Spin Cycle with Chelsea Woody

[00:00:00]

Kwame: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to another episode of the We Surf Podcast, where we explore surfing, [00:01:00] culture, movement and medicine. Uh, this episode is brought to you as always by we surf media and distributed by the 12 Seasons Surf Radio. I am, we're gonna try something a little bit different today.

So we are,

Chelsea: hmm,

Kwame: how do I explain this? We have our normal format, which is, you know, the hour long, sometimes an hour and 15 minute long podcast. Uh, but I realize that that actually takes some time for us to get out to you guys. So in the, in the, at the risk of sounding a little, you know. Cliche, we're gonna shorten this a little bit and we've introduced something that, I actually don't have a name for it yet, so maybe I'm gonna be dependent on you guys to come up with a name.

So we can call it the short, the We Serve Short set, um, the lineup, check-in the, the short ride between sets, uh, I don't know, whatever. Whatever you guys like, you let us know, and that's what we're gonna call this. But the format is now gonna be, is gonna be shorter than it [00:02:00] normally is. So the, for the first.

Guest on the, I'm just gonna call it between sets for now. So on the, for the first guest for the between sets, uh, podcast we have with us Ms. Chelsea, Woody. Chelsea, welcome.

Chelsea: Thank you. I love that between sets. That's a good one. Yeah,

Kwame: I'm trying to figure out, I've been trying to figure out what's, what the best name for this would be, but I'm like, I'm not sure yet.

So, you know, we'll leave it up to you. If there's one that you'd like in particular, then please let me know. So we can just, we can just, we can just jump on it and, and go from there. We are gonna be speaking with, um, Chelsea, who's a surfer and a creative to talk about her short films, uh, spin cycle, quiet, powerful piece that explores a rhythm, repetition, and the way surfing can become a reset for both the.

Body and the mind. At least that's what I took away from it. Uh, this conversation, uh, as I was watching, as I was looking at the film again for I think like the [00:03:00] eighth or ninth time, it's about, um, flow, vulnerability and, you know, the cycles we move in through water and in life. So let's just jump like straight into it.

Okay. So for our listeners and our viewers, um, Chelsea, in your words, what is spin cycle?

Chelsea: Hmm. Spin cycle is actually something I have been working on for a minute. Mm-hmm. Um, I first came up with the idea of 2020 when we were in lockdown.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea: Um, with this idea of just being, it was supposed to be called, caught inside.

Mm-hmm. Um, but you know how, uh, we often refer to the ocean when we get worked as being caught inside. Yeah. And just this idea of. Watching and waiting for the ocean, waiting for the right conditions and waiting for things to be perfect is just almost, um, it, I have found it similar to like waiting for your laundry.

Mm-hmm. You know, wait, [00:04:00] staring into the deep and like just waiting and waiting and wanting that to be over, but realizing that you should just let it flow. Um. But then, uh, you know, you need money to make films and, um, yeah, I, I found myself injured and I thought I'd repurposed this for, um, a, a different type of film, uh, being caught in motherhood, uh, being caught in the cycles of.

Endless laundry. Mm. But also like, uh, you know, finding the time to be a surfer and finding the time to, uh, get out in the ocean, but yet still be present. Um, and just that longing, um, that you can have when you're a mom and a surfer. Yeah. But also, yeah, I, I, I hope what people take away from it is that, you know, nothing's perfect and, um, sometimes you have to work through seasons of your [00:05:00] life, um, and the ocean will still be there.

And, you know, taking a moment to remember what that's like and cherish it

Kwame: nice.

Chelsea: And sit, sit in the waiting.

Kwame: Nice.

Chelsea: You know?

Kwame: So two things. One. I love the comparison between caught inside in 2020 when we were in lockdown and being, and being as a surfer when we were caught on the inside. So I love that. And secondly, you spoke a little bit about finding the time.

Yeah. Okay. Seriously find how, how do you find the time? Because again, our listeners, if you don't know Chelsea, she is, we had, uh, Danielle on the podcast prior, so Chelsea's another one third of textured waves. So, so we have textured waves. And this is not just, when I say it's her film, I don't mean she just happened to be in the film.

She directed this, this is her. Film. So you directed this film, this is your film, you were injured and you're a mom. So talk about, you [00:06:00] know, finding the time somehow you were able to get this all done. So, I mean, and feel free to say, man, I don't know how I did it, but how did you find the time for this?

