etnies

The Final Surf Team Report of February

After her recent trips to Senegal, Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival and Aspen, Colo., for the Winter X Games, Jodie Nelson has been enjoying being at home for a change. She’s been spending her time getting caught up with everything, surfing a ton and trying to get a solid game plan going for what she’ll be up to for the coming year or so. She has a lot of projects in the works that we’ll fill you in on as they become more finalized. Last Saturday, she taped a TV show for a new pilot on Fuse called “Meet the Pro” that’s similar to Letterman or Conan O’Brien, but for music and action sports. She had a great time and got to hang out with a couple of the guys from Good Charlotte and Tom Delong from Blink 182. Other than that, she’s trying to get in Pilates about three to four times a week. Last, but certainly not least, congrats to Jodie and her fiancé, who got engaged on Valentine's Day!

Mary Osborne has been a busy lady lately! Rainbow Fins just launched the "Mary Osborne" fin, their first ever female line. It should be appearing in Longboard Magazine in March. Surf One Girl Longboard Skateboards also just used a quote she gave them for one of their new women's skateboards called “Mysto Wave.” The next issue of Surf Life for Women has several small articles Mary wrote, including "How to Pack Incorrectly." We also thought you’d get a kick out of this page from Esquire magazine, in which Mary is simply listed as a “friend” of Mark McGrath. So maybe Esquire can’t get Mary’s name right, but we know who she is! The rest of the world might know who she is soon too, because she just interviewed for VH1’s show, “The Surreal Life”!

Moto Team Report: Sarah Has a New Ride

Sarah Whitmore just took delivery of her new factory Yamaha YZ125 race bike and is training hard for the upcoming Spring Classic, which will take place March 8-13. The event is located near Dallas, Texas, and is a popular warm up race for pro motocross riders who are getting ready for the WMA/AMA Nationals. Sarah won this event two years ago and hopes to take back the title this year. We’ll be rooting for you, Sarah!

Tarah Gieger is feeling much better after her accident while racing at Gatorback in Florida last month, and is looking forward to riding again in a few weeks.

etnies Girl Sponsors “Queen of the Mountain”

etnies Girl has come onboard as a sponsor of SG Magazine’s third annual “Queen of the Mountain” event, which will take place March 12 at Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood, Calif. The "girls supporting girls" event and festival brings together top pro athletes, amateurs and the general public to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, as well as to support women's participation in snowboarding.

This year, SG Magazine hopes to raise $15,000 for Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC) at the event. Funds are also being raised through a pre-event pledge drive on the QOTM website. Tons of great prizes from event sponsors are up for grabs for the top fundraisers, including snowboards, lift tickets, outerwear and more.

Founded by professional snowboarders Tina Basich and Shannon Dunn in 1996, B4BC utilizes a mobile educational facility to teach young women the importance of early breast cancer detection and the value of a healthy lifestyle. This year’s QOTM event is part of B4BC's nationwide series of Ride 4 A Cure Board-A-Thons. B4BC organizers and volunteers can also be found at top action sports competitions and youth-oriented music festivals throughout the year, such as the Winter X Games, US Open of Snowboarding and Gravity Games. Since its inception, B4BC has taught thousands of young people the importance of early detection and has raised more than $1 million.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro, novice or spectator, this year's QOTM has something for everyone. All are invited to come out to Mountain High and be a part of the event, snowboard, see killer action and raise awareness and money for a great cause.

“My Bloody Valentine” Rescheduled for Sunday

“My Bloody Valentine,” the second girls-only skate contest organized by Wicked Wahine, was rained out last weekend, and will now take place this upcoming Sunday, Feb. 27. The event will be held at noon in Huntington Beach, Calif., at skateboard manufacturer Kelly Bellmar’s legendary backyard pool. Typically reserved for top male skaters, and known for being extremely difficult to skate, Bellmar’s pool will be open to some of the best female skaters in the world—including Cara-Beth Burnside, Julia “Juwels” Bauer and Mimi Knoop—who will be competing for cash prizes, awards and, most of all, respect. The event is free to spectators and open to the public, although capacity is limited to around 175.

Jodie Nelson’s Winter 2005 Team Journal

Jodie Nelson has had a crazy 2005 already, and it’s only February! She kept this journal and took these photos on her trips to Senegal, the Sundance Film Festival and the Winter X Games, and when she filmed for the TV show “Summerland” in L.A.

