How Drifting took me from media to surfing and back again…

I’m a sucker for a story.  I guess that’s why I chose media when faced with that eternal question, filled with promise and potential… and pressure: “what do you want to do with your life?”

It meant I could watch stories, create stories, analyse stories and explore my love for stories to my hearts content.  After 5 years of study it became time to put what I had learnt into action and take a step firmly onto my career ladder of choice.  Except I found it really difficult.  It was pre internet explosion and the media industry was going through some big shifts.  I was 21, still figuring out who I was and also going through some big shifts. 

I would scour the jobs section in the Guardian and visualise myself making it as an MTV presenter.

I did work experience at Factory Media and Chrome Productions, and pestered Channel 4 for jobs to no avail.  When it came to choosing my direction and destination after completing Uni, I still wasn’t quite sure and there were no leads for me to follow.  I decided to spend the summer in Newquay, and it was here surrounded by stag parties and secrets spots I learnt to surf.  6 months later moving to the city didn’t seem like such a bright idea.  I stayed in Cornwall and continued my career in surf, which unfortunately, was never going to take me to the professional ranks.  It did, however, open me up to many other avenues such as travel, yoga and environmentalism.  I drifted into these areas, becoming a female surf coach in Morocco, teaching yoga in the Costa Rican jungle and travelling to Antarctica with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  I even drifted back to London to see if I could attempt a conventional career in the media but after mini meltdown and a fortuitous crossing of paths with my former yoga teacher on the tube, jumped ship after three weeks and promptly booked myself onto yoga teacher training in India.

And after my Drifting took me to Hossegor, where I met someone I wanted to spend more time with, I found myself in Jersey, Channel Islands.

Suddenly I was no longer Drifting, I was very static and I was on a tiny island, 9 by 5 miles wide.  But the beauty of it was that every day was different, I got to see the seasons change, go on micro adventures, feel at home and forge relationships that are impossible to sustain when you are always Drifting.  And by staying put, I realised the joy of not Drifting.  

However, the Drifter in me still lurked and after nearly 3 years (and enjoying some rather great winter holidays) I needed to see other parts of the world, namely New Zealand, truly accept the end of my relationship and learn more about sustainable living through permaculture.  Drifting turned more strategic and soon I found myself working, creating and collaborating on projects and businesses in a multitude of places and in a plethora of fields (but always eco, yoga, surf based).  And also questioning why I spent all that time learning and training, only to turn my back on the media.  It’s no longer my focus yet I can feel it buzzing away in the back of my consciousness somewhere.  Obviously I’m still tapped into the big media picture through the internet but I haven’t owned a TV for years, let alone bought a newspaper and I’m one of the annoying people that does #vanlife instagram posts - no netflix and chill for moi, just a sunset please.

I will always have a love for stories and a need for creation.  Yet what I discovered from Drifting is that if I take myself out of nature and into an office, in front of a screen, surrounded by air con, structure and too much coffee; I am lost.     

This is where DRIFT originates from - a vital need for fresh air and salt water, a reconnection with nature and time to simply breathe, stretch, walk, surf, eat, swim, explore, wander, converse and stargaze.  We sync with the tides, not what time the shops or bars are open or public transport starts.  We wake with the dawn and sleep when its dark.  We detox from screens and devices.  Space.  Freedom.  No pressure.  From here creativity is allowed to flow.

I have drifted all over the world and have found one of the most idyllic spots to be on our doorstep and part of the British Isles.  There is no better place for media professionals and creatives to come and get an immersion in surfing, yoga and meditation techniques, feast on delicious local and organic produce, whilst staying in converted war tower situated a National Park overlooking the waves.

In Jersey, there is a different pace of life to that of London, a contrast my Drift cofounder Rebecca Coley knows only too well.  It is why she has moved back to her Island home after 10 years as a film maker, grinding away in the big smoke.

And it is here I find myself once again connected to the media industry, working with Rebecca, teaming up with a community of Drifters, capturing the essence of Jersey, Island life, yoga, surfing and nourishing food through our photos and films and offering a slice of all I have learnt after 13 years of Drifting.

Right now we have a special offer for for all our friends & family (this includes YOU!)... £300 for a 4 day retreat on either 23rd September (Ladies Only in association with Roxy Fitness) or 30th September (Mixed). 

I do hope you join us… Visit DRIFT for more info.  Or email driftretreat@gmail.com to claim this very special offer.