sur...
2021-09-2757 min