Story with Brooke Mckallor

Sep 21

Story by Brooke Mckallor and Parker Hansen

Photography by Parker Hansen

What does the movie Blue Crush and the memoir Barbarian Days both have in common? While one might jump to conclusions that both are about surfing and are seeped with surf culture, one might be right. Looking beyond the surface, both are stories about two different types of surfers and their paths’ to the ocean. One story is light and breezy finding balance between friendship and sports(woman)ship. The other a complex enchantment of grit and glory through bravado. At the core of both, a community is born and forged in the water. Grab your coffee or kombucha, find your favorite seat in the sun and read on to learn about Brooke Mckallor’s path to embrace her place in the lineup in this edition of Facing West.

Have you always had a relationship with surfing?

BROOKE: Technically no, but I’d like to think so in the sense that I have always wanted to surf since I was little and have always had a deep connection with the ocean. The thing is, I grew up on a tiny island in the Puget Sound of Washington State where surfing is not a thing. I do have memories of my friends and me taking washed-up styrofoam off the beach and trying to surf it in the ice cold ant-sized shore break. I really tried my best to emulate my inner Kate Bosworth from Blue Crush, but I didn’t really learn to surf until my late twenties! Taking a break from corporate life, I got a job teaching yoga at a surf and yoga retreat in Sri Lanka. When I was there I realized that I needed to learn to surf and have it be a part of my life forever.

You learned to surf in your late twenties, what has that experience been like? What is your advice to people who want to learn to surf but didn’t get the chance when they were growing up?

BROOKE: It’s been amazing! Once I caught my first green wave, surfing became something I wanted to do every single day. I had a goal from day one that I wanted to become good enough to the point where I could express myself through it. It of course took me a while to get to that place, but I like to let people know that it is totally possible to start surfing later in life and reach your surfing goals!

Learning to surf in adulthood just means you have to be willing to look like a total fool most, if not all, of the time. I like to say it is one of the most humbling sports that a person can participate in! I still have some extremely embarrassing wipeouts and some days I paddle out and am like what the heck am I doing? Let’s just say if you want to look cool, then I don’t recommend learning to surf as an adult lol. If you don’t care about looking cool and want to grow and push yourself farther than you ever knew possible and create a meaningful relationship with the ocean and yourself, then definitely give it a go!

I want to mention too that I vividly remember a couple of months into my surfing journey, I was on the island of Siargao in the Philippines helping open a surf and yoga retreat, and I was reading that bestseller book Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life. I was just an eager mid-twenties gal trying to learn as much as I could about surfing and someone had recommended this book to me. In one of the first chapters, the author mentions that learning to surf in adulthood is a lost cause:

“People who tried to start at an advanced age, meaning over fourteen, had, in my experience, almost no chance of becoming proficient, and usually suffered pain and sorrow before they quit. It was possible to have fun, though, under supervision, in the right conditions.”

I literally gasped when I read this and had a moment of feeling discouraged, but then I was like ‘you know what? I am going to prove this man wrong!!’. And while I have yet to get barreled (it is on my bucket list for one day in life!), I do like to think that I am a competent surfer, and I did reach my goal of being able to surf in a way where I can creatively express myself. I alsooo would like to mention that I do not need to be supervised while I surf and I can surf in a lot of different types of conditions, so yeah that dude was wrong. I also have many friends who have learned to surf later in life and they are not suffering in pain and sorrow on the verge of quitting like he suggests, in fact they are actually out there ripping. So to anyone who thinks it’s too late to learn to surf well, ignore that guy and all the naysayers, you may surprise yourself!

I also will say in fairness to this man it is true that anyone can have fun. I believe it is also true that you don’t have to be what some random dude or a surf magazine, decided to deem as “good” at surfing to be a surfer. I love the saying that the best surfer is the one out there having the most fun. I personally would say the only rule is you MUST learn surf etiquette (PLEASE! lol) and just get ready to look a lil silly for a potentially long time.

How has surfing shaped your lifestyle?

BROOKE: Surfing has impacted my entire lifestyle. It has shaped where I live, how I spend my time, my friendships, my community involvement, and my overall well-being.

For example, when I was done traveling and ready to set roots somewhere I knew I had to keep surfing and so I chose where I now live based on the fact that I knew I would be able to surf every day. I didn’t even have a job lined up, I was just like I must live in Encinitas, I will figure this out somehow. My first apartment, which I found on Craigslist and shared with a couple, literally had a gaping hole in one of the windows. It was falling apart, was so teeny tiny, but I was just so stoked just to be able to live near a surf break! Thankfully since then, everything has worked out quite magically and four years later I am still here. My life revolves around surfing. There isn’t a day I wake up and don’t check the forecast and figure out how I am going to schedule my meetings around when I will get a chance to jump in the water.

Surfing has also brought me most, if not all, of my closest friendships here in Encinitas. I have such a great community and it’s all from either meeting people in the water, going to some sort of surf related event or from doing volunteer work around surfing/caring for the ocean. It’s even how I got my first job in Encinitas too! Surfing is also just such a fun way to spend time with friends. From moonset surfs, planning surf trips around the world, to trying to ride tandem on a wavestorm, there is room for endless laughter, connection, and happy times with friends in the ocean.

Surfing has also shaped in me a desire to share the joy of the ocean with others. Most recently, this has led me to volunteer as a WOMP mentor at the Changing Tides Foundation where we teach young girls how to surf and have a relationship with the ocean, who maybe wouldn’t have the opportunity if not for this program. Surfing is definitely a privileged sport. Having access to the ocean, the proper equipment, representation, someone to teach you, and so many other factors, makes it not the most accessible or inclusive sport. At the same time, surfing is such an empowering and life-altering sport that everyone deserves the opportunity to try if they want to do it! So it is super important to me that I make sure to volunteer my time to share the goodness of the ocean and surfing with others and WOMP helps make that happen. Sharing this joy truly makes surfing more fun and more special and it is an important part of my life.

Overall, surfing just brings me so much joy and happiness, and no matter what I am going through the ocean is always there for me and I am so beyond grateful for that. Surfing is just the best!

How would you describe your home and how does it inspire you?

BROOKE: Hmmm… literal beach shack (zero insulation lol) with a mix of Sri Lanka and Mexico and California swirled together with pops of Disco Barbie? Lol. I have trinkets from all of my travels and I also took a lot of color inspiration from my travels. To me, having a home that brings me joy is super important, especially since I work from home. So yes, I may have a disco ball, some self-made pom pom garlands strewn about, pops of pinks, greens and oranges… All things that make me smile. I want my home to reflect me and I see it as a chance to be creative and express myself, and come to think of it it is the same way I see surfing too! I like having fun colored beautiful boards and I like to wear bright swimsuits, and to surf like I am dancing, and to make sure I smile at everyone in the lineup (as much as possible, some days I paddle out to move through grumpiness but I still try to be kind on those days too haha!). Life can be really hard sometimes and it is also so precious, so I find it really important to infuse happiness, color, creativity and joy into it as much as I authentically can, into as many aspects of my life as possible, especially in my surfing.

For more information about Changing Tides Foundation and their incredible Women’s Outreach Mentorship Program (WOMP) head over to their website!