Creating a Women's Surf Collective with Jessa Williams

Wild Ideas Worth Living

REI Co-op

Rei, Writing, Trailrunning, Mountaineering, Author, Sailing, Girlboss, Sports, Environmentalism, Lifestyle, Health, Entrepreneurship, Snowboarding, Paddle, Activelifestyle, Outdoorsports, Rockclimbing, Health & Fitness, Running, Surfing, Inspiration, Athlete, Skiing, Nutrition, Vegan, Alternativelifestyle, Watersports, Podcast, Camping, Climbing, Yoga, Travel, Society & Culture, Snowsports, Places & Travel, Cycling, Backpacking, Fitness, Adventure, Wilderness, Endurancesports, Wildideas, Outdoors, Sup, Womensadventure

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jessa Williams is the founder of Intrsxtn Surf, a Los Angeles-based surf collective dedicated to empowering Black women and women of color through surfing. After discovering the ocean as a space for healing and self-discovery, she launched Intrsxtn just one year after learning to surf. Since then, she has introduced hundreds of women to the waves, creating a supportive community that challenges traditional surf culture and celebrates inclusivity, resilience, and joy in the water.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I've been surfing since I was 11, and the sport has had a huge impact on my life.
0:07.9	In my 20s, I worked as a surf instructor, and I even met my partner Johnny in the water in Costa Rica.
0:15.0	The courage I've gained from surfing has helped me in so many parts of my life, including
0:20.0	taking the leap to pursue a career as an
0:22.2	adventure journalist. Surfer Jessa Williams shares a similar journey, except she learned to surf just five
0:28.6	years ago after taking her son to his first surf lesson. The sport has been a catalyst for Jessa to build a
0:35.4	new community and to become more vulnerable,
0:38.5	both in and out of the water.
0:41.7	One thing that's so great about surfing is that it teaches you to trust yourself.
0:46.6	Because no matter what, like I can be right there next to the girl that I'm teaching and I can say,
0:51.8	okay, this is the timing, this is the body positioning
0:54.7	you need. Like when the wave comes, you have to do it, and there's nothing I can do for you in that
1:01.3	moment. And I think that's what leads to, like, the experience being so empowering for so many of us.
1:10.6	Jesso Williams is the founder of Intersection Surf, a woman's surf collective based in Los Angeles.
1:17.5	For Jessa, the ocean is a place where she gets to disconnect from her busy life and empower other
1:23.2	black women.
1:24.7	It was only a year after she learned a surf that Jessa launched intersection.
1:29.3	But since then, she's taught hundreds of women of color to ride waves.
1:34.1	I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production, presented
1:41.2	by Capital One and the REI Co-op MasterCard.
1:47.8	Jessa Williams, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living.
1:52.0	Shelby, thank you so much.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from REI Co-op, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of REI Co-op and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.