More Women Surf: Miranda Rico

Lisa Belisle: Hello, I'm Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to or watching Radio Maine. Today I have with me in the studio Miranda Rico, who is the media director for More Women Surf. Thanks for coming in today.

Miranda Rico: Yes, thank you so much for having me, Lisa.

Lisa Belisle: I'm interested in More Women Surf because it's an organization that seems to have evolved over time. It seems like it was initially Maine Women Surf, and you've now broadened out the mission, starting with a title, actually. So tell me a little bit about that.

Miranda Rico: Yes, absolutely. So originally Maine Women's Surf began as the brainchild of one of our co-founders, Pamela Chavez, and along with our other co-founder Brit Dahlberg, they took this idea of an inclusive, Maine centered space for female surfers. And quickly they realized that it needed to span a demographic that is larger than Maine. And so Maine Women's Surf was reinvented to become More Women's Surf, so as not to pigeonhole ourselves into not being able to reach a broader audience just simply because of the title.

Lisa Belisle: My understanding is that it's people who identify as women and you're trying to be very inclusive across the board, not just Maine and elsewhere, but also really anybody who would like to be part of this organization.

Miranda Rico: Yes, that is correct. So when we were first figuring out how this surf coalition collective was going to look, our demographic was women and anyone that identified as a woman or any non-binary folk that wanted to be a part of this collective. And we quickly realized that although our target audience was women and specifically women of color, just because of the historical marginalization of that particular group, we then decided to take a look back and say, okay, we are trying to reach this target audience, but can we reach more people, and are there more groups that need access to these safe spaces that we are essentially putting into place? So it originated as reaching women, reaching women of color, and then we took a look at, okay, let's look at the black indigenous people of color demographic as a whole and not necessarily just women.

Let's look at the refugee demographic, not necessarily just women. And even recently we've been having a lot of conversations of what is the ally's place in all of this. And so even just over the course of the last six months, we've been changing our language, so that even if it's a cis white male but who's supportive and wants to be a part and support the mission, we are absolutely not turning anyone down simply because of their gender or expression. As long as they help us continue to cultivate the safe space that we are creating, everyone is welcome.

Lisa Belisle: And how are people finding you? How are people learning about your organization and the work that you're doing?

Miranda Rico: Originally, I think it was social media, and I know that that still plays a large role. Instagram of course creates such a wide access point for advertising and everything like that. But as time has gone on, we've realized that it's become a lot more word of mouth. And we also host meetups where members of the community can come together and actually meet each other face to face. And so a lot of it has become through community building activities and things like that. And it was actually funny. So today is National Donut Day, if you do not know. And my mom texted me this morning and asked if I could pick up HiFi Donuts. And so I called in my order, and I was on my way in from a surf lesson this morning and I was like, hey, do you mind if I pay over the phone because I'm gonna be coming in my wetsuit?

And she was like, oh, did you just get out of the water? I said, yes, I surfed this morning. And she said, are you with that group More Women Surf? And I was like, actually I am. That's so funny. And so I think it's really cool to see how wide the reach has become, just over the course of the last year, and I think it's even bigger than any of us realize. But that reach is growing and that bodes well for us being able to access and reach our target audiences more and more.

Lisa Belisle: What kind of donuts did you get?

Miranda Rico: I did dealer's choice and I let them pick a dozen donuts. So I'm actually not sure, I dropped it off at my family's and I hope they're happy with the choices.

Lisa Belisle: You have a large family that you come from?

Miranda Rico: Yes, I do. I am the oldest of six kids. Which, saying out loud, I think I've become a little bit jaded to the number six and I'm like, oh, it's not that much. But to the average Joe, if you will, that's kind of a lot of kids. And so people are usually like, oh my god, that's crazy. But to me it's just normal. That's life and it's a lot of fun. I definitely wouldn't have had it any other way. And I think my siblings contributed largely to who I am and my natural leadership tendencies. And it's a lot of fun. There's never a dull moment at the house.

Lisa Belisle: So one of the reasons why I'm interested in the large family aspect: as you probably know, I'm the oldest of 10 children, and so for our family, growing up in the suburb of Portland that we grew up in, Yarmouth, I know you grew up in North Yarmouth, it was a little unusual I think once you get above four, right? Let's just say, as a random number. And it does, it creates a really interesting dynamic, and you called it leadership. I think at some point in my experience it was more like herding. I don't know if it was leading so much. But do your brothers and sisters get out on the water?