Senegal

This year started out pretty hectic for me. Shortly after Christmas, I left for a place called Senegal, West Africa, on a nearly three week trip for Surfer Magazine. I was the only girl on a trip of all boys, which can be really rough considering we were also in a Third World country.

The first night when we pulled up to where we were staying, I was tripping out. We pulled to the side of the road to wait for the other car, and we were in the ghetto for sure. I yelled up to Art Brewer (our photographer) and said, “Hey, Art, this isn’t lookin’ too good, bud.” See, Art and I had been sent on a really bad trip for Surfer Magazine about a year and a half prior to this trip. We went to a place called Vanuatu, which is near the islands of Fiji, and none of us got our luggage. For seven days, we were in the same clothes with no surf gear or even swimsuits. We ended up pulling the plug and aborting the trip without even going in the water once. So I had a little apprehension going into this next trip with Art to Senegal.

We drove down a really narrow dirt road with run down half-built cinderblock structures on both sides. We got to an opening and there was a three story, fairly decent building and that was us. We unloaded the cars and got settled. The next morning I was woken by the loudest yelling over the loud speakers. See, Senegal is a Muslim country, so they do these really loud calls to prayer five times a day, and sometimes five times at night. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was scared! With traveling anywhere, you start out apprehensive and then you become part of it toward the end. Like, when I first got there I was scared to walk around by myself, but then after a couple of days that’s all I did.

I’ll get to the part you are all interested in, and that’s the waves. The water was not as warm as I had hoped it was going to be. Full suits were the call. We did a lot of searching for waves, and throughout the trip we discovered some waves that no one had ever surfed before. The swell never got big enough for us fully to explore some of the better spots, but we made due with what we had. It was definitely a tough trip. The morale was very low because of the lack of waves and the state of where we were staying. It was just a lot to take in, and it was very dirty and a lot of us got sick from the food. So it was hard at times to keep my head up and focus.

My New Year’s Eve was very interesting; I spent it in the city of Dakar. Art, our host, Boubacar, and I went into the city to see the fireworks. The rest of our crew passed, and they made the right decision. I have never been so terrified in my life; people and kids were shooting off fireworks into crowds. Art got a hole burned in his shirt, I got one on my pant leg, and there was a building on fire and everyone was going about their business like nothing was happening. It was just utter chaos, and I wanted out of there. It was so crowded... dangerously crowded. But I can say that I was in Dakar for New Years 2005 and you can’t!

Really, though, there is so much to write about this trip, but I will leave you with this: It was a hard trip, but I’m so thankful that I got to experience the Senegalese culture and people. Though they are poor—with an average annual income of 300 U.S. dollars—they are some of the most kind, genuine and hardworking people I’ve ever been around. They are so happy and beautiful! I took many pictures to share with you, but all I have to say is that you are lucky that these pictures are not scratch and sniff because I also smelled some of the worst smells I’ve ever smelled while I was in Senegal. Keep your eyes out for more on this story in Surfer Magazine.

Sundance Film Festival

When I got home from Senegal, I was happy to be home, let me tell you. (I couldn’t wait to eat food when I got home!) I was only home for about five days before I had to leave again. While I was in Senegal, I was asked to host a TV show for FUEL at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. So on Jan. 22, I flew to Utah and hung out at Sundance. It was a little bit of a culture shock after being in Africa, but I adjusted. I always have trouble when I go to a place like Africa, or any Third World country, and then come home and see how good we have it here and how much people waste and spend on themselves. Sometimes I get really bothered by it all.

At the same time as Sundance was the X-Dance Film Festival, all the best action sports movies. After the films are shown, there are Q & A sessions with the filmmakers and some of the athletes from the films. Toward the end of the festival, there was also a big awards show where filmmakers were awarded for best editing, movie of the year and best cinematography. My job was to hang out and interview various filmmakers for a 90 minute special on the FUEL channel. As you will see from my photos, I got to hang with some cool people. But I will have you know that I never take pictures of myself with celebrities or stuff like that—I just don’t like doing it. But for you guys I did it! I even broke down and got a digital camera. (And I hate digital!) But, again, I did it for you guys so I can be a little quicker with my journal entries.

