We hope you’ve got your wetsuit and board wax at the ready as [link: TBC] The Drop In Sessions podcast, presented by Mermaid Gin and [link: ] WaveLength Magazine is now live. Hosted by Wavelength’s women’s editor, Sophie Everard, this new female-focused series is an exploration of the incredibly diverse tapestry that makes up women's surfing.  From the competitive trailblazers to the passionate activists, The Drop In Sessions is a deep dive into the sport through the protagonists at the centre of impactful change and progression.

Our first guest is a woman with an impressive surfing CV who has pushed boundaries within the sport, from both a competitive stance but also socially and culturally. Keala Kennelly joins us from the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, where she grew up and started her professional career at 17. Her accolades are extensive, including a career on the championship tour spanning over 10 years, placing 2^nd for the World title in 2003 and becoming the Big Wave World Champion. Some of you might recognise her from the 2002 film, Blue Crush, where she landed a role playing herself in the film that would launch women's surfing into a new era.

Keala has also collected a bag of firsts, such as being the first woman invited to surf the Eddie Aikau (a competition classed as the Super Bowl of surfing), the first woman to win the Barrel of the Year Award and the winner of the first-ever women’s Red Bull Magnitide surf competition. But it’s the moments in her career that have defined her as well as those that have changed women’s surfing that this first episode will explore, such as her role in pushing legislation banning surf events in Hawaii that don’t include women. Tune in to discover more about Keala, her activism, why she wants to represent the UK in the next Olympics and much more.

Listen to the [link] new episode today and follow Mermaid Gin on Instagram and Facebook to be ready to catch the next wave of The Drop In Sessions podcast.