051: ALEXA HOHENBERG - Still Stoked #igotyou
Why is it so rare for women to smile at each other in the surf—and what if one simple pledge could change that?
If you've ever felt the competitive tension in the lineup or struggled with the slow grind of surf progression, especially as a woman in a male-dominated space, this episode offers an inspiring perspective shift. Alexa Hohenberg, founder of Still Stoked, joins us to talk about community, coaching, and creating space for women to thrive in and out of the water.
Learn how Alexa’s 10-year surf journey transformed once she found the right coaching.
Discover how the I Got You campaign is shifting female surf culture—one smile at a time.
Hear practical tips on breaking bad habits from snowboarding crossover and how to bring more joy and progress to your surf sessions.
Tap play now to hear how Alexa is changing the surf scene with heart, humility, and a whole lot of sisterhood.
Key Points
The I Got You campaign aims to foster positive vibes and sisterhood among women surfers by encouraging supportive interactions.
Alexa Hohenberg started surfing about 10 years ago, initially in the UK and later in Australia, dedicating significant time to the sport.
Alexa has been receiving surf coaching from Twiggy in Indonesia for the past two years, which significantly improved her surfing skills.
Still Stoked is a platform Alexa created to share stories and inspire the next generation of female snowboarders and surfers.
The I Got You campaign encourages women to pledge support for each other in the surf, with a competition offering prizes for sharing positive stories.
The campaign has received positive feedback, with 300 people taking the pledge within the first three days and brands offering support.
Alexa plans to apply for funding to create more female-focused video stories and is organizing an immersive women's surf trip to the Mentawais.
The immersive surf trip in October will be a 12-night experience on a 100-foot boat, aimed at intermediate to advanced surfers.
Outline
Alexa Hohenberg's Background and Surfing Journey
Alexa Hohenberg started surfing about 10 years ago, initially in the UK but with limited opportunities due to snowboarding commitments.
After a shoulder reconstruction and a knee injury from snowboarding in New Zealand, a decision was made to focus on surfing when moving to Australia.
Living in Manly allowed dedication to surfing 3-4 times a week for the past decade.
They noted that surfing is a long-term commitment, stating significant progress in abilities only after about 10 years.
They compared surfing to other board sports, highlighting how a simple turn in surfing is considered a trick and can take years to master, unlike in snowboarding or skiing.
Surf Coaching Experience
They received coaching from Twiggy in Indonesia, met serendipitously during yoga teacher training.
They also received coaching from G Cormac from Chick Surf School.
They started receiving formal coaching about two years ago, which was relatively late in their surfing journey.
They emphasized the immediate and steep progression curve experienced with coaching, noting that instant feedback and specific tips greatly improved their surfing.
Coaching helped address bad habits developed from snowboarding that were negatively affecting their surfing technique.
They strongly advocated for coaching, especially for women who might find it challenging to figure things out on their own or haven't seen themselves surf.
Importance of Mindset in Surfing
Coach Twiggy emphasized the importance of smiling while surfing to loosen up the body and slow things down.
They discussed how surfing can sometimes bring out negative emotions due to the finite nature of waves and the competitive atmosphere.
They mentioned the importance of breathing techniques, especially for women who might not have as much upper body strength for paddling.
They described how exhaling during the push-up motion can help generate downward force, assisting in catching waves.
Still Stoked Platform
Still Stoked is a content platform started about eight years ago to create stories wished were available when younger.
The platform aims to share stories of women in action sports, particularly surfing and snowboarding, from a female perspective.
They noted that many stories about women in these sports are often told from a male point of view, and Still Stoked aims to change that narrative.
The website features interviews with inspiring women, trip reports, and content aimed at encouraging and guiding the next generation of female athletes.
"I Got You" Campaign
They recently launched the "I Got You" campaign with colleague Melanie to promote positivity and support among women in surfing.
The campaign encourages women to take a pledge to be a positive influence on other women in the surf.
It aims to combat the sometimes competitive or unfriendly atmosphere women can experience in the water.
The campaign includes a competition where women can share their positive "I Got You" stories for a chance to win prizes.
They noted that many women have expressed not having experienced support from other women in the water, further emphasizing the need for this campaign.