Chelsea: Yeah. Um, it's hard. I, I'm also a nurse. Oh, and I, I surfer vans too, so. Yeah. Trying to juggle all of that and be like a present mom is super, it was, it's hard. Mm-hmm. Uh, uh, my kid goes daycare, so that helps a little bit. And I also have very supportive husband that has, since we've had our child, um, kind of forfeited his surfing time.

Mm-hmm. So I can get surfing time. Um, but yeah, it's hard, it's hard to juggle, like getting a filmer and filming when the conditions are right or getting somebody to film you when the conditions are right instead of surfing. Right. A lot of times filmers are like, ah, yeah, I can help you, but. It's gotta be when the tide is like really high.

And, uh, the swell is [00:07:00] big. So not ideal conditions. And we did actually film some of this when the tide was like, you know, five, six feet and then the swell was kind of pumping, so it was like a little backwash, you know? Um. So, yeah, it's just like maybe not going when, um, the conditions are ideal or when you really intended to go.

Yeah. Um. But yeah, so having the support of my husband and yeah. Uh, that was, that's a big one.

Kwame: Yeah, definitely shutout and kudos and props and big up to all the moms out there because, you know, I have, um, three of the siblings and each of us are three years apart. So as adults, that's not such a big deal.

But then when you have, for my mom, when it was, you take um, one to piano practice and then the other one to guitar practice, and then the third one to ballet practice, and then you also have to hold the [00:08:00] fourth one on your hip and then. By the time one is done, you gotta go pick up the other one. And Yeah.

I don't know how she did it. I don't know how she did it so,

Chelsea: so hard.

Kwame: Yeah.

Chelsea: Yeah. And I think moms oftentimes, they sacrificed a lot mm-hmm. Just for the, a lot of their own personal, um, enjoyment.

Kwame: Yes.

Chelsea: Um, so yeah, I hope that like. You know, moms can find the time for themselves. 'cause it really does make you a better parent.

Kwame: Yeah. So, and for

Chelsea: me at least,

Kwame: if you are a surf mom, if you're not a surf mom, and if you're just a surfer, then go look at this film film. Because if you're a surf mom, you will see something in there that you're like, oh yeah, I, I'm there with your sister. If you're not a surf male mom and you're a surf dad, then you're like.

Yeah. How did she do this? Oh, her husband helped her. Okay. Yes, I can suck it Good on him. And if you're just a surfer, it'll make you call your mom and say, mom, thank you. So definitely I'll take a look at it for that. Um, so the film feels very [00:09:00] cyclical, I would say, you know, routine and emotion. Does that kind of reflect your repetition a little bit with, with surfing?

Chelsea: Yeah, for sure. Um, you know, I find myself loving to do these long, drawn out cutbacks. Mm-hmm. That, that's kind of all I'm good at really. But I love it. Um, and yeah, just like that repetition of doing that over and over is almost like relaxing to me. So I, I felt there was a comparison of, you know, being caught in really just.

Admiring the ocean and those cyclical phases as surfers, we get caught up in like watching the camera or like watching like our waves on the camera. Mm-hmm. Or uh, watching the tides, you just get so obsessed and so consumed by this process that you almost forget everything around you. So you're like caught in this, this cycle.

And when you're friends with people who [00:10:00] aren't surfers, they don't quite understand mm-hmm. The obsession. Um. So I was hoping to convey that through like just watching, like how you can be mesmerized by something so cyclical and, um, watching the washer machine just go and that Yeah. Like, just pull you in, you know?

Um, I feel like we are like that as surfers. We just look at the ocean. And we're, we're really mesmerized and have this tunnel vision almost. Yeah.

Kwame: Yeah. So many times, you know, we get down to the ocean and we just, even if we're not surfing that day, we just stand up and look at it. And someone is, someone will walk past and go, what do you, what are you looking at?

Like, I'll know it when I see it

Chelsea: and the day,

Kwame: day's gone. Yeah. Before, you know, the day's gone, you know,

Chelsea: and the

Kwame: day is gone. You're like,

Chelsea: what did I do?

Kwame: Exactly. Exactly. Um, so yeah, I definitely get that. Um. Being obsessed and just watching it happen and then being in the moment for the ocean at that time and saying, okay, yes.

