Ocean activist and froth queen Pacha Light dialled in from Ecuador to chat surf, story and stoke with Dave Rastovich and Lauren Hill: listen to this special Waterpeople episode here.
Raised on a diet of deep ecology and the DIY spirit of her single mum, Pacha Light earned her first surfboard busking as a tween. She then forged her way into professional surfing as a teenager on Australia’s Gold Coast: signing a big endemic sponsor, training every day, and making a name for herself as a competitor and surf model.
Until she couldn’t do it any longer. She felt she was not fully in alignment with her values.
Still, along the way, Pacha found her storytelling voice, bringing depth and meaning to her surf travel by weaving in local social and environmental projects wherever she went. Her three part Women of the Sea series dove into the rich aquatic cultures adjacent to surfing in Japan and South Korea.
Now in her early 20s, Pacha talks us through what led her to say “thanks, but no thanks” to her long-time surfing sponsor. She shares about the search for belonging after her father’s passing, vying for a spot in the Olympics, and “understanding that we are called to be a part of the Earth protecting itself.”