The campaign has gained significant traction, with about 300 people taking the pledge within the first 48 hours of launch.
Many brands have reached out to support the campaign by offering products as prizes.
Future Projects and Opportunities
They plan to apply for funding to produce more video content telling women's stories in action sports, emphasizing the importance of female perspectives in storytelling.
In October, Still Stoked is organizing a women's boat trip to the Mentawai Islands, featuring coaching from G Cormac and Twiggy.
The trip is designed for intermediate to advanced surfers looking to improve their maneuvers.
They emphasized the value of immersive experiences for rapid skill progression in surfing.
Reflections on Surfing Culture
They discussed the often cliquey nature of surfing culture.
They attributed some of this to the limited nature of waves as a resource and the influx of new surfers in recent years.
They touched on how long-time surfers might feel protective of their waves, leading to tensions with newcomers.
They agreed that initiatives like "I Got You" are important for breaking this cycle and promoting a more inclusive surfing culture.
Alexa Hohenberg talks about Still Stoked .com, #IGotYou and her learning to surf journey, and surfing culture.
Take the #IGotYou Pledge here: https://stillstoked.lpages.co/i-got-you-pledge/
Enter the #IGotYOu promotion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StillStokedTribe/
Find out more about the Mentawais women’s boat trip with coaching: https://www.stillstoked.com/womens-mentawais-surf-boat-trip/
Transcription
Alexa Hohenberg
I Got You is all about trying to spread those positive vibes and get that womanship and sisterhood really supporting each other a lot more than it currently is.
Michael Frampton
That was the voice of Alexa Hohenberg from stillstoked .com talking about their I Got You campaign. Details about that campaign, the Still Stoked website and her journey through learning to surf all in today's interview. I just want to inform any new listeners that this podcast is an educational resource and each episode stands alone.
So go back through the back catalog for more learning about surfing. I am in Byron Bay next week.
So if anyone has any contacts or suggestions for guests while I am up there, please let me know. DM on Instagram is good or Mike at surfmastery .com. Please enjoy my conversation with Alexa from Still Stoked and please this as well as the message she is trying to get across here with the I Got You campaign.
Michael Frampton
Share.
Alexa Hohenberg
I always like when my friends are going through things more, so let's go for a wave. As you said, you can't think about anything and we get back in the car, it's like the clowns back over you. But during the surf, just total liberation from your head or sometimes you take your troubles with you and then you can't get into the surf because you can't get out of your head. That's another like the other side to the binary equation.
Michael Frampton
When did you start surfing?
Alexa Hohenberg
I started surfing when I probably about 10 years ago. I surfed a little bit in the UK, but because of snowboarding, I never really had the opportunity to get stuck into it.
And then I had a big shoulder reconstruction and kind of took a break from snowboarding and went over to New Zealand and then ended up actually snowboarding again over there and tearing my knee. But I decided then I really wanted to dedicate some time to surfing properly. When I moved over to Australia, I came over here for a job, I ended up living in Manly and then was dedicated to it 100 %%% and three, four times a week. And it's been that way for about 10 years. And I think surfing is a 10 year sport because I'm only really starting to see the fruits of my labor now.
Michael Frampton
At least, Gerry Lopez says the first 20 years is just to see if you're interested. Yeah.
Alexa Hohenberg
Right. Yeah, I can totally relate to that because it's now, you know, in my arguably ninth or tenth year that I'm starting to do turns and maneuvers. And if you think of any other sport, like what is in another sport, what is a turn?
You know, a turn's a trick, like a turn's not a trick in snowboarding or skiing or anything. You just do them. But, you know, surfing's a turn is a trick. It takes you 10 years to do one. It's kind of crazy.
Michael Frampton
It certainly does. And have you done surf coaching?
Alexa Hohenberg
I have. Yeah. My incredible coach is Twiggy over in Indonesia and I go and see him a lot. I actually fruituitously met him in the surf during my yoga teacher training and I put out to the, it was kind of thinking that I needed a surf, surfing coach to kind of help me shape my bad surfing habits. There's a lot of weight distribution in snowboarding, sorry, my bad snowboarding habits. A lot of things that do not translate well to surfing at all. And I, unless you know that you're not doing them, you can't fix them. Or if you don't know that you're doing these habits, you can't fix them.
