Mermaid Mode

Lena is an artist, surf coach, certified surf therapy facilitator, and the founder of Cold Water Sirens - a community built around cold water surfing on the North Sea coast of Denmark. What started as a question: "why is there nowhere for women who don't fit the standard surf school mould to go?" became a community, a coaching practice, a film, and a philosophy about what the ocean can actually do for you.The conversation goes deep, in the best way. They cover the mythology behind sirens and mermaids and why the figure means so much more than the male gaze version of it, what cold water surfing in a thickest possible wetsuit actually feels like, and why the North Sea will teach you something about letting go of expectations. Lena walks through her holistic approach to surf coaching — always a mix of mental, physical and embodied work — and explains the "Surf Your Cycle" workshop she developed around hormones, energy levels, and what your body needs at different points in the month. There's also a brilliant thread on fear of deep water, the Blue Mind theory, surf therapy as a practice, and why sometimes the most radical thing you can do is just sit with a cup of tea and look at the sea for 20 minutes.

Maria grew up water skiing in Gambia at age seven. By the time she moved back to Sweden, there was nowhere nearby to ride. So eventually, she built her own.Episode 6 of Mermaid Mode is the first recorded on location — at Flip & Fun Wake Park in Sweden, currently a building site an hour and a half from Copenhagen, and soon to be Scandinavia's biggest cable park. Maria and her partner Henning have been working towards this for over a decade, including seven years just waiting for permits. Now the diggers are in, the groundwater is high, and the dream is finally taking shape.The conversation covers everything: how Maria got into wakeboarding, why she co-founded Nordic Wake Girls back in 2014, the case for building a water sports community that feels like a second home, what it actually takes to build a cable park from scratch in Sweden, and why more girls in the sport starts with atmosphere, female staff, and making it genuinely okay to fail. There's also a great thread on the creative process — from Pinterest boards and aquarelle sketches to AI visualisation tools — and a peek at what Flip & Fun will eventually offer: a restaurant, a sauna, cabins, possibly a snowboarding hill, and year-round riding if they can swing it.One to watch. Literally. 🌊

In this episode we sit down with Ola, a Polish-born kitesurf instructor, jewellery maker, and founder of Ocean Pilgrims. Eight years ago Ola came to Tarifa, fell in love, and never left. Today she runs a kite school with her partner, makes one-of-a-kind necklaces from reclaimed vintage beads, and is launching her first women's kite retreat — a mindful, no-pressure space for female water lovers to connect, kite, and just breathe.The conversation goes far beyond kitesurfing. We talk about what it means to enjoy the water without any ambition to compete or perform, the particular joy of finding treasure at a flea market, sustainability in kitesurfing (and why the industry still has a long way to go), and the very Eastern European experience of being "programmed" to chase the safe career, the house, the plan — and slowly unlearning all of it. There's also Ocean Pilgrims itself: a jewellery brand that started as a creative outlet and quietly became a whole philosophy about reclaiming beauty, self-expression, and connection to the ocean.One of the most poetic and soul-felt episodes yet. 🌊

In this episode, Sasha sits down with Nathalie — owner of Big Blue Boards, social media marketer, kitesurfing instructor, and organiser of women's kite camps across Egypt, Tarifa, Sardinia, Brazil and beyond.Nathalie's story is one of those "kitesurfing changed my life" ones that you can't help but love. A single trip to Egypt in 2011, a frustrating first lesson, and a decision to pack up and move there for a year to learn properly — that's where it all started. From there she found Barbara, the founder of Big Blue Boards, the first kiteboard brand built specifically for women, and ended up as ambassador, co-owner, and eventually sole owner of the brand.They dig into the gear side — why women were stuck riding boards that were too heavy, too stiff, and too big, why "shrink it and pink it" was never the answer, and how the industry has slowly started to catch up. They also talk about what actually builds confidence on the water, why kiting in imperfect conditions is more valuable than perfect flat water sessions, and how Pilates and strength training are quietly becoming every kiter's best kept secret.

In this episode, Sasha sits down with Su Kay — kite designer, Big Air record breaker, and co-owner of Lacuna Kites based in South Africa. Su has been in the kitesurfing world for over two decades, starting out in New Zealand sweeping the floor of a kite board workshop, and working her way through brands like Cabrinha, Airush, and eventually Lacuna, where she now leads kite design.They cover a lot of ground: how Su accidentally fell into product design, what it's like to design a kite with a specific person and brief in mind, and how that approach led to the Alpha V4 — the kite she rode to a 25-metre jump and a Woo Worlds win at 49 years old. The conversation also goes deep on a topic that doesn't get nearly enough airtime: the lack of gear designed for female bodies. From harnesses that ride up to your chin, to wetsuits that only come in one shape, to the first women's harness finally designed by a woman — Su breaks down why this gap exists and what it would take to fix it.There's also a genuinely brilliant riff on why brands should stop trying to steal each other's customers and start thinking about who isn't kiting yet — and why that's where the real opportunity lies.

In this episode, Sasha sits down with Athea — a kite instructor, content creator, and self-described "wannabe pro" based on the coast of Australia. In less than four years, Athea went from her first terrifying tandem ride on the open ocean to becoming a certified instructor and building a genuinely helpful online following with her breakdown-style kite tutorials.They talk about how to overcome fear in kitesurfing (both in the water and in your own head), the difference between coaching beginners and competitive riders, and why visualizing a trick before you ever get on the water might be the most underrated training tool out there. Athea also opens up about getting sponsored, what goes into producing tutorial content, and why a strong female kite community makes all the difference — whether you're at a world-class spot or a tiny windy town in the middle of nowhere.A genuinely fun and inspiring episode for anyone who wants to progress their kiting — or just needs motivation to roll around on the floor practicing board offs until the wind comes back. 🌬️

In the very first episode of Mermaid Mode, we sit down with Kaya — 3x Danish champion, Junior World Champion, and GKA top-5 ranked freestyle kitesurfer. Despite her impressive résumé, Kaya is refreshingly grounded: she doesn't consider competing her whole identity, is studying further while traveling the world, and is laser-focused on pushing her riding to the next level.We dive into Kaya's journey from nervous first-time competitor at 16, to being recognised by legend Jalou Langeree as one to watch, to landing the blind-front-blind — a trick no other woman had done in competition at the time. The conversation covers the evolving freestyle scene, the growing presence of women in Big Air, what it's like going up against Bruna Kajiya, and the community of young girls now making their mark on the GKA tour.

In this first episode, I introduce Mermaid Mode — a podcast about women and water.This is a space for women who feel called to the ocean, lakes, rivers, and cold plunges. Women who compete in watersports, build careers in the water industry, write about water, research it, teach it, protect it — or simply return to it again and again because it makes them feel alive.In this episode, I share why I started this podcast, what “Mermaid Mode” means, and what you can expect from future conversations.Different paths. Different disciplines. One shared current.Dive deep. Stay wild.