We were due to have a Culture Skate event this weekend, and I’m gutted, but it was the right thing to do.
I LOVE these events. Two hours of skating in a private skate park (we’ve started using The Skate Hub, which is perfect for beginners/improvers). We have a coach on hand to give people tips, so they walk away feeling like they have genuinely made progress. We hang out for lunch, head to an exhibition, grab a drink, and everyone leaves with full hearts. The last part sounds cheesy as hell I know, but there is nothing like meeting friends with shared passions, and as you reach mid-life, that can be rare.
Except I made the mistake of scheduling this one at the start of half term. I was so focused on getting the events schedule live pre Christmas, the gigantic balls-up that was scheduling it on this date hadn’t even occurred to me. Or it had, but originally we were also going to pair it with the excellent 90’s exhibition at The Tate - and I thought that would be enough of a draw, but then we couldn’t get tickets until our December event (book on here).
I’ve noticed a trend of people admitting when they screw up in business (particularly women). Moving away from the perfect instagram-worthy story of building things, to one that is more honest, more open about the things that go wrong. And I’m here for it.
Building a community is hard. Building a business is hard. Continuing when things go wrong (which they will) is actually what makes you successful. I’ve started many things before, and dropped them when life jenga gets in the way. But for some reason, Board Women sticks. It sticks alongside my main (mortgage-paying, thank god) business. It sticks alongside having two young kids, both at ages that are super parent dependent. It sticks alongside me still wanting to have free time, and down time, and time on the very boards that I am encouraging everyone else to leap on.
It sticks because I love it, and I believe in it. I believe that women need a new story for their next era. I believe that board sports are a metaphor for this stage in life, of embracing new experiences, falling and failing, and starting again. I believe we deserve joy, and we need to tell ourselves we do, and chase after it, relentlessly. And I believe we are making progress in that goal.
I’m learning what works, and what doesn’t. Getting people together is great, but it comes with complications, logistics, and financial outlay, whether tickets sell or not. I love the act of connecting people, but maybe it isn’t the thing that the business is supposed to focus on. Maybe the podcast, and the writing, and reaching many people to let them know there is a different way to think about their next, adventure seeking, exciting era - is actually what Board Women is supposed to be. I’m still unsure, so I continue to experiment with what feels right.
And in the meantime, I’ll be working it out live on here. Telling you when it goes well, when it gigantically flops, and all of the work in the middle. Because if board sports as an analogy for your next era in life isn’t about having as many falls as you do successes, then none of this makes sense.
And if you do love our events, make sure you book onto them people! We’ve got skate events in November & December, each partnered with a fantastic exhibition; and in December we’ve also got a Snowboarding & Yoga event in Hemel Hempstead. Get on down, we’d love to see you!
November’s event with Frida: The Making of an Icon - book here
December’s event with ‘The 90’s: Art and Fashion’ at Tate Britain - book here
December’s Snowboarding & Yoga event: book here
Have an amazing week all
Caroline x
Board Women Founder
This Week’s Board List
(1) Laura Crane re-enters the world of surfing
If you’ve had any extended period away from a sport that you love, this post will truly connect with you. I can’t even imagine what that must be like when it’s your entire life. Well done to Laura Crane for being back in the water, lovely post. We’re hoping to have Laura on the podcast soon, so watch this space.
(2) The sexual expose of the surf industry continues
And Lucy Small weighs in, brilliantly, here. Most telling is her final comment:
“But will this be a reckoning beyond a passing moment of outrage? Will it lead to actual reform of the structures that have maintained this culture?”
As with every industry that has had it’s ‘me too’ moment, we hope so.
Rhonda Shepherd is also speaking up on behalf of Black Girls Surf and questioning the ISA in its representation of the discussion. It’s worth checking out her feed, as she’s decided she no longer wants to be quiet. She did an interview with us recently, expect to see her on the podcast the week after next.
(3) Who told you to fade? My favourite insta discovery of the week - Keiko Harajuku
I could pore over this account for hours, there is nothing better than a woman reframing the narrative around ageing, and in such a beautiful way. You’re welcome.
(4) The Going Off! Podcast - Snowboarding History
A recent discovery for me, even though the podcast has been around for a year now - so a big thank you to Matthew Barr of Looking Sideways to alerting me to it in his latest episode with Jen Sherowski and Tricia Byrnes, the hosts of the show. I’m heading right back to the first episodes & getting my full fix.
(5) Escapism at its finest: The Surf House
We have an interview coming up with Lucy Clarke, author of The Surf House and many more books (she’s on number 11 and has had 2 adapted for TV, and The Surf House is number 3). Destination Thrillers aren’t a genre I tend to read, but I started to read The Surf House ahead of our interview, and I am hooked. It captures everything I love about surfing, it’s super escapist, set in a small fishing village in Morocco; and it’s helping me imagine being anywhere but rainy, windy Britain right now.