So Twiggy actually paddled up to me in the surf and gave me some pointers. We got chatting and I said he was a coach and the rest is history. Now we're doing a surf camp together in the boat in the Ments this year. And G, Cormac from Chick Surf School. I've done a few sessions with her. She's a great friend. Okay, great. And yeah, so I've done some coaching with them and they've been amazing.
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
How far into your surfing journey did you start doing coaching?
Alexa Hohenberg
Probably in the last two years or so. So yeah, really on the sort of back end. I never really had any surfing lessons either. It was kind of more of a go with the guys and try and keep up kind of approach. And yeah, it was really when people were saying to me, go Alexa, you surf like you snowboard, you know, look at your back foot, your duck stance. And I was like, right, I really got to try and figure that out. If my hips are side onto the board and my bum sticking out the side, like I'm snowboarding, then I've got to turn all my shoulders and do this completely different thing, which is not muscle memory at all. And I need someone to help me with that.
Michael Frampton
What was your progression like when you started coaching compared with the first few years? Was it eight years? You said you're 10 years in, two years.
So eight years without coaching and then two years with.
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah, immediate, like steep curvature of progression for sure. Just even in the same sessions, like little things that I would be told to do, like with my breath or just smiling. Twiggy always tells me to smile and how that loosens up my body, slow things down if you're happy and not tensed up. And yeah, just being able to like, just get that feedback loop instantly, like try this, do it, see a result or don't see a result, try something else, see a result. And just have someone there to like tell you, identify the things that you could try to do. And God, it just helped me to no end. Absolutely, I'm a real advocate of telling women especially who find it quite hard to figure things out maybe, or haven't seen themselves surf, that the coaching like, God, it helps so much.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, let's go back to the smiling thing. I like that, it's a big one.
Alexa Hohenberg
The classic Twiggy thing, smile, Alexa. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
But it's so important and it's so underrated and underutilized. Yeah. Because in my experience, like surfing can just really bring out the worst in people.
Alexa Hohenberg
Absolutely, sad that, because it's such a beautiful thing. But yeah, I think you just get so much in your head and you know, waves are finite. There's lots of people out there, you're kind of hustling and it kind of does bring out, as you say, like a bit of a darkness and competitive spirit.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. And so why do you think that is so waves are finite? Do you think it's the only reason? It's such a finite resource?
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah, I mean, I can speak to it here in the Northern Beaches. Like people have a finite amount of time as well. Let's say like the dawn session before going to work and everyone's kind of like, well, I'm here, I've made the effort or I'm on holiday, I'm on my holiday, I need to get waves.
You know, and then you kind of disrespect the locals a little bit because you think it's your right because you're on holiday to get some waves. So you kind of hustle.
So yeah, I think it's a bit of that and just a lot of ego as well. Sadly, people think that it's their right to get waves rather than the community approach to enjoying that experience with other people.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. And it works twofold. Smiling, not only does it make you surf better, but you just enjoy it more anyway.
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
Yeah, definitely. I think smiling and breathing.
Like if you're stressed and you're like short of breath and you're not recovering from like the pounding that you just got or the paddle out or whatever it is that's made you short of breath. Like just that, those deep breaths, those rhythmical breaths when you're paddling back out, when you get out there, smile before you take off on a wave, like deep breath, paddle, get in sync and then smile, it just loosens up your body. And yeah, that was another massive tip that Twiggy gave me is just when you push up, a big exhale and how the downward force of your exhale kind of pushes your board down the wave. And it really helps you, especially like say girls maybe not be as strong in the shoulders and their arms, their shoulders aren't as broad and their arms arguably aren't as long as the guy.
So I personally am a terrible paddler. I find it really hard to keep up with most people in paddling. And that tip massively helped me because I haven't really got the strength so much, but the exhale.
So that kind of keeps me in check with rhythmical breathing and then yeah, smiling.
Michael Frampton
That's a good one. Yeah.
So what is Still Stoked?
