Season 1, Episode 1: Sharing the stoke with Olivia VanDamme

Full episode transcript available in our attempt to make this an accessible experience for all.

For our first episode, we’re thrilled to introduce you to Olivia VanDamme. Olivia (she/her) is a surfer and has built her life around the sport. She finds strength in her ancestry and in indigenous stories of connection to the ocean to affirm her existence as a Latina in the surfing community. Through her role at City Surf Project, she is passionate about sharing her love for the ocean with youth in Ohlone Territory (San Francisco).

Music (from the album Slow Down by LIVS):

Easy
You Tell Me
Samuraiii
Petina
Eclipsed
One Time (Marian Hill cover)
Lemons and Rubies

Resources on the History of Surfing:

Surfer Girls in the New World Order by Krista Comer 
The History of Surfing by Matt Warshaw 
Encyclopedia of Surfing website by Matt Warshaw
Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson
Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in 20th Century Hawaii by Isaiah Helekunihi Walker
The Critical Surf Studies Reader  
Dina Gilio Whitaker's blog posts and writing 
All the Real Indians Died Off by Dina Gilio Whitaker 

Documentary Films:

La Maestra
Surf Girls Jamaica 
Step Into Liquid 
It Ain't Pretty

Photos:

[Close-up photo of Olivia looking at the camera, California wildflowers in the background]

[Photo of Olivia in the ocean next to Margie, her student, on a green surfboard. Both smiling. Photo by Monica Medellin]

[Photo of Olivia in a white dress performing her music, wind blowing in her hair. Photo by Sam Catechi]

[Photo of Olivia smiling at the camera and holding two bright orange flowers in front of her eyes]

[Photo of Olivia with partner, Jamison. Both smiling at the camera with arms around each other]

[Photo of Olivia with youth in front of a white City Surf Project van, smiling wearing wetsuits]