Circe Wallace: Oh, California!
Looking Sideways Vol.1 is a year old! To celebrate the anniversary of the publication of the first Looking Sideways book by myself and Owen Tozer, I'm posting an extract from the book written by featured interviewee and friend-of-the-show Circe Wallace. To buy a copy and support the show, click here.
When I was a young child growing up in the mostly dark and dreary North West, I dreamed about life in sunny California.
As a child of divorce, it was a fantasy I would share with my two families. There would be a big house by the beach where would ALL live: my mom and her husband(s); my dad, stepmom and my sisters; two big red dogs.
These dreams were visceral enough to carry into adulthood and were, in retrospect, an imagining of my reality now. Because today, when I look back on my eventual migration south, it almost matches that childhood fantasy, even if there are some profound differences.
Instead of my parents and sisters all living in Cardiff, it’s actually my modern families: Ava, Hemingway and Charlie; my ex-husband Andy, his wife Briana and their children Haven, River and Holden (and a Chihuahua), who live a stone’s throw from us.
I first moved to Southern California in my early twenties. After my first ASR visit, I knew SoCal was for me but the fascination had begun much earlier. Growing skateboarding in the safe streets of Eugene, Oregon, I was obsessed with Californian culture.
My first board was a Sims Kamikaze. I crushed on Greg, a boy from Santa Cruz who wore JIMMY’Z. And fanned out when Cali natives like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Christian Hosoi came to town. I dreamt of the boardwalk, palms trees, the smell of Sex Wax and the vibrant neon culture of 80s California.
I moved to Seattle when I was 14 and soon found my tribe. We’d snowboard in the winter and surf during the off-season. I’d started surfing with my boyfriend Jamie Lynn and best friend Ingrid in the icy waters of Westport, Washington.
Ingrid was dead set on learning, and Jamie had already got the bug, so I begrudgingly went along for the ride, perpetually frustrated by the icy waters, large swells and dark sea creatures. I hated it, but was also extremely competitive and there was no way I wasn’t going to figure it out.
On weekends, between my Starbucks shifts, I would venture to the coast with my friends. We’d camp, fucking freeze, then thaw out by the fire with cans of chilli and mac and cheese.
Needless to say, the first time I surfed Dog Beach in PB with the Lib Tech crew, I never wanted to go back. Jamie was on Volcom and we spent a lot of time in Costa Mesa (which on reflection is gross). The warm water of San Diego, specifically Encinitas, soon became my favourite respite from the cold of non-stop winter chasing. My friend Lisa Hudson had a beautiful place on Neptune Bluffs, with booming ocean views and a sketchy but viable trail to the sand.
The move to Encinitas became permanent soon after I met Andy Hetzel on tour for the Quik Pro in Australia. That trip turned into a grand adventure (think crashed Toyota van, several destroyed hotel rooms, and a Fiji stopover) and upon returning I came to Encinitas and never left.
Lisa moved out of Neptune and I moved in. The dream I’d had as a poor NW kid was coming true. I’d made enough money from snowboarding to rent an oceanfront pad and had fallen in love with a legend. We courted for years, finally moving in together when Andy bought his house in Tahoe. We shredded Squaw, travelled the world and made a baby.
In 1996, I bought a nice little plot of land in Cardiff-by-the-Sea and built a home. I’d made a reasonable chunk of change from my pro model boot, so today I say it’s the house that snowboarding built. Growing up, I’d gone to 13 different primary schools and been back and forth between my two families, so literally putting roots down had a profound effect and provided me with a level of grounding I hadn’t experienced before.
I’m still here as I write this. I’m a mother to two daughters, and agent to the stars, and have a loving, creative, fellow Oregonian husband. I have accomplished what many would consider success. Being able to surf every day while having a home to come back to is my dream manifested. Despite the challenges, California is home.
I birthed both my daughters in this house. Their footprints are in the concrete slabs. At almost 50 I still venture down to Pipes several times a week when there are waves, and love surfing as much as anything. And as 2020 has been a time of retreat, reflection and survival, I am constantly amazing by the resilience of California. As we burn, we build, we innovate and find new waves and ways to survive the tumultuousness of the modern world.
I’ve also had time to observe in new ways, and see the ugliness and lack of progress for equality in action sports. I spend many of my days now trying to work towards a more just and equal industry. People wonder why action sports is in retreat and all I can say is that it’s lack of progress rests squarely on its lack of diversity at the industry level. As a mother of daughters, agent to many of today’s most important athletes and influencers, I am called to action to move us forward.
There is much work to do. But there is no better place to do it than here. Despite the gentrification, the burning sunsets, despite the disappointingly corrupt political landscape, despite it all, it’s still the greatest place on earth.
It’s home…
If you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter, or have a copy of the book already, let me know in the comments below 👇