From Surfboard to Sisterhood: How Susan Boensch is Making Waves with Purpose

In this episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast, Amy Boyle interviews Susan Boensch, who has built a life centered around surfing, skating, yoga, travel, and community building in Southern California. Susan shares how her involvement in the Wahine Kai Women's Surf Club transformed her life, offering valuable lessons on embracing new experiences, finding joy in community, and living with purpose. Listen in for inspiration to live fully, create connections, and pursue what you love.

MUSIC (used with permission)
WOMAN Performed by Tiffany Villarreal - Pod artwork by Amanda Eich

Every moment in life has the potential to be phenomenal. At Amy Boyle Photography, we specialize in capturing those moments, whether it's for your business, a milestone event, or a personal portrait. As the host of the Speaking of Phenomenal Podcast, I know the power of storytelling—and I bring that same passion to my photography. Let’s create images that celebrate who you are and wh

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Susan Boensch
• 2:26 Journey from Canada to California
• 4:38 The Humbling Experience of Surfing
• 6:54 Building Community through Wahini Kai
• 9:41 The Power of Connection and Inclusivity
• 11:35 Expanding the Wahini Kai Community
• 13:36 Living with Purpose and Minimalism
• 15:17 The Joy of Ocean Life
• 16:18 Experiential Maximalism vs. Material Minimalism
• 17:49 Upcoming Adventures and Closing Thoughts
• 22:34 Ourtro

Transcript

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (00:00.034)

Welcome to the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast, Susan. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you, Amy. I'm so happy to be here. I cannot wait for you to give our audience an introduction to the Phenomenal You.

My name is Susan Boensch. I'm a 55-year-old Canadian living in beautiful Southern California. I am actively involved in a women's surf club called Wahini Kai. And I have become the director for the LA chapter. And I'd really like to share the experiences this has brought to me building community in a new place and what it has meant.

I can't wait to dive in. I actually get to say that and have it mean something when we're talking about the ocean. How long have you been in LA area? I moved here in 2018 from Chicago where we had been living for two years. Basically, my husband's employment gave us an opportunity to relocate our family to Santa Monica, which we jumped on because we loved warm weather.

ocean and West Coast lifestyle. We took it thinking we'd be here two or three years, but six years later, I'm still loving it and we'd like to stay here maybe forever. How did you get involved with Wahini Kai? I called myself a vacation surfer for many years, always gravitating to the ocean for work and vacations and raising a family of four.

kids. We basically planned holidays where we could take surfing lessons and practice surfing on different locations from Hawaii to Australia to Spain and we just called ourselves holiday surfers but my dream was always to live in one place for at least a year where I could surf every day and really get good at the sport.

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (02:08.194)

What is a part of the training involved to get you up to be a better surfer? So it's an incredibly humbling sport. It's a mix of strength and balance. I wasn't an exceptionally strong swimmer. I came to the West Coast and just said, OK, I'm going to practice every day for 20 minutes. I took a few lessons as a refresher where a coach would

do some sandbar pop-ups with me where we basically practice the pop-up stance from going from laying and paddling to popping up when you hit a wave and are going to ride down. And I worked on that every day at home on my yoga mat, on my balance board. I paddled out every day, whether it was big, small, windy, any condition just to build up my shoulder strength and my back strength to paddle.

started surfing with other girls that I met on meetups that were also beginners like me and we watched each other and gave each other tips. You popped up too fast, too soon, too late, too slow. And it was just something that gradually evolved. But let me tell you, I was the biggest kook out there. I really had a huge learning curve. I felt quite confident saying, yeah, I've served all kinds of places and felt like I knew what I was doing. until

I wanted to surf with the big kids, so to speak. I realized that I had so much to learn.

back to your comment on how that it's humbling because not only is it our physical selves but Mother Nature takes the hand. What kind of lessons are you learning from the waves themselves? It's an ever-changing landscape and we can look at the conditions and go okay it's you know pretty small like two to three foot we call them ankle biter waves you know we can we can get an idea learning knowledge is a big part of it learning to read the waves are they breaking left are they breaking right