Alexa Hohenberg
So Still Stoked was a platform that I started about eight years ago, an attempt to create the stories that I wished were available when I was younger. So I've been a professional snowboarder the majority of my life. And when I was about 11 or 12, I was like, maybe that's a career that I could do. But it was really hard to see any other women doing that. There were no stories, didn't know how they got there. They had like maybe a one token part in a male's movie. There was no pictures of him in the magazines. And there was just no access that I had as a young grommet wanting to be a snowboarder to my heroes.
So that kind of got me thinking to what is it like for like the next generation now when most of the stories are told from a male point of view? If you look at the brands that support women surfing or snowboarding, a lot of the directors, the filmers, editors, the narrative is being told mostly by a man.
So these stories that while they're starting to come out there, they're not necessarily aimed at women for women by women. So Still Stoked was about creating those stories and making sure that they were available to the next generation to kind of inspire and help lead people into lives that they think they know that exist that they can do them.
Michael Frampton
Okay, so it's mainly a website?
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah, it is a website and a content platform. So curating and creating the stories that we wish were available when we were younger.
So I interview lots of amazing people. I get to go on lots of great trips and kind of lead by example myself as an athlete, but bring many other women into the fold.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, so it's snowboarding and surfing?
Alexa Hohenberg
Mostly snowboarding and surfing because those are the main sports that I'm interested in, but there's some skate content on there as well, mountain biking, base jumping as well, just whatever kind of stories come that are, you know.
Michael Frampton
Now you mentioned another campaign before, what was that one? Yeah.
Alexa Hohenberg
We just launched a campaign called I Got You and myself and Melanie, who's my right hand woman on Still Stoked, she's a big wave surfer from Hawaii. We were having a discussion about how, you know, it's already kind of tough for the girls out there, we're in the minority and we're trying to like equally fight for our place to get waves just as everyone is. But sometimes girls out in the water don't smile at each other, they don't nod to each other, they're a bit icy to each other, like kind of competitive with one another and then you have this competitiveness in the water anyway.
So we're kind of chatting about how we could possibly like do something to encourage girls to just be kinder and more supportive to one another. So we came up with the idea of I Got You, which is asking women to take a pledge to be a positive influence on other women in the surf and then share your I Got You stories to just encourage, you know, have women think about, just smiling at someone and saying hello in the water can really change that person's day, maybe get them out their head or make surfing more like fun for them. I know I've had moments where I've been in my head and comparing myself to others out there and then the girls come up to me and said hello and said, hey, come and paddle, you're not going to get any waves there, hun, like come on the peak with me, I'll call you into a few and that's just turned those sessions around for me. And as a result, I've then played that forward and done that to other people.
So I Got You is all about trying to spread those positive vibes and get that womanship and sisterhood really supporting each other a lot more than it currently is. Okay, Yeah, so on stillstoke .com you can take the I Got You pledge and then currently we have a competition that if you take the pledge and come through to the Still Stoke Stripe Facebook group, we've got lots of prizes to give away for women that are sharing their positive I Got You stories.
Michael Frampton
Rad. And how can people find out more about it and share this message?
Alexa Hohenberg
But what's been really interesting to hear in the last 24 hours since we launched it is a lot of women have written on the page how stoked they are of the campaign and they're really happy and they've taken the pledge, but they haven't actually got their own positive female story. There hasn't been one instance when a woman has said anything encouraging or supportive to them in the surf or in mountain biking, which is one of the girls uses an example.
So I think that kind of cements the reason why we're doing it and that kind of hurts my heart and my soul a little bit that when you look back on however many years you've been playing in the ocean, you can't think of one instance when another female, another woman has been supportive to you in the water. So yeah, that's kind of like really gives me extra fire under my ass to get it out there and put that pledge in front of all women and men to put out those good vibes and be a positive soul encouraging others in the water. And that can just be like saying hello. A lot of times when you see a girl struggling on the shoulder and like feeling left out, you know, not part of it, like go say hello and say, hey, come up, you're not going to catch any waves there, come up and surf with me. Introduce them to you, ask her name, like introduce them to your friends that you're surfing with, like bring her into the fold, you know, to be the mentor that you wished was available for you when you started out to other people. That's kind of what we're trying to do.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, good. It needs to happen in surfing. It It doesn't have to be, it just is.
Alexa Hohenberg
Does. It really does.
Yeah. It's so cliquey surfing, like why does it have to be that way?
