La Familia

Written and Photographed by Rick Perez

The Latinx Surf Club is a space that represents the Latinx community in surfing, created by Vanessa Yeager. Rick Perez attended a meet up one Sunday morning and talked to the members about breaking stereotypes, supporting each other, and the importance of seeing people who look like them in the line-up.

Newport Beach, California, USA

The wet concrete felt like ice as I walked barefoot towards the sand. The early morning sun hadn’t dried the ground yet so I hurried to warm up my toes. As I passed through a busy parking lot, I gazed through the cars to find a big blue van. This was my first time at Newport beach, California and although I didn’t anticipate this many people so early in the morning, it was nice to see so many dedicated surfers parading back and forth from the water. Finally, the blue van came into view and I walked up and met with my new friend, Vanessa Yeager, organizer of the Latinx Surf Club.

I’ve been following the Latinx Surf Club on Instagram for awhile. I’ve always loved surf culture but noticed that it’s heavily dominated by Caucasian males. When I came across the Latinx Surf Club, it was refreshing to see my fellow Latinx gente be celebrated on the waves. I decided to reach out and attend a meeting one Sunday morning.

Right away, Vanessa was warm and friendly. She introduced me to her husband and son and immediately loved how these meet-ups were family affairs. Standing outside her van, with my feet still frozen, I asked Vanessa about her background as a surfer and how she became the organizer of the Latinx Surf Club.

Vanessa grew up in Moreno Valley, California, about an hour inland from the coast. No one in her Mexican family surfed and was introduced to surfing by a high school boyfriend. “I first started surfing and going to the beach when I was in high school,” she began. “By the time I graduated high school, I was fully obsessed and I wanted to be a real surfer. I had to find out what being a real surfer even meant.” She made the move to Newport Beach at 18 years old and hasn’t looked back since. “From that point on, I intended to create a life around surfing.”

I asked Vanessa why she started the club and why she thought it was valuable to other people. “It was important for me to create the club because it is the space that I wish existed when I was younger,” she expressed. “I feel that it is important for others so they don’t feel so alone when they are going surfing. Even if they are just dreaming about surfing, they can come to the Facebook group or the Instagram page and see faces that look like theirs. I hope it will give them inspiration and let them feel proud of others who are already doing it.”

As we talked, more and more members of the club started congregating around the blue van. One of the members, Sarah Ramos, arrived with a box of pan dulce, which are Mexican pastries generally eaten for breakfast with coffee. We all jumped on them and they took me back to my parents house, where there’s a container that is always filled with pan dulce. There’s an immediate connection that foods like this create within Latinx communities and it is this connection that makes this group feel like home.

Cheerful and seemingly positive, I wanted to know Sarah’s story. Why did she join the club? “I had a lot of health problems and I was super weak,” Sarah opened up. “I love the ocean, its therapeutic, and I knew I had to get back out there; I just couldn’t find a community that fit me.” Around October of 2020, Sarah linked up with Vanessa and the Latinx Surf Club, and she found the community she was looking for. “We had a lot of things to talk about outside of surfing: family, culture. It brings (friendship) down to a whole different level.”

For Sarah, a Mexicana, connecting with other Latinx people is important but connecting with other females in surfing is essential. “It’s important as females,” she explains, “especially with our body types, you never see us out there. I’m trying to break that mold. You can have those (surfer) stereotypes but we’re also here. I’m a curvy girl and I know I am but you better believe I’m going to be in the line up.” At the end of the day, Sarah says that it’s all about supporting each other. “It’s never a competition, we’re always cheering each other on; it makes you want to come out more.”

Talking with other members of the group, I was pleasantly surprised to meet people who traveled from out of town to meet up. One of which was Edwin Lopez, who lives in San Diego, California and recently moved from Maryland 5 months ago. “San Diego is big in surfing,” he says, “but I never found a group that was welcoming. It’s hard to find a group of Latinos who surf despite how close we are to the border.”

Two other members, Nick Paz and Michelle Peres, both came down from the Bay Area and connected with the Latinx Surf Club via Instagram. It was their first time coming to a meet up and stopped here while on a surf trip down the coast.

Nick, a first generation American born of Bolivian parents, appreciates the sense of community that the Latinx Surf Club provides. “There’s only like 5 other Latinos in the line up in the Bay Area,” he says, “It’s nice to fit in and connect with other people from similar backgrounds.”

For Michelle, a first generation Guatemalan-American with Mayan roots, seeing other women of color in the line up is the most meaningful. “My skin tells everything,” she says, “I’m always the darkest one in the line up and I don’t have a lot of representation.” She continues to explain how women are sexualized in surf culture. “There’s plenty of brown men who are professionals and don’t get sexualized,” Michelle said, “That’s why it’s important for me to see Vanessa or other women in the community who are strong, independent, have curves, having style, and kicking ass. It’s not only important to have a community but also have women in my life that I can look up to.”

As the feeling in my toes started coming back, I asked them, “Why do you think there aren’t lot of Latinx people surfing?” Their answer: lack of money and lack of community.

“There’s a high price tag for surfing,” Nick explained. “It’s also generational. A lot of surfers have family who surf or who grew up near the water. If there’s not that community, that background, or those teachers to tell us how to surf, then it makes it that much harder.”

“If you don’t know the knowledge that comes with surfing, it’s hard to even start,” Michelle added.

Finishing my pan dulce, I took out my camera and turned into a fly on the wall. The group in front of Vanessa’s blue van grew to over 10 people, all with a common love for surfing and pride in their culture. After a little while, they put on their wetsuits, stretched, grabbed their boards, and headed towards the water. I stayed on the shore and photographed mi gente riding the waves, experiencing joy, fervor, and connection with one another in the line up.

With my toes finally warm, I went back home to Los Angeles and I thought about the wonderful community Vanessa made. No matter how different or out of place we may feel out in the world, in the Latinx Surf Club, we are among our people, sharing in the same passion. I’m excited to see how much this club grows and I look forward to eating pan dulce on the beach with them again; I’ll just remember to bring my chanclas next time so my feet don’t freeze.