So let’s see, who did I get to hang with? Oh, yeah! Ross from “Friends” (but I didn’t get a photo), Pedro Sanchez from “Napoleon Dynamite” and Perry Ferrell from Jane’s Addiction, who was there as DJ Peretz. I also got to go to some sick shows like Snoop Dogg and Cake. It was very much a celebrity affair, with lots of free stuff. One of my co-hosts, Danger Aaron from that MTV show, “Jackass,” was going to all the houses and lounges that were for the celebs, and he was making out with all kinds of free stuff. I went down to the Premiere Magazine Film & Music Lounge to find none other than etnies Girl putting shoes on such celebs as Jenny McCarthy, Bijou Phillips, Shannon Elizabeth and Taryn Manning. Sundance was fun! We wrapped the awards party at 3 a.m., I went back to my place to pack quickly, and the airport shuttle was at my door at 4 a.m. to take me to the airport for my 6 a.m. flight to Aspen for the Winter X Games.

Winter X Games

I’ve done some stuff for the Summer X Games because they added surfing to the X Games (but guys only) and asked me to do some interviewing for the surf. They liked what I did, so they asked me to do Winter X. The only thing is that I was not as familiar with the events they had me cover. I did interviews for Boarder X men’s and women’s, Skier X women’s, and UltraCross, which has snowboarders and skiers teamed up together. Needless to say, I was completely out of my element, but it was fun. I have a lot of friends who do pipe and slopestyle, but I didn’t know any of these athletes. It was fun, though, and I pulled it off on live television. I didn’t know this going into it, but the first two hours that I was on TV I was on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” LIVE! I’m glad that I didn’t know that, ‘cause I probably would have choked.

I have to fill you in on the other thing I did at Winter X. I played music and actually sang in front of people, which has to be one of my biggest fears. I have the worst stage fright ever. I had agreed to play three times in Aspen: twice for Fender and once at a Boarding for Breast Cancer benefit. The first two performances were good little practices in front of small crowds of people I didn’t know. It was a good warm-up. I could see the halfpipe on the mountain while I was on stage, so I tried just to stare at that while I was singing instead of looking at the people. I kept hearing about this show at the Belly Up for Boarding for Breast Cancer, and I kept hearing about how G. Love & Special Sauce was playing and how it was completely sold out. And that was where I was supposed to play my last night in Aspen—I was going to open for G. Love at the benefit! I really wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I tried to keep my game face on.

The afternoon of the show, we had a sound check on the stage with all the lights on. Granted, the place was empty, but you have to take into account that I don’t even sing in front of my mom or boyfriend, or anyone for that matter! This was going to be a huge growing experience. I made it through sound check, but when I came back later that night, the place was filled to the brim with people. I sat in the backstage area so I could focus and practice, but I felt as though I was going to throw up or pass out. I looked out into the crowd and it was packed. It was time. My good friend Sal Masekela had just finished introducing me and it was go time. I walked out there and took a seat on the stool, and people were screaming. There were girls right in front screaming my name and I’m thinking, “Who are these people? Do I know you??” It was scary; the lights were so bright, I could hardly even see the people standing at the front of the stage. I took lots of deep breaths and tried to think “happy place” and pretend none of those people were there.

I did make it through. It was cool because it was such a huge thing for me to do—just so far outside of my comfort zone—and I did it. That whole week was about being outside of my comfort zone, but now I feel like if I got through that I could do anything! It was fun also because a lot of my friends were there to support me, and my mom came out and so did my boyfriend. I don’t know if you guys ever see ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” but there’s only one woman on the show. Her name is Linda Cohn, and I really look up to her. She is really good at what she does and she’s not one of those bimbo girls (you know, the kind you usually see on TV). Anyhow, she was in Aspen doing “SportsCenter” live from the X Games, and we got to hang and talk. The night of my big performance she actually taped “SportsCenter” just so she wouldn’t miss my performance! It was so cool to have her there!

Summerland

So after that whirlwind, I got home and was home for one day before I had to go up to L.A. to film some surfing for a TV show that I do some stuff for called “Summerland.” By this point, I had the flu and I had to surf in a spring suit in 57 degree water. I had to double for a new girl on the show and tandem surf with one of the main guys on the show, the Aussie guy.

I hope you enjoyed the journal and the photos. Don’t make fun of the wig I had to wear for “Summerland”—I know it’s bad. I look like an ape woman.

Oh, and if you ever think something is hard or you can’t do it, just think of me singing in front of a sold out crowd when I can’t even sing in front of my own mother!!

You can do it! Anything is possible!

