Natasha 鈥淭ashi鈥� Smith is a self-described 鈥渦nprofessional鈥� athlete and member of the Ebony Beach Club, a group committed to introducing more Black people to the ocean through beach parties and surf lessons. An avid surfer and traveler鈥攜ou can find her on and and she appears in the film 鈥�she chases waves up and down the California coast in her van and regularly makes international trips to explore different cultures. Smith is passionate about teaching people that there are no age or cultural restrictions on being active in sports and activities. Her essay below is excerpted from Been 国产吃瓜黑料: 国产吃瓜黑料s of Black Women, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming People in Nature, edited by Shaz Zamore and Amber Wendler, out this month from .听

鈥�They’re Just Activities鈥�

Before I say that I am anything, I must first declare that I am Black. I am a Black woman, a Black skateboarder, a Black motocross rider…the list goes on. I love the distinction. It means that no matter what, I am never plain, and I am always adding to the list. Black surfer is one of my newest titles, and my favorite. I think the universe was saving that one for just the right time.

On my first visit to California, I wanted to experience as much of the place as possible. I took a surfing lesson and had a great time but didn鈥檛 actually get it. When I got home to Virginia Beach, my dirt bike broke and, to be honest, I wasn鈥檛 that interested in fixing it. It was hotter than usual that summer, and a lot of my friends weren鈥檛 riding regularly. The instructor had mentioned Costco had surfboards for $100, so I picked one up.

I spent that whole summer at the beach. Several times each week, I packed my surfboard into my car early in the morning and drove out there. The surf community at my first beach was small. By the time I started to figure out surfing, I knew all the other surfers by name. They taught me a lot and encouraged me to try surfing in California. A year and a half later, I found myself sitting in a van on the Pacific coast, surfing more than I was working, and living well. A ninety-minute surf lesson at Pleasure Point had changed my entire life.

When I talk to Black people about surfing, one of their first questions is how I got into such a predominantly white activity. The brief story I just shared always feels too simple. There should have been a beloved teacher or family adventure, but really it was just me with a Groupon on a work trip. When I thought of California, I thought of surfing, so it felt like a natural decision. My race and gender have never affected whether I pursue a new hobby or project. Before my lesson, I never thought about the fact that I would be the only Black person in the water that day. The only thing on my mind was how cold the water might be in April (and I was right to be concerned). I quickly learned the difference between the chilly, peaky waves of the Pacific and the warm, mushy Atlantic I was used to.

Virginia Beach is a really big town that spans from a newer downtown to the touristy oceanfront, then winds through some pretty countryside that touches North Carolina and all the way up to Norfolk, home of the largest naval base in the world. I grew up near the tourist area, so we dealt with the yearly influx of people from the north and west seeking a coastline. With the community being home to a lot of high-ranking government and military officials, as well as the poor leftover Confederates, misogyny and racial tension swirled through constantly.

I was fortunate enough to maintain a childlike na茂vet茅 about the effects of race until much later in life. I tended to blame any negative attention on the fact that I was a girl. Now, when people ask if I feel safe as the only Black person at the beach, I almost have to laugh. I grew up racing motocross in the backwoods of the Southern states, so the beaches of California are far from the most challenging racial environment I鈥檝e ever had to navigate鈥攁nd I used to do it without a second thought. I鈥檝e slept in many homes that had Confederate flags stamped with Southern pride hanging in the garage. I just figured we needed a new flag for Southern pride because I knew I couldn鈥檛 fly that one.

Because of that type of social ineptitude, I never know if I鈥檓 qualified to give advice on starting new things. The biggest part of starting a new hobby is simply getting over the anxiety of participating. I know I can鈥檛 just say don鈥檛 think about that, but that鈥檚 what I do. Once my helmet is on or my wetsuit is zipped, I shouldn鈥檛 be thinking about who鈥檚 looking, because I have to do a thing. Focusing on bettering myself a little each time attracts positivity from other people. I鈥檝e also realized that many altercations start because a beginner does not realize they鈥檙e in the way. I always focus on learning how to stay out of the way first because of motocross. If you鈥檙e not going as fast, stay to the right. Hold a predictable line. If you fall, do your best to get off the track. These are things that keep the more experienced riders from landing on you.

Similar rules apply to snow sports and other sports where people of different experience levels share the same course. Learning how to be predictable can help maintain the vibe and make it a little easier for you to figure everything else out. Lessons and camps are my favorite ways to start new things because I鈥檓 someone else鈥檚 responsibility. They鈥檒l tell me right from wrong until eventually I鈥檓 comfortable navigating it on my own. And there鈥檚 very little chance I鈥檒l get yelled at.

That鈥檚 not to say that each reaction is not influenced by prejudices. I鈥檝e seen the same infractions, such as dropping in on someone else鈥檚 wave, but people of different demographics get different responses in the session. When I find myself in those situations, I try to think of it as lightly as possible. I don鈥檛 have the energy for hate, so I鈥檒l make an empathetic analysis of their actions, telling myself they don鈥檛 have the coping skills they need, so that I can go back to focusing on whatever I wanted to do that day. Even if there is a bad interaction, I can always find some small victory at the end of each session if I at least participated. If the surf is bigger than I鈥檓 comfortable with, I don鈥檛 even make it a point to ride a set wave. I will take the small victory of having made the paddle out, and if I catch a bigger wave, cool.

Small victories lead to eventual success. I have plenty of sports-related testaments to this statement, but building out my van is a more universal example. I didn鈥檛 actually know how to build anything before I got my van. A strong base of knowledge in Legos made me the family furniture constructor, but I had no freehand carpentry experience. The first bed in my van was a piece of plywood on Ikea table legs. My dog has only recently become brave enough to sit on its much sturdier replacement while I drive because it used to flip over when I hit the brakes hard.

Once again, persistence and focus on the task at hand brought the right people to me鈥攁 small victory. One day while I was working on the van in a parking lot, a hardware store employee who was collecting carts taught me how to build a basic box frame and how to brace it. From there, I built it over and over, better each time, until I had the home on wheels that I wrote this piece in. There were many small victories and some defeats, too, and I don鈥檛 know if any project of mine is ever truly finished, but I鈥檓 glad I didn鈥檛 save up and let a company do it for me. After all those small victories, I gained a wealth of knowledge鈥攁nd a van. I鈥檓 proud of it and everything I do in it, and I can develop and specialize it for any of my new interests.

I hope some of this resonates with someone out there. I hope you can remember to just focus on the task when you start to feel people鈥檚 eyes on you. I hope you can excuse some weaker-minded person in the moment so that you can maintain your focus. I hope you choose happiness whenever it鈥檚 available. I will say a million times: if you have ever seen anyone do anything that you thought looked fun, you are just as human as they are and you have every right to try it out too. And if you like it, I hope you share it with someone else who didn鈥檛 think they could do it either.

Natasha “Tashi” Smith is still chasing waves in her van and enjoys surfing, motocross, skateboarding, mountain biking, and most other sports that involve motion. She has a devoted following on .

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