Miranda Rico: They don't get out on the water a ton and they've been bugging me for the past few seasons now. They're like, please take me out surfing, please take me out surfing. And so I've promised a lot of my siblings that I would take them out this year. And I think that there is a certain skillset that you need to be able to actually teach someone how to surf. You can give them a board and give them the general idea and be like, good luck. But then it's an entirely different experience to actually be able to explain, this is the physics of a wave, and this is what you wanna watch out for, this is what you want to be mindful of. And so in my experience with More Women's Surf over the last year, with all of our surf clinics that we've given, I have been in the water taking photos of these lessons. And so it's afforded me the experience and the knowledge to feel comfortable taking someone out surfing, and teaching someone how to surf, which has been fun.

Lisa Belisle: And sometimes being a teacher of someone in your own family can be a little more challenging than trying to be a teacher of someone not in your own family.

Miranda Rico: Yes, absolutely. I think with the comfortability, especially of being in a loud family as all bigger families I think tend to be, people are quick to talk back, which can be a fun dynamic sometimes. But I think also as the oldest sibling, especially towards my younger siblings, I've sort of become like a third parent almost. And so I think that there is a certain amount of respect that I've commandeered without even meaning to, just based on my rank. And I certainly don't try to abuse that anymore. I think I used to when I was younger and I would get, you're so bossy and all that fun stuff, but yes, it's fun.

Lisa Belisle: Do you think that the leadership that you engaged in, in your family, helped you feel more confident as far as joining a new or newish organization and being the media director and trying to get the word out and trying to bring something to fruition that hadn't really existed the same way previously?

Miranda Rico: You know, I would say that those leadership skills definitely translate and follow through into what I'm now doing with More Women's Surf. I think initially when I joined, I had heard of More Women's Surf on Instagram and I was really intrigued because to my knowledge there was not this type of organization specifically catered to women in underrepresented communities in Maine. And so I was nervous. I ordered a t-shirt from them and I went to go pick it up and I met Pam, one of the co-founders, and she was like, hey, you're Miranda Rico, you're that photographer. And I'm like, yes, yes, I am. And so she was like, I have a job for you if you want. And so that was sort of the inception.

And I think since then I have worn a lot of different hats just because we're so new in the organization that we're still trying to really define all of our roles. And so recently, we landed on the role for me of media director, but alongside that I'm still helping out wherever I can, I'm still helping out with events and with lessons. And what's really cool about our organization is that our board is essentially a working board. And so we don't necessarily have any chairs in our board with specific hats or seats necessarily. And our board and our staff just pitches in wherever needs to have help. So going back to your original question, I think being in the mix of six siblings almost my entire life has definitely allowed me to be a team player and also a leader where it needs to be. But I think also being told, especially when I was younger, hey don't be bossy, don't be bossy, that also really resonated with me. So yes, definitely bringing over a lot of big family dynamics into the More Women's Surf organization, which is nice.

Lisa Belisle: Well I find in our family one of the nice things about a big family is that it diffuses the energy. And I think you still have somewhat youngish kids in your parents' household. All of my brothers and sisters are now grown up, but what's really nice is that we've come to a place where, if we have a disagreement, if a couple of us over here don't exactly get along, then we just let it cool off, we go talk to a different sibling over here. And so I think that that actually is a really nice thing that not everybody who maybe just grows up in a two sibling household has the advantage of, that you're always kind of continually with each other.

Miranda Rico: For sure. And I think also in a big family you tend to get a lot of different personalities. I look at myself and my siblings and I think no two of us are alike in that regard. And I think that's also an invaluable skill to be able to translate over to real life, being able to deal with people from all walks of life and all types of different personalities. And I see that a lot with More Women's Surf. As I mentioned before, our target demographic is marginalized communities. So the BIPOC community, the LGBTQ plus community, the refugee community. And a lot of the time in those groups and in those settings you get people that are maybe a little bit timid or a little bit shy to join a new space that they don't know is safe yet.