~jn

I Want Candy!

Congratulations to Amy of Long Beach, Calif., who won the Hard Candy Makeup Giveaway! She's the lucky winner of over $200 worth of Hard Candy Makeup, including the Lip Gloss Ring, Lip Sorbet, Super Shine Lip Gloss, Get Personal Pencil System Lip Pencil, Stain & Shine, Eye Candy, Eye Shadow Quartet, Bling Bling, Get Personal Pencil System Connector Kit, Get Personal Pencil System Eye Pencil, Lunch Box Mini Makeup Kit and Midnight Snack. To top it all off, Amy is also receiving a new pair of etnies shoes. Enjoy your new loot, Amy!

Be “My Bloody Valentine”

On Saturday, February 19, in Huntington Beach, Calif., Wicked Wahine will hold “My Bloody Valentine,” the second contest in its series of girls-only skate events. The event will take place at noon at skateboard manufacturer Kelly Bellmar’s legendary backyard pool. Known for being extremely difficult to skate and typically reserved for top male skaters, Bellmar’s pool will be open to some of the best female skaters in the world so they can showcase their enormous talents.

Simply put, Bellmar’s pool is a MONSTER. He's been hosting practice sessions for the last couple of weeks so the girls can get used to it, because most had never skated it. All of the girls who wanted to compete in the contest had to qualify by grinding it; the top 20 girls were then allowed to enter.

Skaters who will be competing for cash prizes, awards and, most of all, respect, include Cara-Beth Burnside, former etnies Girl of the Month Felicity Corral, Julia “Juwels” Bauer, Mimi Knoop, Sole Technology’s own Sonja Caudill and more. The categories are best trick, longest grind, highest air and the "Bloody Valentine" award. The event will include a DJ, food and after party at HB Wahine. It is free to spectators and open to the public, although capacity is limited to around 175. The rain date is Sunday, February 20.

Established in 2004 by Liz Brandenburg and Tammy Tangalin, Wicked Wahine events are designed to bring female skateboarders of all ages and skill levels together while providing them the media coverage and respect that female athletes deserve.

etnies Riders Dominate World Cup in Oz!

That’s right, folks, etnies broke out the broom and swept the competition at the World Cup of Skateboarding contest in Melbourne, Australia, over the weekend! This marks the second year in a row that Elissa Steamer has won the contest, and Lauren Perkins didn’t even attend the contest last year, so taking second to her teammate was a great feat!

Elissa’s runs consisted of a number of different tricks, including a nollie down the Euro gap (with stairs!) into a bank, and a kickflip 5-0 on the ledge. Lauren also broke it off during the contest with a kickflip up the Euro gap (with stairs!) and a feeble grind down the rail.

Both Elissa and Lauren are now back home from the contest and will probably be spending some time recovering from the jet lag. Elissa will also be spending something else—some of the $5,000 she won at the contest!

Congratulations, Elissa and Lauren!

Win the Lo-Cut 3!

This month, etnies Girl is giving you the chance to win a pair of the Lo-Cut 3. Three lucky winners will be picked at random from people who are subscribed to the etnies Girl newsletter by Feb. 28, 2005. Make sure to subscribe now to enter to win!

The First Ever Moto Team Report!

Tarah Gieger cracked her pelvis when she was thrown from her bike while racing at Gatorback in Florida last month, but the good news is that she’s healing quickly and will make a full recovery. She will be on bed rest for about another four weeks, and will be back up to speed well before the WMA Nationals in May. Tarah, who recently moved to Florida, may be down, but she certainly isn’t out. This month, she’s featured on the cover of not one, but two, motocross magazines: Playground and Holeshot.

Sarah Whitmore is training daily in Georgia, her winter home, and writing her monthly column for Racer X magazine. Last Saturday, she traveled to Anaheim, Calif., to check out the fifth round of the THQ Supercross Series at Edison Field. (Sarah’s team, Blue Starr MX Racing, is the only factory-backed women's motocross team in the series.) When she was in Southern California, she also took a day to do some riding and interviews for the FUEL TV shows “54321” and “Hardcore Candy.”

Surf Team Report: On the Road Again

Jodie Nelson has been racking up the frequent flyer miles recently! She just got back from Park City, Utah, where she was FUEL TV’s on-air host for the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival, and Aspen, Colo., where she was the on-air host for ESPN for parts of the Winter X Games. Jodie is considering going to Australia for the surf contest early next month, and has also been asked to go on a big wave filming trip at the same time, so her travels won’t be ending anytime soon. Make sure to check out her Team Journal, which will be up on the site soon, for more details about her recent trips, including the one she took to Africa last December and January.

