Blessings! Chloé here — born and raised in the French part of Canada, about an hour north of Montréal, Québec. I grew up on the foothills of a ski mountain and luckily was born before the era of smartphones, which allowed us to spend more time outdoors than indoors.
This connection with nature sparked curiosity in me — I dreamt of laying my eyes on the Andes and walking in the Himalayas instead of the molehills I was surrounded by — so, at 17, I bought my first one-way ticket to the unknown, and never really came back.
After this first trip to Guatemala and El Salvador, which happened to be my first introduction to the Surfing dimension, I started diving deeper and deeper into the water world. Back home, far from the Ocean, I thought my surfing dreams could never be quenched — until I realized that Montréal is an island, thus surrounded by standing waves.
That summer, I jumped in the river with a floating device for the first time — and have not stopped ever since. The next summer, my boyfriend and I hit the road westward, all the way from Montréal to Baja California, and up the coast to Tofino. California felt like a dream, this unreal place where people lived barefoot by the beach between work meetings. Going back to school after that trip was hard to conceive, once my eyes were opened to the infinite possibilities of life abroad.
Funnily, that year I was granted a scholarship to pursue higher education, which I did (just not in the way my parents wanted me to), by booking a one-way ticket to Western Africa. This then led me onwards to India, where I dove head first into yogic traditions, living in ashrams and hitch-hiking over 2000kms+ barefoot between Dharamshala, where the Dalaï Lama blessed our souls, and Nepal, where my childhood dreams of walking through the Himalayas came to life.
Since then, I’ve been living mostly in Costa Rica, teaching yoga and offering bodywork facing a gorgeous left-hander. When it gets a bit too rainy down here, around September, I like to go see friends in North County San Diego, California.
Can you tell us a bit about your passions beyond “work”?
Surfing has always dictated the way I lived — since I was initiated on a right-hand point in El Salvador, it naturally took the lead of my life. Every location I would live in was based on how the Ocean kissed the shore at that place.
I’m a big fan of points — regular-footed, I thoroughly enjoyed living in Imsouane, Morocco for about 6 months — followed by Pavones, Costa Rica, to practice my backside, and now Swamis, California, where Swami Paramahansa Yogananda established the first Self-Realization Fellowship ashram in 1937. Here, my two main interests in life seem to bind — surfing and yoga.
I was initiated to Ashtanga and Hatha yoga in India in 2018. Since then, I have taught but mostly practiced thoroughly. For me, yoga walks hand in hand with surfing. When it’s flat, I practice. When swell is coming, I practice. When there are waves, surfing becomes the practice, leaving space for growth on the mat. I find pockets of peace in these two places — out there, and on there.
Do you find that these passions blend, merge, or complement your work?
Definitely complement. As in surfing, bodywork requires a whole lot of observing, fine tuning into a malleable frequency. Every body we work on is different, and needs individual, specific attention — just like every wave we surf. We never know how the body will react to a certain approach or technique, and so fluidity is key. Stepping into flow state is a must to listen intently and respond naturally to the wisdom of the body.
What are your materials and how do you think about them?
I craft onto bodies, tuning into my intuition, and listening to the body’s wisdom, in deep reverence to the trust put in my hands. Bodywork came into my life naturally, as an Ayurvedic school was standing right in front of the first ashram I studied at, in Rishikesh, India. Later on, I found my teachers to guide me into deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, and Shiatsu.
Do you have any “heroes’ to speak of? How are you inspired?
Everybody is a teacher when you know how to listen. I deeply look up to Leah Dawson, for the way she uses her voice in this world, and her grace when matching the pace of a wave.
A key ingredient to building a sustainable future?
Community.
A book that shaped your life?
Woah, such a great question… So many!
Spiritually: Braiding Sweetgrass & The Four Agreements.
Adventurally: Shantaram & A Fine Balance.
Creatively: Ami l’enfant des étoiles
Yogically: Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. (:
Favorite artist currently?
Sam Garrett
Most sublime moment in nature?
Gah, so many! Feeling water between my toes hanging ten, drawing lines down freshly powdered mountains snowboarding… Although, one for the books was definitely during some of the most hectic time of my short life;
I was crew on a catamaran sailing from India to the Maldives, and everything was going kaput. Both engines broke down, along with the steering at some point — leaving us stranded at sea, in 4m swell and 45 knots wind. Rewind a bit before the steering quit, and find me on my first solo night watch, navigating only with the stars, as auto-pilot had already failed us, and the New Moon darkening the skies left no other reference point. Holding the bar tight, a big bright light suddenly stormed through the waters and hid under the boat. Half afraid, half intrigued at what on Earth could this light come from, I step aside to try to see better… When 5 dolphins, illuminated in bioluminescence, peacefully emerged into sight, swimming along our side. I called the rest of the crew, but they were all sound asleep after the hecticness of the day — this surreal moment was to be witnessed only by me. They blessed our journey with their presence a bit longer, before their light roamed elsewhere. A truly magical experience, held in Mother Nature’s arms.
What have been your biggest challenges?
Overcoming eating disorders — learning self-compassion and radical self-acceptance. More recently, grieving the loss of my father, which I am still navigating.
What do you do when you get out and away from the office/computer screen?
Outside of yoga and surfing, I like to sing, play music, and learn more about the plants that live around me — herbalism and permaculture are two sidekicks I enjoy and want to make more time to dive deeper into.
What other brands do you love?
Everything with Love & Viva la Vacay for sweet surf gear, Avocados for Lunch for sweet surf sticks, Made by Minga for headwear, and Prana for yogic clothing. :)
What keeps you going?
Love! Smiles! Nature! Community!
A personal style?
Real, whatever that means at the moment. I used to say I was 60% hippie, 40% fancy, but I think the ratio switched since I’ve been living in California!