Chelsea Woody: Cultivating Kinship

For many, 2020 was the worst.  Chelsea Woody, a neuroscience nurse who moonlights as a Vans surf ambassador, is clear that it was “the worst year of her life.”

After getting COVID from work, and subsequently  experiencing  a painful loss, — while  witnessing the suffering of so many through the pandemic -  Chelsea wished (for the first time) that she’d chosen a different profession.

Parallel to the suffering both personal and all around her, Chelsea’s surfing career blossomed: she made the film Sea Us Now, and expanded the organisation she helped found, Textured Waves, interjecting the presence and prowess of black and brown female surfers into surf circles, and far beyond. The Textured Waves crew has since partnered with big brands like Adobe, Adidas, and were featured on a billboard in Times Square for a big bank.

Through her own surfing as an African American woman, and via her filmmaking and writings, Chelsea is creating fresh narratives that are rippling around the globe.

Listen in as Chelsea shares about learning to surf later in life, the colonial roots of hair straightening, and finding her limits during her first season on the North Shore. 

Chelsea’s latest film Night Crawler, handles the topic of surfing as otherworldly escape from shift work.


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We reference sociologist Jean Kilbourne’s pioneering media/advertising study Killing Us Softly in this episode. Click through to learn more about her work.

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound Engineer: Tiffany Richmond

Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker 

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