Mary Osborne has been working on “Sister Surfer,” an inspirational how-to book she wrote with Kia Afcari that will guide women through the slippery and often harrowing process of learning how to surf, covering everything from how to conquer fear to how to wax a surfboard. She is also getting ready to go on a surf trip to Mexico with SG Magazine next week.

Skate Team Report: Elissa and Lauren Head Down Under!

Elissa Steamer left this week for Australia to defend her title at the World Cup of Skateboarding event that will take place this weekend, February 11-13, in Melbourne. She claimed the title last year, which was an incredibly successful one for her with contests—she had five wins total in 2004! She’ll be back from the contest by the middle of next week, when we’ll update you on how things went.

Lauren Perkins also left this week for the contest “down unda.” She didn’t go last year, so she is excited about skating the contest since it usually features a nice course. Unfortunately, we also have some Lauren-related news to report that is not of the good variety. On her trip to Mexico last week to shoot photos with SG Magazine, someone broke into the vehicle in which she was traveling and stole footage, photos and some of Lauren’s personal items. Not only did she lose some of her personal stuff, but the thief got away with all of the work she had done on the trip.

Stay tuned for next week’s updates on the contest in Oz.

Snow Team Report 2.07.05

Congrats go out to Janna Meyen, who just claimed her third consecutive X Games Slopestyle win! In the wake of this glory, Janna will focus on filming with the Volcom project for the rest of the season. She might head to Tahoe for the Triple Crown, but if the conditions are good somewhere else, she may just give up another easy win...Ouch!

Alexis Waite is doing great after taking a bad fall during practice at the X Games. After consulting with her doctor, the decision was made not to operate since she is healing so well. She did fracture her wrist, unfortunately, but other than that, she's been in high spirits. In fact, she and Leanne Pelosi jumped on a flight to San Diego to visit some friends and do a little shopping to take her mind off the injury. Lexi is staying very positive and motivated throughout this time, and she may even head to Tahoe if she feels up to competing.

In other snow related news...

Alexis Waite, Leanne Pelosi, Jacqui Berg and Laura Hadar have been traveling all over the West Coast filming and shooting for Misschief Films. They've been putting their hearts and souls into this project, so be prepared...

Other than that, Leanne Pelosi will be heading to Iceland with some of the TransWorld crew after the Triple Crown to cover some untouched terrain.

Upcoming Events

Feb. 9-11 – Mammoth On-Snow Demo – Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
Feb. 11-13 – Triple Crown of Snowboarding – Northstar-at-Tahoe, Truckee, Calif.
Feb. 14-18 – The Park Wide Open #2 – Bear Mountain, Calif.
Feb. 19-22 – Boot Camp 3 (Team Week) – The Canyons, Park City, Utah

Skate Team Report 2.04.05

Lauren Perkins has been quite busy lately, and her schedule won’t be clearing up anytime soon. Since the snow has been good in California, she’s been doing a lot of snowboarding—most recently, in Mammoth for the weekend. Pretty soon, she’ll be able to make the drive up to Mammoth herself because she just bought her first car. Congrats on the new ride, Lauren! Now all she needs to do is finish her driver’s education and pass the test to get her license. Piece of cake! Before she tackles her driver’s ed, however, she’ll head out to Melbourne, Australia, on February 7, where she will be competing in the World Cup of Skateboarding contest that’s taking place there February 11-13. Let’s see, what else? Oh, yeah! She just did a Q & A for the May issue of Seventeen Magazine, complete with photos and all! As you certainly know, Seventeen is a very big deal, so keep your eyes peeled for it when it comes out at the beginning of April. And last but not least, she just finished off a photo shoot with SG Magazine, and is in Mexico with SG again today and tomorrow for another shoot, so keep your peepers peepin’ for this one as well.

Elissa Steamer has been out with the flu, which unfortunately turned into an ear infection. Since she’s been sick, she hasn’t been up to much—just getting some much needed rest and relaxation to get over it. Elissa, like Lauren, will be headed out to Australia for the World Cup of Skateboarding contest in mid-February. Until then, she’ll just be recuperating and chilling at her place in San Francisco.

etnies Skatepark Free for 2005!

