In celebration of 'International Women's Day', it seemed only right to catch up with one of LA's most stylish surfers in and out of the water and a reigning Queen of Malibu.
It's no secret that Kassia Meador is an icon in the longboard world. A fixture at Malibu from the age of 14, she soaked up the style of 1960s surfing that is still alive today at First Point.
"Growing up surfing in Malibu, for a valley girl like I was, ... was amazing," Meador recently told the WSL on a breezy afternoon in Santa Monica. "It was really nostalgic. Everybody was riding old-school boards in a traditional way. And I really feel like it helped posture me and my whole awareness about surfing."
By 17, Meador was a sponsored surfer traveling the world, and competing on the WSL World Longboard Tour.
Soon after, she was spotted by filmmaker and artist Thomas Campbell who at the time was famous in the skateboarding world for his work with a then relatively unknown brand out of NYC called Supreme.
Thomas Campbell behind the lens. - WSL / Devon Howard
Campbell was amassing a group of the best young log riders for a film he was shooting called 'Sprout.' Kassia would ultimately be featured on screen alongside Joel Tudor, Dane Peterson and Devon Howard. The film is part of a trilogy now widely credited for reintroducing the world to the art of classic longboarding.
"Thomas was a big inspiration to me and a lot of us on really working on our other creative endeavours and putting it out there and seeing where that would take us."
Now as Meador reflects on the current longboard scene she helped to define, she sees a whole new crop of young female talent carrying the torch.
All the action from Finals Day at the Noosa Longboard Open presented by Thomas Surfboards.
"Women's longboarding is in an amazing place right now. The people I love watching, Karina Rozunko, Kelis Kaleopa'a, Honolua Blomfield, those are some of my top favorites. It's just really sweet that longboarding is having this total rebirth, that has a lot about tradition and has a lot about progression. That I feel like is a beautiful marriage."
Catch Up With LA's Longboard Icon
Sean Martin
In celebration of 'International Women's Day', it seemed only right to catch up with one of LA's most stylish surfers in and out of the water and a reigning Queen of Malibu.
It's no secret that Kassia Meador is an icon in the longboard world. A fixture at Malibu from the age of 14, she soaked up the style of 1960s surfing that is still alive today at First Point.
"Growing up surfing in Malibu, for a valley girl like I was, ... was amazing," Meador recently told the WSL on a breezy afternoon in Santa Monica. "It was really nostalgic. Everybody was riding old-school boards in a traditional way. And I really feel like it helped posture me and my whole awareness about surfing."
By 17, Meador was a sponsored surfer traveling the world, and competing on the WSL World Longboard Tour.
Soon after, she was spotted by filmmaker and artist Thomas Campbell who at the time was famous in the skateboarding world for his work with a then relatively unknown brand out of NYC called Supreme.
Campbell was amassing a group of the best young log riders for a film he was shooting called 'Sprout.' Kassia would ultimately be featured on screen alongside Joel Tudor, Dane Peterson and Devon Howard. The film is part of a trilogy now widely credited for reintroducing the world to the art of classic longboarding.
"Thomas was a big inspiration to me and a lot of us on really working on our other creative endeavours and putting it out there and seeing where that would take us."
Now as Meador reflects on the current longboard scene she helped to define, she sees a whole new crop of young female talent carrying the torch.
"Women's longboarding is in an amazing place right now. The people I love watching, Karina Rozunko, Kelis Kaleopa'a, Honolua Blomfield, those are some of my top favorites. It's just really sweet that longboarding is having this total rebirth, that has a lot about tradition and has a lot about progression. That I feel like is a beautiful marriage."
Karina Rozunko
'The WSL Vault' archives open Monday, see what boards Cam Richards is riding, cold water points in Canada and Mason Ho on the Rad Ripper.
K. Kaleopaa vs. Sierra Lerback vs. Karina Rozunko vs. Ivy Thomas
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Taylor Jensen and Karina Rozunko take top honors in the Australian Longboard Surfing Open.
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