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (04:05.697)

which direction are you going to go? You need to understand what the wind is doing. Are they open face waves? Are they close outs, which just smash down and will wash machine you underneath so you go tumbling with your surfboard. So basically knowledge was power. I read a lot of books on surfing and wind and weather and I started doing something that changed significantly the way I surf. I started surfing with girls that were way better than me. Meeting people,

That was kind of the old feeling of, I don't want to go to a gym till I'm super fit. You know, I didn't want to surf with other people until I really knew what I was doing. But I just, you know, swallowed my pride and said, these girls are good. They've surfed for years. They're California girls. I'm going to paddle out with them and watch what they do and sit with them. And they really took me under their wing and, and said, as the wave was approaching, go left, go right. And, and coached me. And just by watching what they did and

and learning through the way that they took off on waves or turned in after the end of a ride. I really learned so much. So don't be afraid to go out with people to be that kook. Kook is a word that we use to describe someone that doesn't know what they're doing in the surf lineup. know, kind of like bringing a tricycle to a skate park and you don't know someone's going to come up and go, you don't belong here. You're going to get hurt. So being a kook is part of surfing where...

You will do goofy things because you don't know the rules of etiquette for surfing or you don't exactly know how to control your board or control your weight on the board. Just, you know, swallow your pride and go out and go out because practice does make perfect or it certainly makes improvement. these are things that we have to learn and how cool to be with a group of other like-minded women. At what point did you join Wahine Kai?

I went on the internet to look for other surf meetups, always trying to seek out girls in the lineup that would surf in my area. And I found a club that was based in Orange County called Wahini Kai Women's Surf Club. And that appealed to me because it can be a bit intimidating paddling into a predominantly male sport with a bunch of big boys and being the only woman out there. So I like the idea of meeting

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (06:26.911)

like-minded women that could surf. I reached out to them and asked if they had anyone in Los Angeles area and it turns out they had a few people. So we created a chapter for Los Angeles and started meeting up at the local beaches. I just liked their philosophy. Wahini Kai translates it's Hawaiian for women of the sea. This was a non-profit

organization that's dedicated to connecting women who basically love to surf or want to learn to surf. Maybe they've taken one lesson and go, I love this. How do I get into this sport? And so they join us and we basically have both a set and a casual schedule of connecting people to meet up at different beaches, to surf together, to have happy hours, to do beach cleanups, to have potlucks and surf contests. I mean, there's girls in my club that are

pro surfers and there's other girls that had only surfed once in their life or wanted to take a lesson or their daughter took a lesson. so it's such a diverse group, but it's all inclusive. love the fact that not only is it something you do for sport, but I liked how you said, you know, even like beach cleanups and these other kinds of community activated events where it's just sharing a meal together. What is that experience like when you gather and you're not

on your boards. Let me tell you, I have an instant group of friends around me that range in age from 19 to mid 60s. And it's fantastic to be in a diverse group of women that although everyone brings something different to the table, we all are passionate about the ocean, recreational surfing.

any kind of water sports, that's even surf culture related. go to some surf-themed film festivals. We have a subgroup called Skater Girls, is, we use the Carver skateboards, which have a rotating truck on the front and they simulate surfboard movement rather than the traditional skateboard that's a longboard. You just kind of kick off and go straight ahead. Here you actually get to carve.

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (08:44.213)

So when the waves aren't good or the sea is flat, we basically get on our carver skateboards and we go up and down the strand at sunset. And it's a great way to surf on land, basically. We have crafternoons where we use reclaimed wood or stones or things from nature and make crafts or make gifts for people. That's just a lot of fun. And how many women are in the LA chapter right now?

Well, OC and LA combined, have 355 members. So because we are so close together, we don't segregate the two. When there's an event going on in San Diego or Orange County, we often will rent vans and drive down together to those events and vice versa. When we have, we just did two big film premieres for Maya and the Wave and we...

brought a lot of people in from Orange County and San Diego up to LA. So combined we have 355s. You can imagine how big some of our events are. We literally take over the beach and the male surfers are going, where did all the girls come from? And it's so fun to surf with friends that you're comfortable with. It's such a fun atmosphere. Like you said, take over the beach and

you know, shake the norm. If it has been predominantly male dominated, well, you why the heck not? Should we end to take on new challenges, but to do it together. So you're at 355 with Orange County and LA combined. Is there like a goal? you want it like how big can you get and have it be logistically feasible? promote it through word of mouth. So our goal is not to have the biggest club. It's to have the best club where people want to join. You get out of it, what you put into it. People want to

get involved, we encourage people to create their own mini events. So someone might have a barbecue and send out an invitation one day, someone else may do a beach cleanup at a specific cove another day. So it's really about events. And what we found is we've gotten so much attention a lot through media and some magazine write-ups. Now we're creating different chapters around the U.S. So we, as well as OCLA in San Diego, we also have a chapter in San Francisco.