Chelsea: Right.

Kwame: This is my time now I now I can go. [00:11:00]

Chelsea: Yeah. And when you're friends with other surfers, you know, like you might plan to meet in the water. Mm-hmm. And then if you don't meet them, you're like, not nobody ever takes offense. 'cause you're like, did you score? Yeah, I scored.

Kwame: Yeah.

Chelsea: You know, so that's how, you know, you're, you're friends with a real surfers.

Yeah. They're like, they don't even care if you showed up.

Kwame: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Uh, so did you have a already a, did you have a clear vision for the, for the film where you were like, okay, this is what I want it to look like? Or was it like. A flow, basically like a wave. Like, Hey, this is what it's, this is where it's, this is the direction it's going in and this is what I'm supposed to do with this, with this fail.

Chelsea: Yeah, I did. I, I wrote it in 2020. Mm-hmm. So I had already scouted all the laundromats that I loved in town, and, uh, Santa Cruz is like such a, have you been to Santa Cruz? Yes. It's so interesting because it's like so small, um, yet so big, right? Because we're right next to Silicon Valley. Mm-hmm. Um, but what, uh, the beautiful things about this slow paced place is that there is, [00:12:00] there are so many laundromats, which is like, you know.

Signify that there's still some working class folks. There's still a working class, um, mentality here. And like that also is very relatable to like the surf community, right? Like the folks that have been here and have grown up here, um. Uh, they're not big, big tech, right? Yeah. So, um, it is a bit of an homage to that as well.

And, um, so yeah, I scouted all the laundromats that I loved. I had this vision of, you know, wanting to portray, um, the, the time spent wasted in those places. Um, and to try to relate that to surfing. Uh, and I had a vision I, I like, um. I mapped it out with, uh, scenes and then I kind of pitched it to my friend who, uh, his name's Joey.

Uh, Joey [00:13:00] Ruiz. He's worked on a lot of skate stuff, so he's kind of a legendary skate filmer. Um, and that was cool too, because he didn't have any, like, you know, sometimes you'll work with a videographer and they expect you to surf a certain way. Mm-hmm. Because they're so used to surf, filming, surfing.

Mm-hmm. Um, but he was, he's so open-minded. And one of the things we did at the end is we're like, let's include some of the bloopers, right. Because we. That's what skate films do, right? They include the falls, not everything's perfect. And um, you know, sometimes you're trying something over and over again and you don't get the perfect footage.

And I think, uh, with surf films in particular, we tend to hide those things we cut off, um, when people fall, but that's just not reality. Everybody falls. Yeah. Um, so, um. Yeah, I had it very planned out. I, I had it mapped out. I sent it to him and he is like, yes, we can do this. And we kind of knocked out the visual portion in a day, which was, was good because, you know, I have a toddler, [00:14:00] uh, obviously, you know, you always wanna, you know, spend more time mm-hmm.

On a film, but, um, at some point you have to be like, okay, this is what's realistic for my budget and, um, yeah. Everybody's time. Yeah. So, um, yeah, that's how that went. And, um, I did have a vision and it came out really, really very close to what I imagined, and I got to work with a friend, uh, for the music as well.

Um, and yeah, his, his music was really key to. Uh, setting the vibe. I think that making sure the music matches the tone is so important. Um, and usually I'm like a hip hop vibe, whatever, but this, uh, yeah, I'm eclectic in all the things that I listen to, so I wanted it to show that as well. Um, but more importantly, I wanted to.

Make sure [00:15:00] that we're putting out this idea that once you become a mom and uh, your surf career does not end and that we should still be capturing that imagery. Uh, there's still a place for black moms mm-hmm. In surfing. Mm-hmm. Um, which. It is something that I am super passionate about preserving, right?

Even with textured waves, uh, we don't just end after a certain age, um, right. And if we don't continue to make these films or share this imagery or share these stories, we can't rely on anybody else to do it because they're not.

Kwame: Mm-hmm. So. Yeah, definitely. Um, I mean the whole, again, I'm speaking for myself here, um, and anyone who, or when you go look at the documentary then you know, come back with your thoughts on it.

