From Ohio to offshore: Surfing makes Kristy feel like a whole new person

👋 Hey, I’m Kristy and I’m 42. I started surfing on 7/10/2022 — my surfiversary, if you will. My surfiversary now gets a better celebration than my birthday.

🌾 From Ohio to the ocean

For a little background, I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, far from any ocean, or body of water for that matter. I didn’t even get to see the ocean till I was in my mid 30’s — and I cried the first time lol.

I moved to a little north of NYC in 2019 for work.

👙 The confidence shift

I had struggled with my weight for about 10 years. Although I loved being in water, I was too self-conscious for a swimsuit. My teenage daughter wanted to go to the beach so bad, but I made excuses.

I made some lifestyle changes in early 2022, and by summer I had lost 30 pounds and felt ready for the beach.

🏄‍♀️ The first surf lesson

My daughter said all most people do when they go in the ocean is jump up and down in the water, so she suggested we try a surfing lesson to give us something to do.

I wasn’t that excited about it, but I was excited my teenager actually wanted to hang out with me, so we gave it a try.

A surfer was born that day.
Not my daughter… she hated it.
But I found my passion.
I popped up and was able to ride the very first wave I tried!

💙 Hooked for life

After that first lesson I was hooked! I went out and bought the first Wavestorm 😉 I could get my hands on and was out again the next weekend.

God, I love my surf coach. He put up with all my kooky eagerness.

I took lots of lessons the first year and started doing surf workouts at home. Surfing helped me get the motivation and make more lifestyle changes that allowed me to lose another 40 pounds over the next year.

🧘‍♀️ Surfing for the soul

I really found it was helping with my mental health as well. I didn’t realize how much stress my job, and traffic, and all the things that come with living in a big city were impacting me.

I was always thinking or worrying about something all the time, my mind was never quiet.

When I surf, I find that’s all I’m thinking about — watching the waves or appreciating the beauty — and my mind is just quiet.

I feel like a whole new person every time I finish a session.

🌍 Surfing opened my world

Surfing has broadened the world for me. I had never travelled much (had only been to a handful of states and never out of the US).

I booked my first surf trip to Puerto Rico in the winter of 2023 and had such an amazing experience. It was a great way to get started on travellng as it was a relatively short flight, and no customs.

I loved surfing in the warm, clear water. I loved seeing a new place, and new people, new culture — it was all so amazing to me.

I’ve been back to Puerto Rico a few times now. I even got my first passport and travelled solo for my first time to Costa Rica last June and started learning Spanish! I can’t wait to travel more places and see more of the world.

🫶 Finding community

Surfing also gave me a community. I had a hard time making friends when I first moved to New York. I’m pretty shy and have a hard time overcoming that.

Everyone I surf with has been so supportive and I’ve found groups I love to surf with and made new friends.

I surf at Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY and occasionally on Long Island. In the winter I spend more time than I should at our indoor surf pool in NJ.

This summer I would like to try branching out more and try out some beaches in NJ and RI.

🏄‍♀️ My boards + goals

Currently I’m riding a 6’6” Love Machine FM. I also have a 7’4” Love Machine Thick Lizzy I go back and forth between.

I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress with my pop-up lately, so my new surf goal is remembering my upper body is attached to my lower body — and to bend my knees more and my back less 😊

You can find me @someday_ill_be_surfin