Back in November of 2020, in typical quarantine boredom, I started thumbing through my husband’s magazine subscriptions, desperate for anything new to read. That’s when I first saw the amazing story of Gigi Lucas and the extraordinary foundation she has created, SurfearNEGRA. Who would have thought that on the cover of Garden & Gun I would find one of the most inspiring women I’ve met recently?
Gigi was working in the corporate world in New York, far from the beaches and waves we think of in the surfing world. She relocated to Costa Rica and during her years there learning to surf and to appreciate the water, she realized how few women there were in the surfing world and particularly how few women of color. She began to explore what the barriers were that prevented Black women from learning the sport.
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What resulted is a non-profit, SurfearNEGRA, aiming to inspire school-aged girls to try surfing and to give them the resources they need to surf. Whether it’s transportation, gear, surf camps, or on-land wave pool training, SurfearNEGRA is breaking barriers in a big way. Now located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida where the beaches were segregated for much of history, you can see young women of color riding the waves in record numbers thanks to Gigi’s hard work and dedication.
Please watch the video of our interview with Gigi and see the resources below to contribute to this very worthy cause!
Resources:
Sponsor-A-Girl Campaign
Donate and Shop
Are you inspired by SurfearNEGRA? What did you learn from our conversation with Gigi? Let us know below!
About SurfearNEGRA
SurfearNEGRA is a 501c3 organization focused on bringing cultural & gender diversity to the sport of surf.
Through strategic partnerships and year round programming, SurfearNEGRA is empowering kids everywhere to #diversifythelineup!
Website: SurfearNEGRA
Instagram: @surfearnegra
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