But for me, I definitely found that there was a quiet vulnerability about it and I really got my, found myself act. The first time I saw it, I had to watch it twice. [00:16:00] Because the first time I watched it, I watched it. Just watched it without thinking about anything and just got lost in it. And then when it, when it ended, I remember thinking to myself, that was it.

And I looked at my, I was like, oh, shoot. Yeah, that was the time. So I went back because I really wasn't thinking about what I was seeing. I just found myself just completely lost in it right away. So it is, it is, um, I mean, for me that was a beautiful thing because I'm the type of person that my brain does not shut off very easily.

I mean, when I'm surfing. It does. And that's part of the reason why I love surfing so much. And, you know, I also teach and practice yoga. But, um, and I tell, I tell people all the time, you know, I can bend myself into all kinds of pretzels. I can do a one-handed handstand, no problem, but ask me to sit and meditate for 10 minutes.

Whew. That's, that's the hardest one for me. That's the hardest pose for me to do at all. Anytime.

Chelsea: Yeah. And having an injury forces you to sit with everything. [00:17:00] Yes, exactly Right. Exactly. So, yeah, like including that too. The, the injury portion of like, this is where I am right now. Mm-hmm. Like, I'm here sitting in all of this and like I can either put, make this something creative.

Mm-hmm. Or I can like be depressed and sad and, uh, feel bad for myself, or I can use this as a time to get other things done that I really. Wanna get out there. Yeah. And that, I feel needs to be out there in the world, even if it doesn't get, like, you know, all of the play and hype that, um, I hope it, it's for somebody.

Yeah. That doesn't feel seen.

Kwame: Yeah. Well, again, like I said before, uh, I'm gonna rephrase it another way this time around. Give this, give this documentary, give this film the hype because it is not just hype. So give it the, um, well,

Chelsea: I don't wanna call it a doc. Okay. Because I'm actually working on a documentary, but I don't wanna, I wanna call a

Kwame: doc's just a little, so we're not calling it a doc.

We're calling a So see, you just, yeah, you just added an extra question to, [00:18:00] to this now, so we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll get to that one little bit later at close to the end on that one. Then. Um, what do you hope people, uh, surfers and. Well, let's start with surfers. So what do you hope both surfers first and then people who do not surf, take away from this film?

Chelsea: Hmm. I guess with anything I'm creating around surfing, I hope that nons surfers, uh, take away that. Even if you haven't tried surfing or something that you wanted to try, it's never too late. Right. I didn't start surfing until I was 30. And if you have a dream of something that you should go for it. I also didn't have a passion for filmmaking until I started surfing.

Mm-hmm. So maybe pursuing that thing that you love, it's gonna open up some other doors and creative outlet that you didn't know existed.

Kwame: Nice.

Chelsea: Um, and for surfers. You know, I, I just [00:19:00] hope that this film is a, a, a broader representation of what a surfer is like. You look at these, these apps like nobody surf or whatever, YouTube, um, site that hosts surf videos and, um, the representation of.

Black women is just not there. Mm-hmm. And so I hope this opens up a conversation of why don't we see those imagery, that imagery, and why it's important for the next generation to see that. Because surf moms make surf babies and beach people, you know? Yes. And that's important for, uh, longevity. And I think about folks that.

Have parents that are surfers. Mm-hmm. Um, and they often have grandparents that are surfers. Yeah. And so I hope that. We're creating that in some way too, and preserving that so people can see, oh, I'm not just the first one. Mm-hmm. Oh. Because we don't [00:20:00] see it. You have the tendency to believe you're the first, but oftentimes you're not.

Kwame: Yeah.

Chelsea: So, yeah.

Kwame: Beautiful, beautiful. Um, gonna backtrack really quickly before I ask this next question. I love the fact that you said that you included the bloopers in the, in the film, and, um. In, in spin cycle because you know, like you said so many times, you look at a surf video or you follow whoever it is on YouTube and you never see them falling.

It looks like they paddle out and for 10 minutes they're just catching waves. There's only a, there only a few I've ever heard say come back in and go, yeah, okay, so that was four hours and I caught about three ways on that one, and you're like four. Oh, okay. So it's not just me. I don't feel, I don't feel that badly then.

Chelsea: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the bloopers are just, you know, I try to go, I started surfing when I'm 30, so there's no, like, I'm not gonna be perfect at it. And like I'm allowing myself, and I hope I'm allowing other people [00:21:00] to have grace. Like sometimes I'll go out there on a new board and Ill totally blow it, or a board that.