This week, Pierre André Senizergues, owner and CEO of etnies, presented the Lake Forest City Council with $30,000 to keep the etnies Skatepark free of charge for another year. He also made a generous donation to the City in 2003 to make the park free to all during its first year of operation. In addition to this donation, Senizergues is continuing to work with public and private community organizations to provide kids with a safe place to skate and ride BMX bikes at no charge.

The etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest is currently one of the largest skateparks in the nation with over 40,000 square feet of terrain. The park was created by etnies and the City of Lake Forest, Calif., with strong community support and input, and is currently skated by more than 1,500 visitors a week.

Can You Say Threepeat?

It's safe to say that this is the year of “threes” for Janna Meyen. After having not one, not two, but three knee surgeries in one year, no one knew what to expect from her at the Winter 2005 X Games held in Aspen, Colo., over the weekend. With a strong circle of support and a rigorous training program, she has been working hard to get back into optimal shape in order to continue her reign as the top rider in women’s snowboarding. Janna proved she’s back on top by taking home her third consecutive X Games Slopestyle gold medal!

Details of her winning run include a 50-50 flat down, frontside 180, Cab off the hip, backside 540, Cab 540 and, to finish it off, a frontside 540.

etnies Girl and ThirtyTwo would like to thank Janna for all of her hard work, passion and serious comeback skills this year, enabling her to nail the 2005 X Games gold...not to mention a grand prize of $20,000. Congratulations, Janna!

Meet Shayla, the etnies Girl of the Month

Shayla, the etnies Girl of the Month, describes herself as “the ultimate Cali girl.” The 19-year-old Long Beach, Calif., native is getting her first taste of winter weather as a freshman at Pace University in New York City, where she is majoring in English with a concentration in Language and Literature, and pursuing a minor in Law. Shayla first caught our eye at Seventeen magazine’s “17 Style Groove” event featuring Ashanti at the Virgin Mega Store Union Square in Manhattan. We later caught up with her to talk about learning how to surf, what inspires her and the best piece of advice she’s ever received.

etnies Girl: So, Shayla, what are your interests?
Shayla: My many interests include fashion and design, surfing, body boarding, film and music.

etnies Girl: What are your talents?
Shayla: I’m a lot more compassionate than a lot of people I know, and I’m really good at conveying my own feelings. I think that’s kind of a talent, because a lot of people can’t do that.

etnies Girl: How did you get involved in surfing?
Shayla: I learned how to surf a few summers ago after meeting people who knew how to surf at various beaches in Orange County, Calif. It looked so fun, and I was not very active, so I figured that surfing would be a great way for me to begin to be more active. Plus, I love the beach—I used to go all the time after work. I began with body boarding and then moved on to surfing. It was hard and at times scary; however, a few scratches, bruises and gallons of water swallowed were not reason enough for me to quit! Since I live in New York City now, I want to start skateboarding. I plan to start soon.

etnies Girl: What do you like about etnies Girl?
Shayla: It’s really cute. I like stuff that’s comfortable, that I can just throw on with a miniskirt and go. etnies has cute shoes, and they also have shoes I could skate in. I love the “Tattoo” tee and tank tops. There are cute hats, too, and I like the bags.

etnies Girl: Why are you an etnies Girl?
Shayla: I think that I’m an etnies Girl because I’m very outgoing and I’m not afraid to try things. Despite how dangerous and difficult it is, I continue to surf when I go home on vacation from school because I believe it creates character, the ability to work hard and requires a profuse amount of dedication and fearlessness. I’m also pretty driven, and I’m into the whole surf/skate lifestyle. I think that etnies are for the girl who can hangout with the boys and still look cute. That’s me!

etnies Girl: What do you do for fun?
Shayla: I like to shop, write and take pictures. At night, I like to go dancing. I like to go to the movie theater—I go to the movies every week—and in New York I like going to comedy clubs. I pretty much just like hanging out, watching TV and funny movies. I’m not necessarily a homebody, but unless I’m at the beach or at the mall, I usually like to be at home!

