Interview With Bold Journey Magazine
We were lucky to catch up with Heather Alley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Heather , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Great question, ultimately I think my resilience comes from many challenges and many mistakes. The more challenges you face and mistakes you make the better you get at dealing with them and the less of a big deal they become. You realize that making mistakes is ok because that’s how you learn and grow, and that challenges are here to expand our capacity and gratitude for life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up mostly on the Big Island of Hawai’i, from the time I was 10 my sister and I spent summers in Los Angeles with my Dad. When I was little it was difficult to split time between parents but now I’m grateful for all the exposure and experiences. Hawai’i has some of the most beautiful nature on the planet and the kindest people. LA is full of culture, innovation, and gritty inspiration. Time in Hawai’i was filled with many activities in the ocean such as diving, fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, competitive outrigger canoe paddling, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, and surfing. Time in Los Angeles was spent hanging at the beach, going to amusement parks, concerts (my Dad was always a music lover and exposed us to many genres of music), sporting events such as the World Cup (soccer), and spending time in nature spots such as Yosemite, and sampling all of the different cultural foods. When I was 19 I took my first international trip to Australia and New Zealand and fell in love with traveling and surfing! To date I’ve traveled and surfed in many countries such as England, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, Iceland, Indonesia, Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Peru. Correction, I fell in love with surfing the first time I tried it at age 15! I always wanted to surf but growing up on the rugged south side of the Big Island there weren’t gentle spots to learn, when I got my drivers license I was able to drive to Kona to have more ideal learning conditions. Fast forward 29 years and I’m still completely in love with surfing and surf most days.
I’ve been teaching surfing for 27 years, starting with a surf camp in Hermosa Beach that I taught at for ten consecutive summers. After that I continued to teach surfing in the summer while working as a Licensed Massage Therapist and then a shopper/decorator/on set in the
Art Department of the film industry. Feeling burnt out I decided to commit to
teaching surfing full time and opened my business Soul Surf Sessions in 2012. We offer private and small group surf lessons for beginner to advanced skill levels, Surf Day Trips up and down the California coast, and Surf Trips abroad. The joy of sharing and seeing people enjoying something so dear to my heart, the challenge of choosing the best location on any given day based on conditions and students needs, and the challenge of figuring out where students are at and building from there continues to make teaching surfing the most satisfying work I’ve ever done. Surfing seems to have a very positive impact on people’s lives, many people going through life challenges or with high stress jobs gravitate towards and find solace in surfing. I definitely consider surfing my rock that has helped me through challenges such as a series of panic attacks, becoming a mom, and losing my Dad a year ago. Surfing is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice. Being in the ocean makes you feel a part of something so much bigger than you in a comforting way. It is a profoundly peaceful experience to sit on your board beyond the breaking waves in the still waters while seeing pelicans and dolphins gliding by. Surfing is a great workout, but it’s so much fun that you’re thinking about it as a workout, I call it a sneaky workout. There’s a huge self mastery component to surfing, viewing “mistakes” as growth and forward momentum and enjoying the process is clutch. Surf conditions are different everyday, appreciate what opportunities the different conditions offer you as far as practicing different skills. Surfing is for everyone, we can help you understand the ocean and equipment, learn surfing skills and progression, and learn how to read the surf report and forecast so that you can choose the best location to have a fun and safe practice if you want to go out on your own. Los Angeles is blessed to be situated on Santa Monica Bay which offers a expansive coastline with a wide variety of different facing shores and exposures, you can go around the corner and find smaller or bigger waves depending on what you want. Our goal is to empower people with knowledge and skills to enjoy surfing anytime they want. The only motivation to getting better in surfing is the better you get the more fun it is!
Last year I got my California Real Estate License with the vision of combining my love of surfing and traveling. I want to help surfers find their dream home or property, California is endless coastline and epic surf spots. My dream is to acquire properties here in California to host surf retreats. Additionally, pursuing an International Real Estate License so that I can find properties for myself and other surfers near epic and uncrowded surf spots around the world is my long-term goal. Spin the globe and put your finger down anywhere, there’s probably good surf there or nearby!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Compassion, curiosity, and determination come to mind. Compassion for oneself and others makes up my foundation in life these days, especially when things get challenging refocus on compassion. My relationship with myself and relationships with others are very important, trust is most important. Transparency and reliability build trust. Value and nurture your relationships. Curiosity leads us towards knowledge and understanding ourselves, others and the world around us. This understanding helps us evolve and expands our capacity to enjoy life, stay curious. If you really want to do something don’t let anyone discourage you, you can achieve anything if you are determined and don’t give up. It may take longer than you’d like but always have faith in yourself and know that if you are passionate and keep making effort you will get there. Having mentors helps, find a good mentor if you can.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Currently we are an all women crew of surf coaches at Soul Surf Sessions which is empowering, women seem to still be underrepresented. I would love to collaborate with other passionate, compassionate, nature-loving lady bosses!
