Don’t miss our video of the Fish Fry in Shizunami!! 2010 Fish Fry Japan

Here are some photos from our trip… Enjoy!

ZAMORA SURF PROMOTIONAL TOUR 2010

View of the Tokyo Tower over the Edo River

Friends and good times!

2010 Fish Fry Japan

Myself & Pro longboarder, Yuko Shimajiri

Yup, that's a surfboard!

ZAMORA!!!

ZS boards waiting to be sold in Ibaraki

They don't call Japan "the land of the rising sun" for nothing... Kashima sunrise @ 4am!

Driving in Japan...

Alternative energy is a popular thing on the coasts of Japan

Shrine at Kashima

Kashima Shrine

Japanese garden at Kashima Shrine

Kashima warrior statue

Our view of Taito Beach in Ichinomiya

A little nook we found outside Ichinomiya

The site of Ian's proposal... Choshi

We're engaged!!

Having been born and bred in California, the name Gidget I always knew to be synonymous with surfing. As young girl; however, Gidget was mainly depicted to me through Sally Field’s portrayal of the real life darling. I have been fortunate enough to have gotten to know the real life Gidget, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, who is truly an absolute doll.

This documentary was done a few years ago, as you can see by my long locks, but has finally received clearance to be distributed to the public. For more info: Click Here

Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story from Carla Rowland on Vimeo.

 

Things aren't always what they seem

GIRL, DON’T HATE

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear women say to others of the same sex, “Gawd. You’re soooo skinny.” I admit, I find it irritating when I hear this mainly because it’s frustrating when people will look at me with a sort of envy, yet they have no idea what I’ve been through or why I have the figure I do. Sure, I am genetically a petite woman; however, back in my teens, before I began traveling, I used to really be able to pack on the pounds!

I NAMED IT HORATIO

Back in 2000, I spent 2 months traveling the east coast of Australia. The experience was life-changing in many ways. A week after having surfed empty, chocolate-brown peelers at The Pass in Byron Bay, I came down with flu-like symptoms. Almost a week and a half later, I was finally diagnosed with having a parasite, Giardia to be exact. The doc at the clinic my girlfriends took me to gave me 3 or 4 little white pills that seemed to give me instant relief. I vividly remember my first bowl of Top Ramen – it was the best bowl of soup I still have ever had!

I managed to finish the rest of our expedition in relative comfort; however, my digestive system had definitely taken a hard hit. Once I returned home, I quickly discovered I had developed digestion issues. On most occasions, I would get ill after eating. I thought I had developed bulimia. On the contrary, my parasite experience had caused my body to develop IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My first attempts at handling my condition consisted of completely changing my diet. I eliminated red meat, pork, dairy, and most fried foods. I ate veggies, but I thought rice and breads were safer. The initial stages of this change saw considerable differences in my pain and ability to keep down food; however, over the course of a few years, my belly slowly began resorting back to its old ways. I felt trapped within my own body and within the confines of my home. For years, I didn’t want to go anywhere to far from home in fear of having a sudden belly attack. My days of globe-trotting came to a halt.

FREE AT LAST!

Then, a couple of years ago, I was visiting longtime family friends in Kauai – the Dillberg’s. I have known the Dillberg Family for 30 years and I have always known them to be proponents of healthy eating and a natural, holistic lifestyle. When I began having one of my “tummy bouts” just a couple days into our trip, Dr. Kerry Dillberg and his son Dr. Dustin offered to help me finally get over this encumbrance in my life that was doing nothing but keeping my experiences limited.

So, I extended my stay, sent my boyfriend back to the mainland, and began my journey toward healing. The treatment entailed many different things including a wet and dry blood analysis, stress-management therapy, a vegetable-specific cleanse, and most significant to my recovery, another change to my diet and a new exercise and strengthening program.

wet blood analysis

dry blood analysis

And that’s what I really want to share with you all. What has changed my life most dramatically and most permanently is the Eat Right For Your Blood Type diet and the Egoscue Method Therapy. As a carrier of type A blood, I have now learned to base my meals around vegetables and I try my best to stay away from whole wheat and flour. I try my best to maintain a strong core and relaxed digestive system by practicing Egoscue.

Eating healthy CAN be fun!

