Rusty

Click above to check out Holly Beck's green lifestyle and surplus of tubes...

A few years ago, Holly Beck was a real darling of the surf media with a little love from mainstream culture as well. The photogenic girl from Palos Verdes was among the hottest NSSA competitors a decade ago. She went pro and took a crack at the Womens WQS. But she was always more than a surfer with a little modeling, a degree in Psychology from UCSD and an MBA in marketing.

But then she fell out of the public eye a bit. Well, if you're kind of curious to know what Beck's been doing, you'll be happy to know she's not divorced, living in the Valley in a pair of velour sweatpants on a diet of Xanax and ice cream. Quite the contrary actually -- Miss Beck has been working in Nicaragua and living (quite comfortably it seems) off the land. And from the looks of it, she's been getting shacked too.

She's teaching surfing at Suave Dulce (Smooth and Sweet), her Womens Surf and Yoga Retreat in Northern Nica. But the camp is about more than getting limber and cruising on waves, it's actually designed to proactively give back to the local community where it is hosted.

"After spending the last decade traveling the world as a pro surfer, I wanted to spend time living with more purpose. I fell in love with the people and waves of Nicaragua," Beck told me today, "I bought some land, built a small house, and am trying to live as sustainably as possible while also becoming a part of and helping out the community around me. That means pumping a well for water, running lights and a fan off solar electricity, and bringing volunteers down to assist me with beneficial projects. I love inspiring people, and if I can do that in the water while also helping them to help others and see their lives differently, then I'm happy."

Suave Dolce offers a chance to not only partake in surf and yoga, but give back to just one of the struggling but surf-rich regions of the world. The camp is at a simple, but comfy house right on the break where you eat all sorts of natural food from the earth.

You can actually sign up for the Surf Yoga Volunteering trips here. Beck will be teaming up with an organization called SYRV (pronounced "serve," as in, serve the community.) They are involved in purifying drinking water, improving education, feeding homeless families, and teaching English. Together they will be erecting a community center for the local village.

"It will make sewing machines, computers, and clean water available to a community previously without any of those things," explains Beck, who is on SYRV's Board of Directors.

What did you do on your last surf trip? Get barreled and overtip the maid?

Always good to know that surfers are using their skills for something admirable.

Article by: Jon Coen of ESPN
Photos by: Nikki Brooks

I love surfboards!

Ever since I was 13 years old and desperate for a surfboard of my own, I've loved them. Now that I'm 29 and have had quite a few to call my own over the years my obsession with surfboards hasn't diminished. I'm an dedicated collector with an impressive stash. I even keep a lot of boards that i've broken in two pieces. I get attached them to them!

Luckily, since I was 17, Rusty Surfboards has been hooking me up with boards. I've tried a few from other shapers along the way, but Rusty boards always have the high quality that I rely on. Rusty, the man himself, is also one of the most intelligent and innovative shapers out there. He listens to feedback and incorporates it into new models. He experiments with materials and fin placements. He keeps it interesting.

It had been a while since i'd gotten a new quiver, so recently I ordered up 5 new boards. Now that i'm no longer competing or worrying about forcing turns on waist high mushburgers for the judges, all I want to do is get barreled. I've also been really loving the quads lately, particularly my 5'4 Dwart. So my most recent order was filled with tube riders, quads, and a brand new Dwart.

Of course, white surfboards are no good for photos, so the first step was to bust out the spray paint and get to work! My boyfriend has built a shaping room in our garage and equipped it with board rack, lights, masking tape of various widths, rolls of paper, and a selection of spray paint colors.

The first step is to put in the headphones, pick a favorite album (in my case it was Pacific Dust by The Mother Hips) then start by taping off the Rusty logo and around the rails (so that paint stays on top and you don't get over-spray onto the bottom.

I like to keep my sprays asymmetrical, so the next step is to use some paper to block off half of the board. I also like to keep some white, so I use thin tape to cover a few lines of white. I sprayed 4 boards before taking this photo and I recycle the tape, so that's why the tape is so beautifully colored.

There's a lot of thought that has to go into the layer on layer paint and tape routine. It can be tricky to visualize how it will come out depending on which color goes on first.

