Sustainable Well-Being with Sophie Hellyer—Cold Water, Clean Oceans & Rise Fierce

 

Sustainable Well-Being is a special 5-episode series of Into the Well with host Ryan Willms, in collaboration with Allbirds and their community initiative, Allgood Collective. The episodes cover a variety of topics from regenerative farming and running, to cleaning up the oceans and dream interpretation. We dive in with deep with inspiring individuals that are co-creating a world of connection, growth and sustainable well-being for themselves, their community and for our planet.

On this episode Ryan speaks with professional surfer and activist Sophie Hellyer, about her early days as a teenage professional surfer from the United Kingdom and navigating the industry as a young women. We get into the power of cold water, a theme that’s become central to her lifestyle and to her community, Rise Fierce, that brings women together to push their boundaries, face their fears and grow as human beings in connection.

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It’s not about body positivity, it’s about body neutrality. It needs to be about having fun and doing the thing, not what we look like doing it... go to the gym because you appreciate that your body moves and how cool is it that you can pick up your kids without getting hurt!
— Sophie Hellyer

SHOW NOTES

• 2:30 Growing up surfing in North Devon, UK

• 6:45 Cultural of sexism in surfing industry and navigating as a teenager

• 13:00 Story of how Sophie first became inspired to clean up the oceans

• 15:00 Important to make small sustainable changes as individuals with plastics and tampons

• 21:00 Learning to consume less and de-conditioning the impulse to buy

• 24:00 The magic of surfing and harmonizing with nature

• 25:00 Working with charity Get Out, to connect impoverished communities to the natural world

• 29:00 Getting to know the cold water in a new way

• 36:00 Creating women-only spaces and retreats and how it’s different from mixed groups

• 41:30 Talking about periods, tampons and shedding the shame and judgement of contraception

• 49:00 The power of using your voice on social media to be honest and how it can be scary

• 57:30 Everyone has gone through trauma…

• 58:30 Listening to others and asking for help, working with a therapist

• 60:00 Falling in love with Yoga

• 65:00 Doing things with intention and awareness; from Netflix to Instagram to eating

• 67:45 Conker season and reminiscing over childhood

• 72:00 Body neutrality vs body positivity: it’s about having fun and doing the thing, not what we look like

• 75:45 Consciously working with brands and creating Rise Fierce retreats