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (11:01.663)

one in Maine, one in St. Augustine, Florida, one in Hawaii, and there's a few girls that have moved on to Cabo, San Lucas, Mexico, and they're talking about creating a chapter. We invite any girls that are interested and motivated to start their own chapter and give them access to our websites and are basically the only guideline is that they just stick to our vision, which is really

diverse and accepting group of women with one collective vision of love of surfing and the sea in a non-supportive and non-judgmental environment. I mean, who wouldn't want to adhere to that? It's fantastic. Our memberships are very inexpensive. We charge $15 a year for a membership and that just basically gives you access to all the events that we host and we have surfboard raffles four times a year.

all kinds of other things like that. can't even get a Netflix membership for a month for $15. That's incredible. Well, we run as a not-for-profit. So we've had very generous sponsorships that donate surfboards to us or different organizations that have donated boating tours where they'll take a group of our surfers out to rogue waves outside the coast and they can surf. So give and it comes back to you.

These are such incredible gifts to give the world and a good reminder for everybody. When you do what you love, you truly find your community. One of the things we found, had women who had a lot of free time at home or beach time, but they had young children and they thought, I would really like to get into surfing. Do you ever do beginner meetups on the weekends? And what we did out of demand was created Surf Mamas, which is a group of mothers with young children, not in school yet usually.

and they go down to the beach and they watch each other's children play in the sand while they take turns surfing. So everyone gets a chance to surf. The kids love being at the beach and playing together. And it's a mini community within our bigger community. Right. Kids love to play at the beach typically. And if you have your friends and your micro community, like helping you do something in that space, that must be a real wonderful outlet as well.

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (13:20.361)

Yes, no matter where you are in every phase of your life, and believe me, I've been there with young children, with teenagers that don't want to go with you and do what you do, you could always find some source or some kind of balance where you find the things that they love to do and that you love to do and try and make it work together. I've been lucky to have an incredible supportive partner for almost 30 years, and he's also a very passionate sailor.

He's not as passionate about surfing, but that's okay. We both love the things that the ocean life gives us, whether it's walks together on the beach or a little cryotherapy where we run and jump in the ocean on the coldest day and try and stay under for 10 minutes. Or if you read about the benefits of being in the water, it would blow your mind, obviously.

the being in the moment and meditative benefit, but also for health. You naturally absorb magnesium through your skin when you're swimming in the water and you get the grounding benefit of walking in the sand. There's so many good benefits from being in the ocean or being near the water. And I really encourage anyone who says, I'm scared of the ocean or I don't want to, I don't like sharks to at least feel that wet sand and walk along the edge of the ocean and listen to the

the sounds of the waves crashing because it is life-changing. You will sleep better, you will digest better, you will feel better. I strongly encourage it. Even if I don't participate, I feel alive just watching that kind of activity and the people going for it big time. I have to say with a lot of sports, you get a big thrill out of watching other people do them. Maybe that's why I become catatonic when the Olympics are on.

I'm just amazed at the sports and what people can accomplish and do. I know from surfing, it's the one sport that I do that people stand on the beach who don't know me and take pictures or ask me questions when I get out of the water, which is really a flattering and humbling feeling. We've talked a lot about what this community, what this sport, what the water means to you. And now I'd like to kind of switch gears, but also stay in that space.

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (15:35.355)

and talk about living with purpose and what does that mean to you? These are things that are common threads on this show and I'd love to hear your perspective on all that.

