There’s an old saying in surfing — wherever there’s waves, there is community.
Sometimes that community is formed around cold hands in chilly car park,s overlooking some windswept crag that looks just about makable. Sometimes, it stems in surf shops, passed on to the next generation of chomping at the bit grommies, soaking up any morsel of ancient surf lore. Others, it’s around campfires at dusk. But more and more, across the globe and as surfing spread out, communities are forming around wave pools. And that, in our eyes, is pretty great to see.
It’s one of the reasons surfers Nikki Pinder and Debi McKay started ShredHer, a fast-growing group of females surfers who have bonded over the love of progression, supporting each other and the rest of the group and enjoying surfing’s rollercoaster journey.
Surf brings community, which brings bonds, connection and so much more. Nikki (left) and Debi (right) founders of ShredHer.
“I spent years chasing coastlines,” said Nikki. “Surfing became this huge part of my identity. But when I moved back to Scotland and had children, regular surfing became much harder. There was a period where I almost shut myself off from it because I missed it so much.”
Debi’s journey is a little different, but no less special. Despite growing up around Scottish surfing, her father, Ian, being amongst the country’s early surf pioneers – she never fully connected with it. Instead, she found that sense of motion via wakeboarding. This changed when Lost Shore opened its doors – and Debi finally learned to surf.
“Before that, I was actually quite nervous of the ocean,” said Debi. “The wave pool gave me the foundations and confidence I never had before.”
The duo actually met during a skate lesson run by Lost Shore coach Sebastian Jimenez.
“It was basically a Spider-Man moment,” said Debi. “I was like, ‘You’re me, I’m you. Let’s hang out more.'”
“It was love at first sight, my soulmate,” said Nikki.
What began as a friendship quickly evolved into a support network.”We started noticing other women feeling exactly the same way we did,” said Debi. “Everyone was looking for people to surf with, people to encourage them and help them take that next step.”
And ShredHer started to grow. At first it was a few women surfing together. Then it became meet-ups, group chats and events. Now, more than 100 women are part of the ShredHer community.
“No question is too silly,” said Nikki. “People can come exactly as they are.” One member recently attended a ShredHer wakeboarding event after almost talking herself out of coming.
“She told us she was so nervous she nearly turned around and went home,” Nikki said. “Afterwards she sent us this beautiful message saying she’d found confidence she didn’t know she still had. Those are the moments that matter.
“It’s therapy. Like a lot of creatives, I struggle with ADHD. Surfing gives me focus and calm. It channels all that energy into something positive.”
Imagine meeting for a surf skate lesson and then forming the basis for a whole community.
Debi added: “I think board sports are one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Life moves so fast now. Surfing forces you to be present. You’re learning, you’re growing, you’re challenging yourself, but you’re also having fun.”
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about ShredHer is how it just feels like any other surf community around the world. Despite being centred around a wave pool, the feeling is right there, you’d feel at home in ShredHer no matter where you’ve come from.
You know the feeling. We all do. It’s the post-session run-downs, the shared experience of when your buddy gets a good wave, the dawn patrol hype up. Just because this is a wave pool, doesn’t mean that surf experience changes.
Then, earlier this year, Nikki and Debi went on a mission to Morocco, taking all that confidence built at Lost Shore into the ocean.
“The first day was overwhelming,” said Debi. “I realised I knew how to surf, but I still had to learn how to navigate the ocean. By the end of the week I was catching waves at Banana Point and feeling comfortable out there. Lost Shore had given me the foundations to make that leap.”
Debi began her surfing journey at Lost Shore, and is now progressing rapidly.
That’s the great thing about ShredHer, it’s the foundational block of a welcoming community that can push progression in a non-judgemental environment.
“I spent years worrying whether I was good enough, whether people were watching me, whether I belonged. Now I’m in my forties and I honestly don’t care. I surf because I love it,” said Nikki.
“I’m only at the start of my surfing journey,” said Debi. “But that’s what excites me. I look at my dad still surfing in his seventies and I think, I’ve got decades of this ahead of me.” What ShredHer proves is that a community built on encouragement, not perfection, is where the gold lays. Give people waves and they will find each other, it’s as simple as that.