etnies Girl: Where do you find inspiration?
Shayla: My inspiration comes from watching people who are very driven and very ambitious, especially when they have obstacles in their way. I like to overcome things—it makes me feel good. I don’t think that it would be very wise to look up to a certain person just because they look nice, or whatever. I want to model my life after people who have done things—good things—and I want to do good things with my life. Bethany Hamilton inspires me, because when I first got into surfing, I got into a surfing accident, and I was scared to get into the water again. And then I was reading in a magazine about Bethany, and they were talking about how this girl gets her arm bitten off, and she’s still surfing! As soon as she can, she’s back in the water. And I was like, wow, I didn’t want to get into the water because I got hit in the head by a surfboard, and this girl gets her arm bitten off. It really made me take a good look at myself, and see that I was afraid for nothing. It can always be worse, and you can make the best of what you have.

etnies Girl: You don’t often see a lot of African American surfers in the water. Did you feel like you fit in, or did you feel awkward when you were first starting out?
Shayla: No, not really, only because I’ve always been pretty much the only African American in my crowd. No one ever said anything to me, or looked at me differently. A lot of people who I surf with, they were people from my job, so I was just one of the girls, you know? The only time that I feel insecure or awkward is around other African American people who don’t feel that I’m being “black enough,” because I don’t listen to hip hop, or because I would go to the beach instead of, I don’t know, going to a 50 Cent concert. I don’t know—that’s just who I am. I like being around people who are like me, and I learned the hard way that you have to be yourself. I tried doing other things, and tried to be something that I wasn’t, and it just didn’t work for me. So, I’d rather just be around people who are like me, whether they’re black, white, et cetera.

etnies Girl: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten?
Shayla: After I graduated from high school, I took a year off from school because my family didn’t want me to leave. I stayed at home, but I knew that there was more in the world than just Long Beach—I wanted to go see the world. Finally, my mom said, “Do what makes you happy.” When I got to school, I couldn’t believe that I had wasted a year of my life sitting at home feeling sorry for myself so I could please my family, when I should just please myself. So that’s when my whole attitude changed: I’m going to do what makes me happy, and I’m not going to worry about what other people think. My mom had told me that for a long time, but it wasn’t until I finally got it that I became happy with myself and became a happier person overall.

etnies Girl: What’s really important to you?
Shayla: My mom is really, really important to me, because I feel like there’s really no one else in my life that cares about me the way she does, or supports me the way that she does. It’s my love for her that inspires me to go and get an education, to work hard to get good grades, to want to go to law school, to do everything that I want to do. I’m just preparing myself for being successful when I’m older and being able to take care of her. That’s what’s most important to me. I’m looking forward to being able to give back to her for everything she’s done for me.

etnies Girl: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
Shayla: I’m a goofball! If you hang out with me, you’ll have loads of fun laughing at me and all of the silly things that I do.

Shayla's Favorite Things

Place: “My room at home. There’s really no place like home, and I really did not know that until I left! Before, it was a tie between the beach and the mall.”
Animal: “Dolphins. I love them. I used to love listening to the stories about how sailors would think they were mermaids because if they fell off the ship, dolphins would save them. They’re so smart and they’re so cute. They’re the best animal ever.”
Color: White
Hangout: The Boogie in Orange County, Calif.
City: “Malibu—it’s so beautiful.”
Song: “It always changes, but my favorite song right now is ‘A Decade Under the Influence’ by Taking Back Sunday. I love that song so much.”
Band: “I love The Starting Line, Blink 182, Dashboard Confessional, The Used, The Vines, Hot Hot Heat, Punchline, Taking Back Sunday, Trapt, New Found Glory, The Strokes. I love so many bands, it’s ridiculous! I have everyone’s CD.”
Book: “Motherless Brooklyn,” by Jonathan Lethem
Movie: “Clueless”
TV show: “Sex and the City”
Sport: Surfing
Game: “Super Mario for Nintendo. It’s the best game ever!”
Food: “Steak! I love steak so much; I could eat it every single night.”
Candy: “Milk Almond by See’s Candy. I eat about a pound a week!”
Holiday: Christmas
Smell: “I like the way that it smells on a clear day, right after it rains. It’s so fresh, and you can smell the flowers.”
Hobby: “I love listening to music and writing little songs.”
Guilty pleasure: “I eat way too much pasta! I know it’s going to catch up with me someday, but I can eat an entire pot of pasta by myself.”
Hero: “This is so cheesy, but, again, my mom. I love my mom so much.”
etnies shoe: “I really like the Trixie. They are so adorable!”

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etnies Girl of the Month
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25422 Trabuco Rd., Suite 105 #235
Lake Forest, CA 92609

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