Maybe not appropriate for the conditions. A little too small and somebody will be like, oh, you'd catch more waves if you had a bigger board. And I'm like, well, I'm just trying out this board. Like it's okay if you see me not catch waves. Yeah. And it's okay if you see me fall, I'm trying something new. And so you don't have to be perfect every time, and that's how you grow is not being perfect every time.

And we should show the reality of it. Like, my husband always says that too. He is, he's a skater as well. Mm-hmm. And he's like, you gotta show either falls and how big that wave was and blew you up. Yeah. You know, and like yeah. I mean, that's another level of vulnerability that I was like, you know what?

Yeah. Let's, I'm not, there's no shame in my game. No, it's

Kwame: not. It's not. I mean, I love that. I think they're gonna, I think that's, that's one gonna be one of our soundbites on this one. I love that.

Chelsea: You're, you're often on display [00:22:00] in surfing. Yes. Like, especially as a person Yes. Of color, a black person, a lineup.

I as a woman be and you and a woman. Yeah. You feel like you have to be perfect and if you mess up and somebody's not gonna give you that next wave. Mm-hmm. Um, so I think it was kind of just releasing that, you know, feeling of like you have to be perfect. Yeah. And, um, not mess up or else the locals aren't gonna give you another wave.

Kwame: One of our local surfers actually went with you, with textured waves on your last, um, retreat. Um,

Chelsea: autumn,

Kwame: uh, no. Um, uh,

Chelsea: Kena.

Kwame: Kena. Yes. Kena.

Chelsea: Oh,

Kwame: Kena didn't So it on, I, I follow her on Instagram and I was like, I am so stoked to see she's having such a good time. Because you know, I, I remember when she paddled out with us, and, you know, Kenna's great, but I was like, so happy to see like, and that she found this community and she was having such a good time with you guys.

So I was like, yes. You like, go ahead girl. Do your thing. Do your thing.

Chelsea: Dude, Tina, I, I dubbed her most improved [00:23:00] Nice. On this, this trip. Like she really took direction. Like whatever. We were like, Hey, you should try this. And she just did it. And like fearless, she's gonna be really shredding in no time. Nice.

So I was really, really impressed by her on this

Kwame: way. So, kina, we're calling you out on this right now, so I'm gonna interview you and I, I know where you are right now 'cause I've been following your Instagram. I know you on another surf trip, so I, I, yep. Mm-hmm. Mean meanwhile, I'm sitting down here in 27 degrees in New York.

She's out there blowing it up. I'm like, Hey, do your thing. I'm jealous, but

I

Chelsea: need, she has the bug. She has the bug. You know, that's what you need when you're a beginner, right? Like you, you catch that bug and nothing is gonna deter you. Hundred percent. And you have that like. She does

Kwame: love it.

Chelsea: It's undeniable.

Kwame: So what's next for you? You, you mentioned a documentary and so where can people, so let's start, before we get to that point, where can people, um, see the film? We're gonna put it in the, in the show notes, but where can they see the film [00:24:00] and where can they follow you and just in general, the work that you do?

Chelsea: Well, um, the film will be on my YouTube page along with some of the other little shorts that I'm. Directed. Mm-hmm. And, um, uh, have made, um, and which is Chelsea Woody. You can just look Chelsea Woody on YouTube and you might find it. Um, textured Waves is another place you can find me. Um, at Textured Waves or at cell period.

By the C period. By the CC. Love that name

Kwame: by the way. I love that name.

Chelsea: You gave that to me. Dave from De La Soul. What?

Kwame: What? Okay. No, no. Put a pause in everything else we just said so far. Stop the, I'll remind you of the question. Tell that story.

Chelsea: Um, yeah, Dave, you know, um, it's a really like. He's just a, [00:25:00] he was just like a really sweet dude.

Mm-hmm. And um, uh, I had a friend that was very obsessed with De La Soul, um, and. She passed suddenly and tragically. And, um, you know, I kind of, he was touring in Seattle and me and my other friend shared that story with him and just how influential, um, he was on her life. Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, he invited me to the show when then we became friends and he is just so, so cool and like cared about, like the fan story.

