Rachel Lord bought her first surfboard at age 29. It was a $200 used Fineline. She took it straight to El Porto, and proceeded to put in her time and take her licks. She was told over and over that you can’t get good after your teens. She didn’t know if she would ever be a competent surfer. Let alone a competitive and stand out surfer. But she was determined. 

Rachel Lord is a certified talent in the water. Incredibly nimble but with power when she throws herself into her turns. Style oozes from every hand gesture and fancy footwork. Rachel carries the confidence of someone born on a surfboard. 

She grew up in Colorado with a taste for speed. A competitive Skier in her youth, once Rachel finished highschool, she  threw herself into her art. She learned the craft of sculpting and painting at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) where she graduated in 2008 and was convinced that her future was to be a star in the art world. After putting in a long stint in New York, she eventually made her way out west in 2011. But it wasn’t until 2015 that she felt the overwhelming sense of needing a change in her life. She was overworked, strung out, joyless, and  felt like her art work reflected that.

She had been deferring her enjoyment of life in the moment, and neglecting her physical body. 
It was then when she discovered surfing. FAST FORWARD to year 3 of her surfing journey where she sought to merge her compartmentalized selves. Her Surfy-self and her Artsy-self. That’s when surfboard shaping entered the picture and she realized she could fold all of her passions into itself. She had been seeking a way to join her art career and artistic practices with her surfing so that she could bring all of her passions into one. Surfboards are sculptural objects, they’re painted objects, and they are a physical tool. When she started making boards it was this beautiful chemical marriage.

We really stoked to have as our guest on this episode of the Swell Season Surf Podcast, Rachel Lord.

To follow Rachel Lord, you can check out her instagram @lordbords or her artwork @rlord_raw
Her website is www.lordbords.com

The Swell Season Surf Podcast is recorded by The NewsStand Studio at Rockefeller Center in the heart of Manhattan and is distributed by The Swell Season Surf Radio Network.  For more information, you can follow @swellseasonsurfradio on Instagram
or go to our website: www.swellseasonsurf.com 

Music: 
Song: Keep the Customer Satisfied
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Album: Bridge Over Troubled Water