Board Women

Meet Hannah Bailey, Award Winning Director, Producer, Photographer, Snowboarder / Split Boarder / Skater focusing on opening up the world of women and sports and telling their stories.

When I first started this business, Hannah’s name came up again and again as someone I should interview, having independently carved out a pretty enviable niche in the industry, chasing down female led stories across different mediums and sports, and highlighting the people and issues that rarely get coverage.

It’s led her to create films like Thrawn (featuring Lesley Mckenna) for Patagonia, Wandering with Huck, Land of Skate with Skatistan, and more recently showing at Kendal Mountain Festival, ‘A Land for Everyone’ with Lyndsey, of Neighbourhood Skate Club. The latter involved a tour of the highlands in Scotland on boards and with hiking boots.

I love this interview for its honesty on what it takes to be a creative in a competitive industry; for the frank discussion on feeling like an imposter, and the general upbeat nature of talking to Hannah as someone who has so much enthusiasm for her work, and life.

We cover:

Why falling should still be fun as an adult, and we should do more of it
Giving up a job to work in Cambodia with Tony Hawk (and him not turning up) - and how it all worked out later
First experiences of a snowboard season in the Alps
Opening up the industry to others, particularly women
Documenting the women’s skate scene
Finding your priorities as a mum (and always getting outside)

This one’s a good one! Let me know what you think & please do subscribe and share if you enjoyed it.

Next time we’ll be interviewing Gilly McArthur, snowboarder, climber, cold water swimming coach and author of the soon to be released book ‘The Beauty of Cold’.

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Presenter: Caroline Keylock

Producer: Selma Chalabi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to Abby Richardson, Head of Impact at The Wave and co-author of the new Do Blue book which positions water as the life solution we all need.

Abby Richardson was there from the very start of The Wave, from it being an idea in Nick Hounsfield’s head that he wanted to bring to life. From getting investors on board, to making it a reality, to helping to bring its impact goals to life, Abby has been there every step of the way. And yet, if you’re not in the industry, you may never have heard of her.

That’s all set to change with the launch of the latest Do Lectures book, co-written by Abby and Nick, ‘Do Blue’, an uplifting guide to the power of blue, arguing (as many of us in this community would agree) that being in or near water has tremendously positive effects on our lives in a myriad of ways.

Abby isn’t a surfer, a skater or a snowboarder, and traditionally may not have found her way onto the Board Women podcast. However, she’s been instrumental in bringing women’s communities to the wave, starting the now iconic Sister Sessions, and ensuring that diversity continues to be a focus for the business with their impact strategy.
She’s also, like so many of us, a midlife woman who sought something to keep her sanity during covid, and for her dipping in cold water was the solution. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: cold water swimming is the gateway drug for so many women coming to board sports. It’s an activity that helps you realise you have the control to make your body do hard things. More on this with our interview with Gilly McCarthur in the next couple of weeks.

Abby is incredibly articulate, and just good fun, and this episode is warm, self deprecating and honest.

We cover:

Her journey of becoming involved in The Wave, and her long-time friendship with Nick Hounsfield, The Wave’s founder

The fractious closing of The Wave last year and how they bounced back

Do Water and how the book came to life

Abby’s journey into wild swimming & how it supports her day to day

Her own connection with water & how it has helped her through grief

It’s a good one! I hope you enjoy it.

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Presenter: Caroline Keylock
Producer: Selma Chalabi
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to Patagonia ambassador and mountain guide Zoe Hart about being a beginner skateboarder and snowboarder and her attitude to parenting & adventure.

Patagonia ambassador, international mountain guide, and now, at 47, beginner skateboarder and snowboarder. Zoe Hart is a phenomenally interesting balance of someone that takes risks that most of us would baulk at, but also voices the fears we all have in our heads as she takes on new sports in midlife and the very real anxiety that comes with being an adult beginner.

I met Zoe at Kendal Mountain Festival, listening to a Yeti hosted panel that she featured on, she spoke about the balance of being someone who has always chased adventure and risk, and then has to find a way to make that work as a parent. Zoe’s take on it? ‘Disaster Style Parenting’ as evidenced by the intriguing documentary series she produced on behalf of Patagonia about her own family and how they are navigating living in the outdoors lifestyle that their base in Chamonix affords them.

But what really intrigued me was hearing about Zoe’s journey into skateboarding in her mid 40’s, and more recently starting snowboarding. Her comfort zone is the mountains, but it doesn’t make starting something new any easier. The fears she voices about learning as an adult are similar to those that any of us feel, even though she is a world renowned climber.

We cover:

Zoe’s journey into living and working in the mountains

How she became a Patagonia ambassador

Balancing parenting & adventure

Women’s community and beginner skateboarding

Learning to be kind to yourself

Navigating ageing and feeling good about yourself

Presenter: Caroline Keylock

Producer: Selma Chalabi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to SEN teacher turned surf film producer Clare Ventham

A working life of creativity can feel out of reach for so many of us, the type of thing that the lucky few get to do, whilst the rest of us have ‘normal jobs’. But there is another way too, and that’s to just go out and create, and see if that can somehow become your job over time. Clare Ventham is one of those people.

Clare is the producer of HotPipe Hillbillies, a fantastic documentary about my local surf spot near Brighton, The Hotpipes (also fondly called the Shitpipes). The surprise, given the quality of the film, is that Clare is a first time producer, and her normal day job is as a SEN teacher.

Clare has clearly had a fire lit inside her since the experience (despite it being a harrowing 2 years that coincided with the team balancing their day jobs, Clare being pregnant for the second time and much more); and is keen to now translate this experience to new films and storytelling (one of which we are partnering on which is incredibly exciting).

We talk about:

The origination for the film & how it connected her to the surf community when she couldn’t surf (she was pregnant when the plans began)
The importance of inclusivity in the sea
The transition from teacher to producer
Her first surf experience (and why it was a shocker)
Motherhood & surfing and the supportive mates who make it happen
Hobbies like sea fishing & why surfing & fishing both provide a reset
Having a kick ass mum as a role model

It’s a lovely interview, showing that you can pursue any creative goal you choose, as long as you’re willing to work hard at it.

I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think

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Presenter: Caroline Keylock
Producer: Selma Chalabi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bella is a surf photographer, producer, editor, a multi-lane creative who is now most well known for being the first female editor of Wavelength magazine and media entity. Her first issue was in February 2025, six months of hard graft, in particular for someone who hadn’t done the role of editor before. She didn’t let her lack of experience deter her from going in hard on the first issue, and she’s continued in the same vein since.

Supporting women in the surfing space isn’t new to Bella, she saw the issue of a lack of visibility of women at all levels of surfing early on, and she’s sought to re-address the balance through her photography and beyond (and if you take a listen to the interview, there’s a reveal about a big leap she’s made at the magazine which will become public shortly).

We talk about this inequality and much more in the interview:

Bella’s journey into surfing & finding her people
Getting her break into publishing
Burning out & talking openly about mental health
Developing boundaries as a freelance creative
Living an unconventional life and her future plans

Presenter: Caroline Keylock
Producer: Selma Chalabi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.