Girl Gone Wild: Rhea Cortado

 I met Rhea during a summer party thrown by Insight at their Venice Beach store last year. I was there with a friend who worked at Surfer, so I figured I'd be listening to surf talk all night (not that I mind, but I was in need of a little girl talk that night). Luckily, the two of us got to talking by the bar and I realized girl talk could be surf talk, too! We chatted about our experience, the boards we wanted and, yes, her really cute shoes. By the end of the night, we were having so much fun we decided to go to another location to continue our chat. It's been a few months since then, so I emailed up my long-lost friend so she could share some of her ocean-based wisdom with you:

My name is Rhea Cortado and I live in Venice Beach, California. I'm originally from Watsonville in Northern California where I grew up learning to love the beaches and redwoods of Santa Cruz and local, farm fresh produce.

I'm a scatterbrain and can only comprehend today, in the present. I’m also a writer as an occupation and can only work for a very efficient five to six hours in front of the computer before I hit a wall and have to go outside and do something active.

I admire women who make their livelihood by pursuing their passion and love it so much that you can feel it, energetically from them. I like to call it “palpable stoke.” I love women who have palpable stoke. I also love women who are self-confident, independent, totally happy, alone but not lonely.

When I have a weekend off from working, I usually spend it surfing and sunning at the beach in the morning until I reach physical exhaustion and then trying some new cooking experiment for dinner and dessert with my favorite girlfriends and/or my boyfriend. 

My favorite place to spend time outdoors is the beach because I love the water and someone told me that the ions released when water crashes is scientifically proven to be relaxing. Even just walking on the beach or walking around mountainous areas where you can see the coastline in the distance feels like everything will be all right with the world.

Surfing has taught me patience, discipline, humbleness, payoff for work and commitment, and that whatever was bothering you in the parking lot doesn’t matter anymore when you’re floating out in the middle of the wild ocean. 

One luxury item I always have with me is my Shiseido sunscreen while I’m outdoors. And a Hermes bracelet my sister gave me for when I’m doing the city girl thing.

This fall I'll be in the southwest of France cooking up a storm as the in-house chef for Surf Sistas and Big Friday surf camps through September and October.

One thing I'd love to learn to do is commit to a yoga practice because I like how there is a spiritual and physical component to it and I always feel refreshed after class. I'd also love to learn how to get over being scared of falling from tall heights because I would love to get out to the desert and learn how to rock climb!

My favorite piece of advice for living a healthy lifestyle is to care and pay attention about what you put into your body. Many ailments and illnesses originate from poor diet. And take some time for yourself every day—whether it’s preparing your own food, doing something active outside, having a crafty creative hour or book-and-hammock time. Your work life will be more productive and your personal relationships more mutually rewarding when you’re a happy, mentally and physically well-balanced person.

Thanks Rhea! If you want to see more of the radness Rhea's putting out everyday, check out her blog TheSurftorialist.com. 

Images by Allan Nadel and Kate Czuczman