Don’t look down—stumbling into surfing at 39

👋 hey, i’m Suzanne

I didn’t plan to learn to surf. I stumbled into it. I’m a 53-year-old surfer and I got into surfing at 39.

I was on holiday in Morocco when I met someone in a bar who mentioned surfing and offered me a lesson the next day. I’ve always loved movement and trying new physical things, and I was curious so I said yes. That first session changed something immediately. I fell in love straight away.

It wasn’t even about being good—it was the feeling it gave me: the exertion, the movement, the ocean, the salt, the tiredness. I was fascinated by how it was even possible to ride a wave. But more than that, I remember how focused I felt. Everything else went quiet. I was completely immersed in the moment—free, present, and oddly calm in a way I hadn’t experienced for a long time.

🏄‍♀️ don’t look down

For about a year after that, I tried to surf on my own in the white water with very little success. I didn’t really know what I was doing. Then one day an instructor shouted at me from the beach: “Don’t look down.” That single piece of advice changed everything.

Suddenly I stayed on the board. I started catching my first baby white waves more consistently. It’s still one of the best bits of advice I’ve ever been given.

🌴 sri lanka and the first green waves

My brother later bought me an improver weekend in the UK, where I’m from. While I was there, I found out they were organising a winter surf trip to Sri Lanka. I signed up and travelled out in 2013. That’s where I caught my first green waves—and where something much bigger started.

When I returned to the UK, I knew I wanted to make some major changes in my life. Surfing had been a catalyst for that, even if I couldn’t fully articulate why at the time. I’d started surfing during a particularly difficult period, and it gave me escape, pride, challenge, and joy—something that helped carry me through.

I took a sabbatical from work and returned to Sri Lanka the following year with the same surf school, staying for three months to surf and travel around Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Over the coming year I also attended surf camps and retreats across Europe and Asia, largely tacked on when I was travelling with work.

I learned a lot, but I also noticed something missing. What I was looking for didn’t really exist.

So I decided to build it myself.

🌺 building something for women like me

I wanted to create a surf experience for women like me: women learning to surf as adults, passionate about progressing, but wanting to do so in a relaxed, empathetic, non-pressured environment. Somewhere supportive and non-competitive, both in and out of the water. A place where women could feel comfortable, challenged, and safe at the same time.

Sri Lanka always stayed in my heart. It has incredible variety, beautiful landscapes, and waves that are ideal for learning and progression. I left my job in the UK in 2015 and moved to Singapore as a stepping stone, spending five years travelling back and forth to Sri Lanka—surfing, learning about the country, and exploring where and how I might one day create something of my own.

In January 2020, just before Covid, I moved to Sri Lanka to start that dream. The pandemic delayed everything by a couple of years, but it also gave me space. Time to refine what I really wanted to build. I eventually realised that to create the experience I envisioned, I’d have to start from scratch.

So in March 2023, I bought a three-acre plot of land slightly inland, surrounded by natural Sri Lankan landscaping, fruit trees, and paddy field views. I wanted to offer calm, peace, and space—not just for surfing, but for rest, recovery, and escape too.

🏡 the sevana

Now, that vision has become The Sevana, which means shade and protection in Sinhala.

I run women-only surf retreats led by an experienced woman head coach. The retreats are level-based, with small groups, tailored coaching, carefully chosen surf breaks, and a focus on helping women progress with confidence and clarity.

Before this, I spent much of my career working in men’s football, where I was often one of very few women in the room. Surfing, at times, can feel similar. Being used to male-dominated spaces shaped my understanding of what it means to feel visible, supported, and safe—and it played a big part in why I wanted to create something specifically for women.

Every woman arrives with her own context—her body, history, confidence, fears, and motivations—and that matters. Learning to surf as an adult isn’t a blank slate, and any meaningful coaching has to account for the whole person, not just what happens on the board.

There are no shortcuts in surfing, but there are kinder, smarter ways to learn. Ways that build solid foundations, confidence, and momentum—not just for the week or two you’re away, but for when you return home too.

🌍 giving back to the ocean community

Along this journey, I’ve also come to understand surfing as a global community—one that crosses borders, cultures, and privilege. The ocean gives a lot. It’s important to give back.

In Sri Lanka, I’m a sponsor of Sea Sisters, an organisation that teaches girls and women how to surf, but also supports far more than time in the water. Their work focuses on confidence, skills, and long-term economic and financial empowerment for women who might not otherwise have access to these opportunities. Supporting them feels like a natural extension of why I surf and why I built this experience.

A portion of each surf retreat also goes towards organisations in Sri Lanka that support women and marginalised communities more broadly. Surfing doesn’t exist in isolation from the places and people that make it possible.

Along the way, I’ve been so lucky to meet extraordinary women—some who’ve become friends for life, and others I’m about to meet for the first time in the water.

This story is still unfolding. But for the first time, I truly feel I’m doing something that’s deeply aligned with who I am, how I surf, and the kind of community I want to be part of.

And I’m really looking forward to meeting more women in the ocean.

You can check out all the upcoming surf retreats at The Sevana in the All Things Surf Directory.