“Black Surfer” Is Natasha Smith’s Favorite Title

Natasha Smith
Tue, October 17, 2023 at 6:00 AM MDT·8 min read
This article originally appeared on Outside

Natasha "Tashi" Smith is a self-described "unprofessional" 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--you can find her on TikTok and Instagram, and she appears in the film Reclaim Your Water--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 Outside: Adventures of Black Women, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming People in Nature, edited by Shaz Zamore and Amber Wendler, out this month from Mountaineers Books.

"They’re Just Activities"

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't actually get it. When I got home to Virginia Beach, my dirt bike broke and, to be honest, I wasn't that interested in fixing it. It was hotter than usual that summer, and a lot of my friends weren't 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.

Smith is a moto rider as well as a surfer and skateboarder. (Photo: Courtesy Natasha Smith)

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 naivete 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've ever had to navigate--and I used to do it without a second thought. I've 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't fly that one.

Smith in her element (Photo: Courtesy Natasha Smith)

Because of that type of social ineptitude, I never know if I'm 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't just say don't think about that, but that's what I do. Once my helmet is on or my wetsuit is zipped, I shouldn't be thinking about who's looking, because I have to do a thing. Focusing on bettering myself a little each time attracts positivity from other people. I've also realized that many altercations start because a beginner does not realize they're in the way. I always focus on learning how to stay out of the way first because of motocross. If you're 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.

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.

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'm someone else's responsibility. They'll tell me right from wrong until eventually I'm comfortable navigating it on my own. And there's very little chance I'll get yelled at.

That's not to say that each reaction is not influenced by prejudices. I've seen the same infractions, such as dropping in on someone else's 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't have the energy for hate, so I'll make an empathetic analysis of their actions, telling myself they don't 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'm comfortable with, I don't 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't 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--a 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't know if any project of mine is ever truly finished, but I'm glad I didn't save up and let a company do it for me. After all those small victories, I gained a wealth of knowledge--and a van. I'm proud of it and everything I do in it, and I can develop and specialize it for any of my new interests.

Cover of the new release Been Outside: Adventures of Black Women, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming People in Nature (Photo: Courtesy Mountaineers Books)

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's 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's 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't 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 TikTok.

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