It’s been over 2 years since that summer when I finally found relief. As long as I don’t binge too much, I can nearly eat as I used to. Now, I am able to tolerate dairy, which I had always thought was a big culprit to my discomfort. So, if I want to have the occasional piece of pizza, I don’t need to fret. I have more energy and I sleep better because I am no longer interrupted during the night. Most importantly, I am far more knowledgeable on what my body needs to feel not only good, but thriving strong and; therefore, I make far wiser, more health-conscious decisions.

JUST DO IT!

You do not necessarily have to be experiencing pain for this kind of alteration to be immensely beneficial to your health, as treating our bodies as temples should be a number priority to us all. I am positive; however, that there are many women out there who experience varying levels of digestive troubles similar to those I experienced, perhaps even worse. Well, there is hope, I promise! However, you have to be willing to possibly make some drastic changes. As someone who has been on both sides, I can assure you all: IT’S WORTH IT!!

Please check out these websites for more detailed information:

Dillberg Integrated Healthcare

Eat Right For Your Blood Type

Egoscue Method Therapy

My boyfriend discovered this short film by Sean Mullens. It is absolutely moving and brought tears to my eyes.

BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”  ~Marie Curie

March 6, 2010 - Opening day - Women on Waves Exhibit - Oceanside, CA

From old-school to new-school, the WOW exhibit is nothing short than AMAZING

A successful opening

The exhibit brought into focus the many dimensions of women in surfing...

Hollywood played a role in women's surf fashion

Early swimsuits were made of wool...

Brushing up on a little surf history.

Dedication to Linda Benson...

Linda Benson's 1959 championship trophy

Linda Benson is a remarkable woman who broke ground in a man's world. She continues to be a voice for surfergirls everywhere.

One of the 'Golden Girls' - Jericho Poppler - gave women's competitive surfing fire and drive...

Look! That's ME!!!

Such an honor to be mentioned in this wonderful exhibit!!

Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman - aka - Gidget. A dear, sweet friend...

da bu girls - Ashley Lloyd, Carla Rowland, Julie Cox

For more info… California Surf Museum

All images courtesy of Zamora Surf.

Oceanside, CA. – Beginning this Saturday, March 6, 2010, the California Surf Museum will host a unique exhibit celebrating the history of women in surfing.

For those of you in the area… Come check it out!!

I spent the first 10 years of my life living in the San Fernando Valley, but every weekend that I can remember my family drove north on the 101, through Malibu Canyon, where we would finally end up at the famous First Point at Malibu Surfrider Beach- the Mecca for California’s rich surf history.  As my dad spent the days riding waves and my mom snapped photos, I would walk up and down the beach with my own surfboard under my arm- a 3’ long wood plank I had found on the shoreline washed in by the sea.  I would watch my dad and wait for him to come in, but for whatever reason, it was like pulling teeth whenever he would try to get me out on his board with him.  Yet, when I did, I always had the time of my life.  As luck would have it, in 1987, my dad found a small, affordable canyon home in the hills of Malibu.  Despite the fact that the move was not that logistically far, at the age of 10, my entire world slowly began changed.

You would think that my move to Malibu would instantly turn me into the quintessential beach/surfer babe, but for the first five years, quite the opposite happened.  It seemed that I had the notion that since I now lived in Malibu, I know longer needed to actually go to the beach- it was right there- I could see it everyday.  This theory of mine held strong until I got into high school, when I was forced to attend school in Agoura Hills because Malibu had not yet created a high school.  As a young teenager, I did not have much to identify with.  Much of my childhood was spent having “friend issues”- whether it be silly friend triangles or girls gossiping- I always felt like “the one left out.”  In junior high I was a part of a dance troupe with some girlfriends.  When I became the “favorite” and asked to do all the solos, my friends began alienating me.  At 13, I just wanted acceptance among my peers, so after 10 years of dance, I decided to quit.  From that moment I began a habit of seeking out shallow friendships and attempted to use them as a foundation to my identity, instead of seeking out my own dreams and aspirations and allowing the friendships to build from there.  Needless to say, this method was extremely flawed and it took some time, as well as some pain, for me to actually realize it and put myself on the right path.