Living with purpose, to me, really feel at the end of my life, I'm not going to go, wow, I'm so glad I had such a beautiful collection of shoes in the closet. I think I'm going to look back and see all the people that came through my life, whether it's the obvious family and parents and siblings and spouse and children and also the friends and the community that surrounded me throughout my life. I really think for me,

practicing minimalism. I call myself a practicing minimalist, but an enthusiastic experience maximalist, which means I practice not consuming and acquiring and wasting goods and instead put my energy into good experiences, experiences that bring me joy, experiences

which includes service, servicing other people and other people's needs to really create a spiritual joy that gets me excited to get out of bed every day. I have a big chalkboard in my kitchen. When my children were younger, it was filled with their activities, but now it's just filled with all the things we're looking forward to, the people coming to visit us, sailing trips coming up, surf trips coming up, travel. To me, I can't wait

for the next day to come and the next day and the next day because I'm always looking forward to this amazing array of things that my life brings me. The one main thing I want to hit home before our time is up today is I love the idea of practicing minimalist, but an experiential maximalist. That is just such an incredible thing to simmer on. What would you recommend for someone who is

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (17:38.611)

trying to change that mindset to be a little bit more of either one of those things. Well, I heard something that I'll paraphrase for you, probably poorly, but I'll still attempt it. I heard that the Dalai Lama had explained happiness as coming from two sources. One was the

joy and happiness from instantly acquiring something. could be when we feel good when we get a new haircut or your nails painted or you buy something new or you paint your bedroom or whatever. Something that you get that instantly gives you this little bout of happiness. And then there's the other type of happiness which comes from truly being spiritually content at ease.

in love, whether it's with your yoga teacher that gave a great class or the song that you're listening to on the radio or your partner or your family or the lady that smiled at you in the supermarket and told you you dropped your keys and these true happy moments that give you deep contentment. And we need both of those kinds of happiness in our life. We need happiness from a true spiritual source and we need happiness from the temporary day to day, you know.

acquiring excitement, happiness. But if you don't have the true spiritual happiness, you will always look for the little things. And one way some people tend to do this is by keep acquiring. Okay, I'll go shopping and I'll get something new and now I'm happy. And that's very temporary. It doesn't last long. So they get into a pattern of doing it over and over and over again to keep finding that fulfillment happiness.

But when you do have the other type and you start to deepen your relationships and your recognition of gratitude for all the things that bring you true inner peace and joy, whether it's running or swimming or surfing or hugging your children every morning or calling your mom and dad and hearing them so excited to hear your voice. If you have that, then you will

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (19:49.807)

easily be able to recognize that you don't need the other stuff. You can walk through a store with all new clothes and say, you know what, I'm comfortable in what I'm wearing and I don't need this today. and just practice in little steps, giving away things that don't serve you anymore. Having, recently downsized and moved and I love to cook and we love to entertain, but we literally could give away 50 % of what was in our kitchen and easily.

live minimalistically with the basics that were left over because you don't need a whole bunch of stuff or you don't need to continually buy the newest and the latest and the greatest to be satisfied.

Well, before our time wraps, anything new on the horizon? What's on the board? What's on your board of coming up next? October is a very exciting month. My husband has a trade show in Europe, so he's actually going to Paris next week. But beforehand, he's tacking on a couple of days to visit his extended family in Germany. So since he's gone for 10 days, my sister from Canada is coming to visit me. And I've over planned.

all kinds of fun experiences while she's here, including we're going to be contestants on The Price is Right, we're going to see a movie premiere in Hollywood and a few other crazy things. She also wants me to push her into a wave on the surfboard, so I'm gonna get my beginner foamy out and give her a lesson. The week after that, oldest son comes home and he will be visiting us in California with his girlfriend.

And the week after that, I'm going to Oahu with five of my sisters, which is what we call each other when we surf together. And we're going to go surfing. a month. That is fantastic. It's been such an incredible joy to have you on the show today. Thank you for sharing your passions with us and your wisdom and your energy that hopefully just like

Amy Boyle (amyboylephoto) (21:52.455)

This entire conversation has put a smile on my face. I hope that people on the receiving end of these words walk away going, yeah, it's a good day. So thank you, Susan. It's been wonderful. you, Amy. 

OUTRO:

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Speaking of Phenomenal. Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and even share the podcast, as well as stay tuned for more inspiring conversations. Remember, each and every one of you is capable of extraordinary things. Until next time.

Take care and remember, you are phenomenal.