Pulling the tape is the most exciting part!

For the other half of the board I made a star stencil.

And finally..... ta-da! They're done!!!!
From Left to Right:
1. 5'4" Dwart quad
2. 5'11" GTR quad
3. 5'11" Kompressor quad
4. 6'1" Traveler thruster
5. 5'6" Slayer thruster

I'm heading off to Fiji tonight and bringing all but the Dwart, so I had to take out a couple and test them out before carefully stacking them in the boardbag. Here are are a few snaps by local photographer Alex Shea of me riding the GTR at my local beach.

This is one of my first waves on the GTR and I was just trying to feel the slide of the quad. It felt great!

I was a little worried about pulling into this little double up tube. I didn't want to buckle a brand new board!

Feeling good! I can't wait to get this thing into some big tubes in Fiji!

-Holly

For more of Holly's Blogs visit HollyBeckSurfs.blogspot.com

Let me introduce you to my little friend. This is my Rusty 5'4" Dwart. It's full dimensions are 5'4" x 19.85 x 2.05. It has four fins, and it likes to fly.

"I didn't always like quads. I thought they were fast, but for some reason I didn't like the way they felt when hitting lip. I used to think a solid off the top on a quad didn't feel like it had the same satisfying *smack* that I would get from a thruster. Now that i've gotten used to the feeling of the quad, the speed and looseness has more than made up for anything I used to think was lacking. It's a perfect small wave board, but lately I've been riding it in hollow waves too. The short little board can take off so late and just drop straight into the tube."

-Holly Beck

Photos: Chris Grant at Jetty Girl

Check out Holly Beck's most recent adventure.... filming a music video for her favorite band, "The Mother Hips"

"Over the last few months, The Mother Hips have provided the soundtrack to all my adventures. Rock scrambling, shark diving, well-pumping, waterfall sliding, mountain bike riding, desert camping, California surfboard and skateboard riding.  Even between the peaks in the action, my adrenaline levels have been kept high with an incessant loop of Mother Hips tunes either played through headphones or sung out loud in the shower, in between duck dives, and while washing dishes. Over a career spanning 18 years, the Hips have recorded so many amazing tracks that there's plenty of variety to be able to listen constantly for months and still not get burnt out."

- Holly

Here's one more music video set to a Hips tune. This one I made myself with the help of my GoPro camera.

Photo from Surfline.com

Check out this Surfline feature as Rusty's Holly Beck takes a bunch of groms on surf trip throughout Central America!

I've tried to be an actress a few times. There was Jr. High drama class, one year of high school drama, a few skits back when I was going to church camp in the summers, but nothing too serious. As a blonde-haired surfer girl living in LA with that "classic Californian" look, I've been invited to audition for a few commercials. After I was at the top of the pack, but still turned down by Coke, Dodge, and NetZero, I had pretty much given up. I even read for the lead of Blue Crush and a few other pilots by the same director with no success.

Finally, last summer Microsoft thought I was cool enough to use and I had my first acting job. All I had to do was ride a longboard at tiny Leo Carillo and read a few lines like "I'm a PC and I ride longboards." It was a fun day, I made a little money and was stoked for the next few months every time I deposited a residual check. It also built up my confidence a bit.

When a friend of a friend called to tell me about a new independent feature film called Beautiful Wave, "a coming of age story about surfers but not necessarily about surfing," it caught my interest. I was asked to drive to Burbank to read for one of the main characters. In the past I shied away from those sorts of things, but this time I really liked the character and embraced the opportunity.

I felt confident at the audition and left feeling good about it. The director even emailed me the next day to let me know that I was his first pick for the character, but that the money guy in Dubai would be making the final decision. I was cautiously excited.

Of course, the money guy in Dubai liked another more experienced actress better even though she didn't surf at all. The director apologized and promised to write me into the script somehow. I ended up playing the part of a lifeguard that gives the main character a couple of tips in the water at Malibu and pushes her into a few waves. Once again it ended up being an incredibly fun couple of days with great people including the orignial Gidget, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman. Stoked! I can't wait to see the finished project.

- Holly Beck