And so I think that all of us have tried to do a lot of work discussing, okay, how do we reach these people that we want to be reaching, but how do we do it in a way that isn't going to intimidate them and isn't going to give us the savior complex? And we have realized in that regard and with those concerns that the way to do that, and it seems so obvious, is to just let people be themselves and come around on their own time, and respect different beliefs and different opinions. And I think being able to hold space for so many different younger siblings who are all very opinionated and who are all growing up in different ways, or not even necessarily growing up in different ways because we have the same parents, but everyone starts to have new experiences and new interests and everything like that. So I think that's yet another skill of being in a big family that has really helped with my work in More Women's Surf.

Lisa Belisle: I actually think you probably hit it when you first said growing up in different ways. I know that I grew up in a different way than the 10th child in the family grew up, right? My parents were different. There was a different context. In fact we have different generations within our family. So it is a completely different sort of response to the world around you, because the world has really changed from the beginning to the end of the family. So that's also really valuable, that you actually hang out with your brothers and sisters and they're representing people who are growing up in a different time and space. And then maybe that gives you a little bit of insight as to people that you're working with in More Women's Surf.

Miranda Rico: Yes, absolutely. And I see such a huge cultural generational growth between even me and the sister right underneath me who's four and a half years younger. And I think that there's a lot better language nowadays, for lack of a better term, for being politically correct, but then also for being able to hold space and using language as a tool to be able to help marginalized communities feel safer. And so especially when you get people who are in different races, genders, ethnicities, but socioeconomic backgrounds, all of that language comes into play. And I've actually learned so much from my younger siblings about, hey, this is sort of a dead term, or we don't say this anymore. And even though it's sort of hard to be able to keep up on my own with the terms that you should or should not say or the language that you should use, it is really nice to have a younger generation sounding board, for my use whenever I need it. And that's been really helpful too.

Lisa Belisle: Well I'm glad you're able to learn from your younger brothers and sisters and not be irritated by them telling you what the right things are. Because I know that's not always easy for all of us older siblings.

Miranda Rico: Yes, I think that there was definitely a time where it would have bothered me, but once I just accepted that we come from slightly different generations and there's so much to be learned on both ends, I think that the information that you can learn from people who are younger than you, and particularly your younger siblings if you let them, is invaluable.

Lisa Belisle: Growing up in North Yarmouth and then going to Greely, was there a lot of support for people who wanted to go into photography as a profession?

Miranda Rico: I was definitely an outlier I think in my grade. I think about it now and there were only a handful of people who maybe even talked about going into the arts. And previously in my background, I grew up dancing. I had danced from age eight up and through until college. And so that was my first real passion. I was like, I want to become a professional dancer and I wanna go to school for dance and I wanna dance in companies. And I realized as time went on, this isn't necessarily super feasible, or it isn't a smart career choice, because that was never really on my radar. But I never wanted my passion to start to become like a chore, and I wondered if it would with dance.

And so I discovered photography my freshman year of high school and I really, really fell in love with it. And I was like, there's so many different components within the realm of photography that I don't think I'll ever get bored with it. And I don't think that, even if shooting weddings or sometimes portraits for me starts to feel like a job, I have other creative outlets within my passion that allow me to be able to take little breaks and be able to take steps back when I need to. And so there wasn't a ton of community support when making that career decision. And again, I think that's a generational thing. I think that even just over the course of the last 10 years, the generations coming up have changed the dialogue surrounding what it means to go into the arts as a career, which is really cool to see. But it definitely was not always that way. And I just feel really fortunate that I had the support of my family when making that decision, and it definitely was the right decision.

Lisa Belisle: What type of photography do you like to do?

Miranda Rico: So my passion lies in creative portraiture. I love working with other artists. I love working with dancers, with musicians, with even fellow photographers, any small businesses or artists that are looking to get branding work done for them. That is the bread and butter of what I do. And so when I fell into this opportunity with More Women's Surf, I knew that it would be right up my alley because it's me getting to utilize my creative lens through which to showcase this collective. And it's also afforded me so many cool opportunities that I may not have had otherwise. I have waterproof housing for my camera and I'm in the water every single surf lesson. And yes, it's been a really cool experience thus far.

Lisa Belisle: I know that there are some surfers who will be out year round in Maine despite the weather. Is that More Women Surf, or are you a little more selective as far as the climate?

