Tough Girl Podcast Dr Easkey Britton - marine social scientist, writer and ocean leader from Ireland, with a deep love and passion for surfing and the sea. Her work explores the relationship between people and nature.
Feb 1, 2022
50:51
Easkey on Freedom, Mindfulness and Connection: Freedom - “I find freedom in movement, in nature, through new experiences. Freedom has the qualities of spontaneity, passion, flow, adventure, risk, independence and creativity. It’s about expressing myself creatively, doing what matters most, and the power of play.” Mindfulness - “I’ve always believed surfing is an amazing tool for a mindfulness practice. It’s very much about mindfulness-in-movement. If I truly get into why I surf, it’s because we can enter this heightened state of awareness – a flow state where, if even just for a moment, there’s complete focus and immersion in the present.” Connection - “Surfing helps me understand the meaning of connection. Surfing demands a letting go of expectations and requires our total presence in the moment so that we begin to take notice of our surroundings, to be a little awed and humbled through direct contact with nature.” About Easkey: Easkey is the first Irish woman to be nominated for the Global WSL Big Wave Awards but there’s more to Easkey than surfing. It is her intellect and her quest to learn and create change in an often unfair world that really defines her. A scientist, academic and social activist, with a PhD in Environment and Society, Easkey is always one to look in places others aren’t for the answers to difficult questions. Her curiosity and passion for fairness and gender equality are the qualities that others to her. Named an ‘Agent of Change’ by Surfer magazine in their special Ocean Edition, her work is deeply influenced by the ocean and the lessons learned pioneering women’s big-wave surfing in Ireland and the sport of surfing with women in Iran, which led her to be invited to give an inspiring TEDx talk: Just Add Surf. Her ground-breaking journey to Iran in 2013 introduced the sport of surfing to women and local communities and is featured in the award-winning documentary film, “Into the Sea”. Passionate about facilitating creative & collaborative processes, she founded Like Water, a platform to explore innovative ways to reconnect with who we are, our environment and each other, through water. Easkey draws on the sea as an active metaphor to dive deep into the power of presence and embodiment of natural cycles. She designs and delivers international summits and global leadership programmes specialising in experiential learning, nature connection, immersive embodiment practices, community engagement and social impact, including the annual Wavemaker retreat in Portugal and Move Like Water retreat for women. She is the author of ‘50 Things to do by the Sea’ and is currently finishing a new book called ‘Saltwater in the Blood.’ Easkey is a one off, wild hearted and free spirit. She’s ridden some of the biggest days in Ireland; no audience, no blue skies, no golden sands, just her and a crew she trusts. Doing something she loves; chasing cold water mountains. You can listen to Easkey on the Tough Girl Podcast. New episodes go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Easkey and what she does
- Being a lover of the ocean
- Wanting to understand how we relate to the world
- Growing up by the beach
- Having a connection with the ocean
- Meeting other women who surfed
- Starting to compete at a young age
- The limited pathways for women in surfing
- What it was like in the early 90s
- Getting into free surfing and exploring new waves
- The link between science and surfing
- Being an agent of change by Surfer Magazine
- The sport of surfing with women in Iran
- How her relationship with surfing has changed
- The ripple effect
- Filming a documentary
- Spending time by the ocean
- The healing power of water
- Blue Health
- Book - Blue Mind: How Water Makes You Happier, More Connected and Better at What You Do
- Blue Mindfulness - How big wave surfing has taught me to live in the moment
- The mental training for big wave surfing
- Learning to trust her body
- Spending time away from the water
- How has surfing changed over the past 30 years
- Gender equality in surfing and the work being done to close the gender gap
- Representation in surfing and how do you create a more inclusive ocean
- How do you break down barriers and create more opportunities
- The work of Lauren Hill Book: She Surf: The Rise of Female Surfing
- Who are the women that have inspired Easkey
- The power of one women story
- The influence of mentors
- Meet Wolfie! (The dog!)
- Having the idea for the book and putting pen to paper
- Keeping a journal to keep track of her own thoughts
- Being full time in academia and wanting to write more freely
- Not seeing women in front of or behind the camera
- The feminine perspective of surfing and sharing that
- Plans for the future
- Working as a blue health researcher in relation to surf therapy
- Putting the science into practice
- Connect with Easkey
- The meaning behind her name and where her name comes from
- Final words of advice for women who want to get more ebb and flow in their life
- The power of breath
- Learning to let go in water
- Taking a moment to reset
- What to do if water holds fear for you