Nice. Right. Um, and so. Yeah, we would like communicate via email and stuff, and he, he actually was like, okay, like in one of his emails, like, okay. Chel ba, the see, and I was like, you know what? That's a great Instagram name. I love that.

Kwame: I love that. I love that. I love that. So that's what you can, I can never forget your Instagram there.

I'm like, that's, that's what,

Chelsea: yeah. But in, but now you know where the origins from. So every time I hear it's like Chel, ba.

Kwame: See,

Chelsea: it's not she [00:26:00] by the C. No. Chel. Ba the C. You know,

Kwame: you got, you got, you gotta sit, you gotta sit with some flare.

Chelsea: Right. Right.

Kwame: So

Chelsea: I love that. Um, so yeah, you can find me there and yeah, I, you know, I, I wanna preserve these stories of mm-hmm.

Men, uh, blending, uh, motherhood and, uh, surfing. And so I'm working on this documentary Beautiful. Um, that it's about maternal health.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea: Um, and. My journey with it and other folks' journey with it and trying to change some legislation around, um, how we deal with our birthing population and how we share stories around maternal health.

And so I hope this is a unique, uh, perspective. Uh, love that. And that, that film, I haven't actually told too many people the name of that, but it's called High Risk Dreams and, um, I love that. [00:27:00] That I've been working on for about three years. So, but I've had some momentum with it since, um, being injured.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea: Channeling my energy into different spaces and places. Um. But yeah, it's been really cool to work on that documentary and I hope that, Hey, I need funding. Oops, anybody listening, wanna help me with this project. So it's kind of one that I'm doing on my own. Um, and it's, it's, it's gonna be a good one.

I think. I'm excited. I've never made one before, so, uh, it's my first time.

Kwame: Yep. So if there is any, I mean, I mean I'm speaking to you directly, Chelsea, on this one. If there's anything that we surf media or any of our listeners or anything like that can do, then you know, like you mentioned funding, then please, please, please.

You know, this is why we surf Media is around to help people get their stories out as much as we possibly can. So. Once we hit stop slash pause slash no, no more record. You and I can talk about [00:28:00] this, but yeah, we would be honored and happy to help you in any way we can and to our, um, listeners and viewers, you know, we can't wait for this one to come out so, you know, look out for it.

And if there's any way in which you can assist or help with this, then you know. Reach out and, and see, you know, it doesn't always have to be, you know, you don't always have to drop, you know, $10,000. I mean, it'll be nice, but you always have to drop $10,000 if you know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who can drop $10,000.

Then go ahead and do that. You know, because that's how most things work. We always know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody. Um, no, that's, that's great. And definitely looking forward to that.

Chelsea: And then also hopefully like some more surf edits, just small fun ones. Yeah. You know, I'm encouraging all people, all, especially my sisters out there.

You're surf, edit.

Kwame: Yes. So

Chelsea: put 'em out there in the world. And because we need to see them.

Kwame: Yes, definitely. Don't worry about, you know, oh, it's not perfect. Or it doesn't look this way. It doesn't look that way. You know, I still remember [00:29:00] one of the, um, one of my most liked videos on my Instagram was a POV from, well, my perspective in Fiji on the way you couldn't see anything.

It was just me going down this wave. But yeah, people love that one because it was just. So happy and bright and the water was clear and yeah. So didn't, didn't cost a thing except borrowing somebody's GoPro. That's it.

Chelsea: Yeah.

Kwame: So it was, it was a lot of fun.

Chelsea: Thank you so much.

Kwame: Alright, so is now, is there anything else you'd like to, that you'd like to mention or any person that you'd like to mention as we come close to ending

Chelsea: a person that I would like people to mention?

People, well obviously always wanna shout out my textured waves ladies. Right. Danielle and Martina.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea: Um, you know, we just came back from a really cool retreat and it was one of the best yet and they just keep getting better.

Kwame: Again. I wasn't Hayden, but I was jealous.

Chelsea: It was [00:30:00] good. Yeah. And yeah, it was really cool to be around these women and you know, we've been through so much.

Yeah. Um, and we're still doing it. And we'll still continue to. You know, provide that space nice. And representation, um, and just shout out to them because, you know, um, it's not easy.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea: You know, we're all sisters. Yeah. So, you know, we're sisters.

Yeah. You get along like sisters too.