Miranda Rico: So all of, or I should say most of the staff members and also a lot of people in the community surf year round. We do not host lessons in the winter for obvious reasons. It becomes a liability, it becomes dangerous. So our surf clinics run from June through either August or September usually, but then the rest of us will keep surfing year round. And I enjoy surfing up through maybe December and then after that it gets really, really cold, and I'll still go out if there are gonna be good waves. But it's like I have to talk myself up. It's a whole thing, it's an ordeal. It takes 15 minutes to get on your winter wetsuit and don't even get me started about getting out of it. It's a whole multiple hour excursion. And you have to think about things like safety and staying warm enough, and it's not even necessarily when you're in the water, that's the danger. It's when you get out of the water and you have to quickly get dry, get to warmth. So it's a whole different beast for sure. I definitely don't blame people who don't want to do that because it's a completely different world and it can be kind of scary for sure.

Lisa Belisle: So what do you think the appeal is for those who are out there most days, even in the winter?

Miranda Rico: So waves are definitely better in Maine in the winter. Maine is unique in that we get storm swell. So all of our waves come from storms. And in the winter and also in the fall, especially with hurricane season, we get a lot better swell. And so the waves are definitely better in the winter, that's the appeal. But also I think it's one of those things that aligns with the hardened manner, quality of life in Maine. And so I think people really enjoy the entire process of it. It's sort of like hot yoga is kind of miserable if you break it down, but people do it for the experience and it's good for the soul, I think.

Lisa Belisle: Yes, as you're talking I'm thinking about, I don't think I would go surfing because that seems cold. I don't really like the idea of hot yoga, and yet I go running most days in the winter outside. So I guess we all have things that we're willing to do that maybe don't seem that fun to us, but for some reason we engage in them, whatever that reason is.

Miranda Rico: Absolutely. And I think that there is a lot to be said for staying happy in the dark long winters in Maine. And so surfing for some, running for some, hot yoga for some, it's survival a little bit at a certain point.

Lisa Belisle: Yes, I would agree with that. I know that we've been surfing in Maine for quite a while. Certainly we don't have quite the same surf culture that other states do. But are you feeling that we are ever going to get to a place of, I'll use the word saturation, but maybe overutilization of beaches? When I look at California for example, and I know that my son surfs out there, it seems like they're very careful about almost population management. Everybody's very respectful of who's riding what wave when, and there's a hierarchy in who gets to go out and who gets to do this. Do you think we're gonna be heading in that direction with the increased interest in the sport?

Miranda Rico: So I do think so, and I think we're already heading in that direction. I think that summer of 2020, when people needed new outdoor activities to try, I think we saw a lot of new surfers in the lineup. And it is the general opinion of the surfing public that you know, they say, oh, we don't want more people in the lineup because it's becoming oversaturated. And I think More Women's Surf's viewpoint on that is quite the opposite, where we are trying to get anyone who wants to get into the lineup, we're trying to get them that access, but also the education that you need to be able to enter the lineup safely. I think a lot of people end up starting to surf and don't understand surf etiquette, don't understand board management, don't understand even just what to look for in the wave conditions to make sure that you're gonna be doing it safely.

And so all of our surf clinics go through what to look for in a forecast, board management, etiquette, safety, and essentially we are hoping to be able to create very aware and educated surfers, so that if the saturation does indeed happen, and I believe that we're headed in that direction, that we'll be able to do it in a safe way. And I also think that historically the groups of people that are saying, oh, our lineups are getting too saturated, and have this territorial mindset on surfing, tend to be, and I'm not gonna make a generalization and say that this is for certain, but it does tend to be the aggressive white male population. And not always for sure, but I think that that is also something that we are trying to change by getting different and underrepresented communities in the water, so that we can have a more equal lineup and more equality in the lineup in general.

Lisa Belisle: Yes, that's an interesting thing to think about, is if you have, and whether it's white male or whoever it is that's already out there and they've already created a culture that we, people who wanna enter that culture, have to understand, but also simultaneously think about trying to maybe even potentially change. Which it sounds like More Women Surf is respectful of the current culture, but also wanting to evolve the culture, which is a tricky balance I would think.