It was the end of my sophomore year and I had spent the last semester affiliating myself with a group of people who were not a positive influence in my life.  After much thought, I decided that I needed to make a change in order to protect my life’s future.  So, at 16 years old, I removed myself from the situation I had become comfortable, yet unhappy, in and began going back to First Point Malibu, where I would wait for my dad to arrive after he finished working.  That first summer I was so insecure that I refused to paddle out until my father was there to go with me.  I had no friends my own age.  In fact, the only friends I did have that summer of ‘93 were all over the age of 45- Cary, Steve, and Judy.  If it were not for their support and friendships, I do not believe I would have been able to endure the change.

Time passed.  Summers came and went and as time progressed, so did life for me on the sand and in the sea at Malibu Surfrider Beach.  As hoped, I got better and better at surfing and it became something I realized that I could never live without.  I eventually made my way into the “cool,” younger crowd that frequented the point.  This group consisted of mostly pre- and post-pubescent boys, as surfing was (and still is) very much a male-dominated sport.  For a couple years, I was one of the few women seen in the lineup in the water on a regular basis- not to mention the youngest- and this definitely had an impact on the person I was to become. This clan of nomadic surfers, I discovered, was a culture in and of itself with rules, rewards, and punishments. I endured years of battling to hold my ground and earn my right in the testosterone-filled lineup. Being a woman, I was not just discriminated against, but also required to prove myself on a regular basis.  There were rock wars, wrestling matches, I was “pantsed” in front of crowds, called names, lied about, “snaked” on waves, I was even told that my place in the hierarchy that possessed the point was on the same level as the “groms”- the kids. No matter how beaten up I would feel, no matter how low they would bring me- I would have to remind myself that I could never give up, I would never let them push me off my beach, they could never take away surfing from me.  I let that happen once with dancing, I was not going to make that mistake again.  Time and time again, I felt defeated or alone, but through the struggle I discovered the importance of perseverance and holding true to one’s core values, morals, and dreams.  Those times where I stood my ground may have imposed moments of alienation; however, in the long run, I have discovered those moments have garnered me more respect than anything else.

I have not only managed to hold my own in this male-dominated sport, but have also found many creative outlets and varying means of success, as well as developed much of who I am through surfing.  Perhaps you can say this experienced has made me calloused- I think it has made me stronger, wiser, and more enlightened to the world around me.  There were definitely times where I questioned my place among this micro-culture, but if not for this dynamic group of people, perhaps I would have never found my own identity.  Fortunately, the lack of a specific macro-culture to relate and identify with has been replaced by another kind of contextual culture- the surfing culture.

With its own system of assumptions, attitudes, and learned patterns; the surfing society is also a dynamic, socially and co-constructed, symbolic, and historically transmitted culture- similar to that of the societies of my more culturally-defined friends.  On the contrary, the one thing I think surfing has that other typically defined cultures may lack is the ultimate inclusion of all races, ethnicities, and cultures into the sport and lifestyle.  Surfers are some of the most diverse people on the planet comprised of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Filipinos, Homosexuals, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Agnostics, some are wealthy, and others are poor.  It is the love of surfing and the exclusive bond surfers share with the sea that gives them a unique connection far more grand than your average hobby or sport.  This society of surfers that I have grown to know so well, are a perfect example of the postmodernist perspective of social constructionism.  The concept surfers have of their socially assembled reality emphasizes the constant mass construction of worldviews by people in dialectical relations with one another.  A surfer’s reality is formed through habits, which in turn, become institutions.  These institutions are supported by language conventions, afforded continuing legitimacy by mythology, religion and philosophy, maintained through socialization, and individually internalized by their upbringing.

Surfing has taken me all around the world and given me the opportunity to see and learn about other cultures.  Through my travels to destinations containing societies far different than my own- such as Costa Rica, Mainland Mexico, Australia, and Japan- I have seen first-hand the factors pertaining to perceived cultural differences, as well as the universal truths that bind us together as a human race.  Difference in language use, cultural codes, formal and informal rules, relationships and roles, traditional foods, and/or gestures remind us of our individuality and background and can often create confusion and, in turn, fear and hate.  Yet, the thoughts and feelings of love and heartache, acceptance and rejection, joy and sorrow- emotions felt by all cultures- do not discriminate.  Surfing has not only afforded me a culture to identify with and shaped the person I am, but it has also given me the sensitivity to understand other cultures and how and why they act and react the way they do.