Balancing Waves: Alana Blanchard's Story
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Surfing is my happy place. It's my meditation, it's how i get out my stress, it kind of takes me to that place where all the noise goes away. I honestly feel like I fell in love with surfing again when I had kids. When stuff is getting crazy around the house we just get into nature and it's our cure."
-Alana Blanchard
As our car wound its way up the mountain, our crew rode in silence, eyes locked on the darkening skyline. Wind whipped through the rolled cracks of the rolled down windows, as large droplets splashed the windshield and turned the dusty path before us into thick, red clay.
With any shoot there’s a certain amount of variability that’s outside our control – timing, travel, the elements. A proverbial and literal roll of the dice. For our Mother’s Day shoot with Vuori collaborator and professional surfer Alana Blanchard on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, it turned out to be all three.
The “garden island” and its big reputation for rain greeted us with not just a sprinkle, but a downpour, and an ever-shrinking window to get our shot. With any other talent we might have missed the moment altogether.
But not with Alana.
When we finally made it to the top of the long driveway, we were greeted by Bingo, a stray white and brown mix, Alana and Jack adopted who cautiously assessed our group before deciding she’d let us stick around for a bit. Alana came out next with a warm smile and waved us inside, laughing at our worry over the passing storm with an “oh, that always happens here!”
This unshakeable sense of self. This ease, assurance, and calm even in the face of chaos. Whether watching her play outside barefoot with her two young boys, picking oranges from the knobbly trees in the lush expanse of their property, or charge head on into Hawaiian surf, one thing about her is clear: She’s a mother. A professional surfer. A stray dog wrangler. She’s all of it and yet still fully herself.
Listening to Alana talk about motherhood was similar to listening to her talk about surfing: it is simply a part of who she is. She is not shy to share her moments of stress or uncertainty, times where she struggled, how she found her way through it, and the ways she works to put herself first so her whole family can thrive.
Throughout the day Alana happily rolled with the punches and we found pockets of sunshine to capture her running around with her young boys in their own backyard paradise. Towards the end of the day, we took a narrow winding path through a bit of jungle, to a small hidden beach that we had all to ourselves, to capture the family paddling out and playing in the waves.
With lush island palms still wet with rain behind us and stunning clear water in front, the sun finally came out to stay in a surreal moment of calm. While the idea of simultaneously trying to teach two young, little boys how to surf might seem overwhelming to some, Alana and her partner Jack approached the task with an incredible balance of love, patience, and fun.
"My goal is just to surf with them. I don't care if they're professional surfers. I just hope they love it like I do. And we can all go surf together and have the best time.”
The life of an active mother and professional athlete go hand in hand with some of our favorite Vuori products. Check out some of Alana’s favorite products she wore and some great gift ideas for the mom figure in your life in our Mother’s Day Gift Guide.