Miranda Rico: Yes, it definitely is. Because we are not trying to enter the lineup and say, oh, we're here, everyone make way kind of thing. We are definitely being respectful and mindful of our fellow surfers, because at the end of the day, we're all in it for the same reason. We love being out on the water, we love surfing, it's a beautiful experience. And I think a lot of the time with the territorial mindset that comes into play, it's become this aggressive space, and it definitely does not need to be that way. And so I think that by creating safe spaces and access where people who want to join the lineup can join the lineup in a safe way, that we're hoping to, exactly like you said, change the lineup without leading with aggression or without leading with a know-it-all attitude.

Because we certainly don't know it all. And I think also with our community meetups and the other events that we hold out of the water, it's giving people the space to be even in the lineup if you will, but in a non-intimidating space. And so there's that community building, there's that comradery, so that when you see that face again in the water, there's no immediate competition. It diffuses all of the tension. And so with More Women's Surf, we're trying to get more people in the lineup, we're trying to create wider access and more equality in the lineup, but also surfing is almost a tool that we use to give people those safe and equal spaces to exist in. So whether it be in the water or out of the water, community is our number one motive essentially.

Lisa Belisle: As you were talking about the number of people who started surfing in 2020, there were a lot more people, for example, out here running the trails on Cousins and Littlejohn Island, and there are a lot more people out walking and there are a lot more people out boating in Casco Bay, which I personally think is great. I think anytime we get anybody outside, I'm very supportive. I don't mind the crowds, it really doesn't bother me. But also in addition to the cultural and community impact, we also just have to be aware of the ecological impact. That anytime you have more people on a trail, then you have to be aware of tree roots and ground cover, and anytime you have people on the water, you have to be aware of what's going into the water and how you care for that ecological system, because I think it is a lot more delicate than we realize. So with More Women's Surf, is there an approach towards ecological awareness that you've also taken on?

Miranda Rico: So I do know that all of our board members and all of our staff members definitely lead with that ecological awareness. And I do know that in Maine, and also New Hampshire, there have been different groups that have led beach cleanups and things like that. And I know that that's definitely on our horizon and that's something that's very important to us, to host these kinds of events into the future. But we are all being very mindful of especially the resources that end up going back into the ocean, and just being very aware of how that circle comes back.

Lisa Belisle: For sure. Yes, it's an interesting question because I think some people will say, well we wanna be protective so we don't want as many people utilizing it. But at the same time, I think if you can cause people to care about the resource, then if you can utilize it in a way that is respectful and is more nurturing and generative, then you probably are being more protective of the environment than if you just say, everybody stay away.

Miranda Rico: Right? Yes. And I think that education definitely comes first. And also a lot of our approaches as an organization tend towards very green and being very resourceful, reduce, reuse, recycle. And actually all of our merch that we have made is all secondhand upcycled clothing. And we also take in a lot of used wetsuits, a lot of used boards that would otherwise be thrown out or put to other use. And so we're trying to be very mindful of all of those things because we do realize at the end of the day we are bringing in a lot of people. And so how to manage the crowds, but what can we be doing to make a larger environmental impact as well?

Lisa Belisle: I believe your family is originally from Arizona. How did your family end up in Maine?

Miranda Rico: So it has been a lifelong dream of my mom's to live somewhere in New England. And so as she tells the story, she was so sick and tired of living in the desert and having to deal with 115 degree heat from May through October. And she was flipping through one of her medical journals that comes in the mail every month. And as she describes it, it landed open on an advertisement of Maine, essentially a tourism advertisement for Maine. And she was like, there, I want to go there. And so within almost a month or two she had called around at several of the hospitals, and Maine General in Augusta was hiring and she got the position, and next thing you know, we were making plans to move all the way across the country. So it really was serendipitous and everything fell into place. And I of course was a freshman in high school and was so angry and kicking and screaming. But it ended up being definitely one of the best things to ever happen to me and to our family.

Lisa Belisle: This is actually really good for me to know. You know that I work with your mom. So of course it is interesting to think, I hadn't really put together the idea that you were a freshman in high school, you were old enough to kind of rebel against this notion. And yet she's like, no, I don't care, we're doing it anyway.

Miranda Rico: Yep. And I think at a certain point it was for the greater good of our family. She also was like, we needed to switch things up, we were falling into a pattern and life was not headed in the direction that I wanted it to. She was like, I never envisioned us in Arizona as a family, and we had spent 13 years there. And so she was like, it was time for a change, and she was willing to take the risk, which I really admire, because I can only imagine how hard that would've been, and how much it would've sucked seeing your freshman in high school be upset about that. So I think everything happens for a reason, and our move to Maine was definitely for a reason.