Kwame: Exactly. No, I, because I, trust me, I get that because, you know, there's, I mean, when I talk to people like, oh no, this, there's my, my brother who is related to me by blood, and then he's like, oh no, that person's my brother. Like, oh, so he, he, he's your best friend. Like, no.

He's my brother. Meaning that, you know, I can put the phone down on him and say, look, you're acting like a bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep. And then, you know, two days later he'll call me up and go, yeah, you know, whatcha doing tonight? I mean, no worries.

Chelsea: Exactly. Yeah. We see that there's, you know. Um, a [00:31:00] need for mm-hmm.

Yeah. What we're doing still, we, we hoped that there wouldn't be, but it seems to be even more important now. Yes. You know, like, unfortunately, like our goal was like, please, like we're tired, we just wanna surf. But, um, yeah.

Kwame: Isn't it weird though, like, you know, because. Like, like when you, when you just think to yourself, okay, look, I just, I just, I just wanna surf.

I just wanna be able to chill and surf. And then you see something that you can help with, or that there's a gap or that, that, you know, you can fill in the blank. And for a split second, you think, okay, somebody, anybody, nope. Okay, I'll do it. And then you just. Jump in and then just take it on and, you know, I mean, we're, and we're grateful for it, but I think you and I had this conversation even before we hit, um, record about, you know, taking your own time.

You mentioned it a couple times in the podcast, in the, in the interview, taking your time, taking time for yourself. And then, you know, every now and again you have to remember, and I'm talking to you folks as well, it is winter, it is a holiday season when we're recording this. So, you [00:32:00] know, you're extremely busy.

Remember to take some time for yourself and pull back if you need to be.

Chelsea: Yeah.

Kwame: So,

Chelsea: yeah.

Kwame: Um,

Chelsea: so yeah.

Kwame: Oh, one one. Two more questions. Two more questions.

Chelsea: Oh, yeah, sure,

Kwame: sure. Single.

Chelsea: Twin.

Kwame: Twin. Oh, okay.

Chelsea: Sorry. I'm like, I wrote a twin in that whole, I mean, this is all I've been riding. Mm-hmm. This, uh, twin fin, which out to Danielle, it's from her shaper. I wrote her board last time we were in Nicaragua, and I was like, Ooh, I, a smaller version of this. Mm-hmm. And it's just been like my favorite board ever by Burham Surfboards.

Um, and it's a seven four twin and it's, I love it. So twin. I think twin is my My go-to. Your

Kwame: go-to now has become your trustee, dusty.

Chelsea: Yes. Yes.

Kwame: And one word, your word naturally that [00:33:00] encompasses and captures spin cycle.

Chelsea: Hmm hmm. One word. Ooh. Gosh, I was gonna say redundancy, but, um, uh, maybe like resilience. I guess that's what I want people to take away from that is like, you know, you might be going through something hard in your life, um, but it's, you know, surfing's always gonna be there and you're gonna get through that.

Yeah. So re resilience. Resilience. We all have resilience. To be a mom, to be a surfer, to be, you know, a human these days. True.

Kwame: All too true. All too true. Well, Chelsea, thank you so much. I know you are extremely busy and thank you so much for taking the time to, to sit with me and, and talk about this. This was Chelsea Woody speaking about her short film Spin Cycle.

Not a [00:34:00] documentary folks, a documentary's coming. And a reminder that surfing is not just about the waves we catch, but about the cycles that we return to, to reset and also about resiliency. So be sure to check out the film if you're not already following Chelsea. Go follow Chelsea. Follow textured waves and just, and as we mentioned, you know, you wanna support independent story, serve storytelling.

Um. Not just for other people's but your own as well. You know, there's a YouTube account to upload something is free so you don't have to have 10,000 followers for it to, to make it legitimate. You know, you can put something up there and have two followers. I can guarantee you those two people will come back and be quite happy for you when they see that you post something.

So go ahead and channel your inner filmmaker and do your thing. And if this res, if this episode resonated with you, then as always, please share it with somebody you surf with, somebody you move with, somebody you heal with. Or just share it in general. This is we. This has been the We Surf Podcast. [00:35:00] Still don't know the name for this one.

We'll come up with a name or you tell us what New Orleans is to call it. We will see you in the water. Until next time, have a great one folks. You

Chelsea: thank

you.