What I've Learnt - Pacha Light

WHAT I'VE LEARNT

If you haven't heard of Pacha Light yet remember the name because the rising star in Aussie surfing is about to be everywhere. She is making her mark whole changing the world one wave at a time.

The 20-year-old is currently ranked fourth in the World Surf League’s Pro Junior series and is gunning for the World Championship Tour.

Aside from an incredible talent the Go Pro ambassador also has a heart of gold, using her significant Insta following to spread her love for the sport with young girls and encourage awareness about the environment.

I chat to the Gold Coast native about everything from how she got her start to what a week of surf training looks like.

Growing up either in the forest or on the beach, She loved and felt comfortable in wild nature. Her mother is an environmentalist and she spent her first years living in the cloud forest of Ecuador, one of the top 10 biodiversity hotspots in the world.

“Mum was working with the local communities to set alternatives to industrial mining and we were living the sustainable model – permaculture, eco-house, solar power, compost toilet… I learnt about human impacts and threats from a young age, always being aware that you can make a positive change no matter how small. So it's been a natural transition to bring this awareness to protecting the ocean that gives us the most incredible sport of surfing!”

Surfing means you are literally immersed in the ocean – it surrounds you, supports you, and connects you with this source of life – it is only natural that you would want to look after it!

I’m involved with a number of groups, including the Surfrider Foundation, and do what I can where I can, and trying to reduce my own impact wherever possible.

Here on the Gold Coast, I feel especially proud to have been involved in getting the southern Gold Coast coastline declared a World Surfing Reserve, helping protect it from destructive developments for generations to come! It feels very special to have a place you can share with future generations! I always bring a GoPro with me to share these stories and to capture beautiful moments in both the forest and the ocean. I think we are reaching a momentous point in history as people are beginning to use their voice and questioning our global systems and the inaction on climate change. We will always have hope.

She surfed every day for a month to raise funds for SurfAid.

“Fundraising you give people in remote communities connected to us through surfing a hand up, rather than a handout. “

SurfAid's geographical focus is on the heartlands of surfing where few visitors but surfers go, make their work unique. They specialize in working in very isolated villages where the maternal and child mortality rates are some of the highest in the world.

She works with Surfaid to give families the best chance of getting ahead by providing access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation, and improved nutrition.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/
Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850