Lisa Belisle: I should say to you, I think that your mother is a very bold woman, and as a fellow female physician and also in a leadership role myself, it is not an easy thing that your mother is doing. And sometimes I'm not sure that we always know what our parents' lives are like. So I give your parents, both of them, but particularly your mom, so much credit for being like, we're gonna be self-determined here, we're actually gonna make this step. And not only that, but to uproot her entire professional career and make this big change in a place that she doesn't have any connections to. That's pretty courageous.

Miranda Rico: It is. It definitely is. And I give my mom so much credit, more credit than she will even ever give herself. And she really has, I'm speechless just thinking about the amount of work and determination that she has put into, obviously her career, but the wellbeing of her family. And we were all actually homeschooled, I think on and off for around a decade. And so when we were homeschooled, my mom was homeschooling us full-time, but then also she was still working part-time night shifts at the hospital in Tucson. And so moving to Maine afforded her this position where she was able to focus a little bit more on her career. And all of us went to excellent schools in Maine. But her determination and relentlessness for doing what is best for the family above all else, it didn't stop and it continued, and it never ceases to amaze me.

Lisa Belisle: I'm glad that you give me the opportunity to actually reflect with you about your mom, because I think sometimes, when I think about creating safe space, I think about the space that, for example, my mother needed to create for me and for women of my generation, and her mother needed to create for her and women of her generation. And the fact that we're actually not that far removed from a lot more people being really marginalized for a very long time. And I love that you're doing More Women's Surf, and I think that every successive group that comes along that opens things up a little bit more, it's essentially because of people that have been doing this for us for many, many decades. And it wasn't that long ago that this started to shift.

Miranda Rico: Yes, I absolutely agree. And I consider myself very fortunate to have the mom that I have, but to have the grandmothers that I have and the aunts that I have, and everyone has paved the way and led by example. And I am very proud to come from such a wonderful lineage. And I also think on my dad's side, my dad is from Mexico and came over to the United States when he was eight years old. And seeing my abuela and how much she has had to pave the way for her family and her children to create a better life for them, it's really amazing what the strong and determined of the past have done for us, and what I will try to continue in order to pay it forward. And so, we touched upon earlier just the language in which we talk about marginalized communities, it has evolved and changed so much, even just over the last decade.

And it really is so beautiful to see. And I think with More Women's Surf, it's tough sometimes because we may get frustrated at times that we're not reaching our ideal target audience. And so we're asking ourselves the questions like, how do we reach the refugee community? How do we reach the black indigenous people of color that are first generation coming to the United States? And I think that it can be a little bit discouraging at times when we're not reaching those groups. But at the end of the day, it's so important to take a step back and realize that we are still doing the work that we set out to be doing. And even though it may not be exactly where we want it to be just yet, seeing the impact that we have made even in just the last year and a half has been something quite amazing.

And so we're really excited to continue to strive to be able to reach these marginalized communities. But it starts with us, and it starts with the communities that we already know, and it starts with allies. And it's been really amazing to see so many strong female and non-binary and male folks really coming out of the woodwork to make this happen alongside us. And so it started with previous generations of strong folks, and it's going to continue with people who wanna make waves and make change. And it's really awesome to see. I feel very lucky to be involved in this community.

Lisa Belisle: Yes. And you do raise a great point that I don't think, in this example we're talking about grandmothers, but the grandfathers also. It was the people who were already maybe in what we'll call the dominant culture, who actually were like, no, we don't agree with this, we think we also need to help be allies in this case. Although I don't think they were using that terminology back in the day. But I think that is important. There had to reach some tipping point where more people were in agreement that we couldn't just have one group that was in charge of everything, whether it's surfing or jobs or living space. And I'm glad that you're celebrating who you are able to reach, because I think it can be hard when you're thinking, my mission is to be so inclusive, and why can't it come faster? And it's a process.

Miranda Rico: It is. It for sure is a process. And I do also just wanna touch on, you said it's not just the grandmothers, it's the grandfathers. And I do give a lot of credit, especially to the male population that I have seen really step up to help us in Maine, and looking at the male population in current times and thinking about all of the generational unlearning almost that they are also having to do to show up to be allies, and to be supports in this time and in this system that we find ourselves in. And so I think that it really, we can't make something this big happen on our own, and we need support of like-minded folk, whether that be women, non-binary, or men, whoever wants to be involved. We welcome them as long as they are continuing to cultivate the safe space that we are hoping for and creating.

Lisa Belisle: And I know you were the director of photography, and now you're the media director, and you said you've started to do some video work and some other media work. What types of exciting and interesting things are you doing right now for More Women's Surf?

Miranda Rico: So along with shooting all of our surf lessons and clinics, and just doing the overarching documentary style photography for them, we're also moving into a little bit of video work. And I don't wanna reveal too much because I don't know how much I'm able to talk about, but some very exciting video things are currently in the works that I'm really excited about. And that's been a really big learning curve for me, because as primarily a photographer, I've sort of always managed to, I guess avoid video is the correct way of saying it. And it's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just this medium that's very close to photography yet very, very different. And so it's a whole other genre and medium really. And so getting to be able to utilize and further my video skills through the lens of More Women's Surf has been really great.

And I think I tend to operate best when I'm in a space of, oh, I'm creating this work to share with someone, whether I'm creating work for a client or making work with a friend. As long as that work is going to be shared and I'm creating it for something larger than myself, I think I tend to perform best when it's that way. So being able to do video work for More Women's Surf, and even just think about furthering those skills, it feels like a very safe entry point for me, just to be able to share that with the community of More Women's Surf and being able to use my video work to further them feels really great.

Lisa Belisle: And how about you as an artist and as a professional, as a person? What exciting things are happening for you right now?

Miranda Rico: Well, over the course of the last year, I have recently fallen in love with tattooing. So that is something that I'm exploring that I never in a million years thought that I would be exploring. I never considered myself an illustrator or a 2D artist aside from photography. And so that's been a really exciting journey thus far. I'm hoping that sometime this fall I'll be actually getting my tattoo certification and I'll be able to start tattooing people outside of, even just like my own studio space. So that's been really, really exciting. And in terms of photography, I've basically decided that after a very long season of wedding photography last year, I got very burnt out. And so this summer I am dedicating to falling back in love with photography. And so I've just been trying to take on more passion projects that aren't even necessarily paid but that bring me joy, and it feels very childlike and it brings me back to high school when I would make all of my friends dress up and I would do their makeup and we'd go into the nearest field and just take pictures.

And so both of those things are very different, but exciting, and I'm just excited to be able to explore and dip my hands into a lot of different things this summer, creatively. And yes, I'm excited about it.

Lisa Belisle: Well I look forward to hearing more about this additional future art, but also seeing what you end up doing with your photography as you return back to that initial childlike feeling of joy. Because I think that is really important in photography in particular. I think you're right, it's like anything, it can become too much of a profession. It's an art form, but there's also craft associated with it. But when you can touch back to what brought you there in the first place, I think that can be really powerful.

Miranda Rico: Absolutely. And I think I told myself going into photography, and especially when I went full-time, the summer of 2021, I was so busy, and I told myself, I never want this to feel, for sure it can feel like work and that's fine, but I never want it to feel like a chore. And I think towards the end of my last busy season, it definitely started feeling that way. And I had to take a good long hard look at myself and say, okay, what needs to change, what needs to give? And I feel really blessed that I am able to, in my career, make those alterations and make those edits. And I feel very fortunate that that is what freelancing affords me. So it's been very nice to be able to reinvent myself as many times as I feel as though I need to in order to continue forward in my creative journey.

Lisa Belisle: Well I've enjoyed our conversation today.

Miranda Rico: Yes, me as well.

Lisa Belisle: It's nice getting to know you.

Miranda Rico: Yes. Thank you so much for having me.

Lisa Belisle: I've been speaking with Miranda Rico, who is the media director for More Women's Surf. I encourage you to find out more about this really intriguing organization that's bringing more people to the lineup here in Maine. And I encourage you to maybe find out a little bit more about Miranda and the work that she's doing herself as an artist. This is Radio Maine. You've been watching today with me, Dr. Lisa Belisle, and also with Miranda Rico. Thanks for joining us.

Miranda Rico: Thank you so much.