Michael Frampton
Yeah.
Alexa Hohenberg
Why do you think it is?
Michael Frampton
Part of it is because it's such a limited resource. Yeah. That's a big part of it. And I think a big, I think a big part of it is because surfing's changed so much in the past 10, especially five years, like there's a lot more surfers, a lot more.
So you've got these surfers that have put in, you know, 15, 20, 30, 40 years, and then all of a sudden in the last 10, five to 10 years, there's all these sort of beginner intermediates coming out there on soft tops, wanting a piece of the action. Yeah. It's created this culture of like, no, I've put the effort in, I can take off deeper than you, I can read the ocean better than you, so therefore I'm going to surf more waves than you. Which I do understand, I get that. But what's, I think what's happened is the beginners have fed off that culture and it's penetrated them.
So then they're having the same attitude. So they might have only been surfing for five years, but they're shifting that attitude on to someone who's only been surfing six months, and you've got this vicious cycle.
So I think this initiative that you're talking about is going to help to break that cycle, and that's what needs to happen. It's that simple.
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah. Yeah, agreed. We've seen since we launched it 48 hours ago, just I think 300 people have taken that pledge in three days.
Yeah, two or three days, and amazing feedback, lots of brands contacting us saying, how can we get behind this? How can we we'll give you some product to give away?
So I think lots of people are like ready to see that positive change. They're kind of sick of like going out there and already being in their head, and then having like something negative reflected on them. And the ocean isn't then allowed to be the therapy that it should be for so many people.
Michael Frampton
Good call, love it.
Alexa Hohenberg
And it's so, just to add, like it's so good as a woman when you've got your own crew, like a little crew of girls. It's different to surfing with your boys. It's so much more supportive, and it's hard to explain, but it's really powerful when you've got your crew of girls that you can go surfing with.
So trying to encourage more girls to be supportive of each other and bring more women into that fold, it's only going to be a positive thing.
Michael Frampton
Love it. Okay, we'll share that for sure. Thanks. How long is it going to run for?
Alexa Hohenberg
It's going to run until about Jan 20th or so, six weeks.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah, great. What else is on the cards?
Alexa Hohenberg
Of the things, I'm a producer as well, so one of the things that I really want to do is apply for some funding in the next year. And as I said about stories, there are not that many out there that are told by women for women about women. And if they are, they're often told by men.
So I'm looking forward to applying for some funding and going out there and trying to tell more female stories in video. And then in October, we have a fully immersive women's boat trip to the Mentawis with G Cormac coaching and Twiggy coaching as well.
So that's for intermediate to advanced surfers, any surfers that are looking to start doing manoeuvres or honing in on their manoeuvres. So of all female immersive 12 -night, 100 -foot boat in the Ments trip. Very excited about that.
Michael Frampton
Sounds amazing. And that's stillstoked .com?
Alexa Hohenberg
Stillstoked .com, yeah. All the info is on there. Too Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Easy. I will put links to the show notes to that as well.
Sounds like an amazing trip.
Alexa Hohenberg
I think immersive experiences are so important. Like we're talking about coaching and you have a dedication to progression and you want to get from A to B.
Like just surfing a couple of times a week isn't really going to cut the mustard sometimes, you know. So immersive experiences really help you move the dial from A to B. I know that. I did my yoga teacher training, which was a month of eight hours a day of solid yoga and introspection and meditation and how that helped shift so many things in my life. And I have done coaching, but not like fully immersive on a boat before.
So I really wanted to A, experience that and give others the opportunity to experience that. And if you're serious about your surfing and want to drop some bad habits and really progress, then I think an immersive environment with two coaches like Twiggy and like G is going to be like one of the best ways to do that.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah, that's me personally. That's when I've seen the biggest progressions and my surfing is going on trips with good coaches and good surfers.
So I was just with Taylor Knox and Matt Greggs, both great surfers, both great coaches and yeah, huge progressions. Just yeah, you get over so many plateaus.
Yeah. And you know, I can vouch for G and Twiggy both, know them, great coaches and great surfers too. They both rip. They both do rip.
Yeah. So yeah, jump on board to that for sure.
Alexa Hohenberg
Yeah, it's going to be good. I'm really excited. I've never been to the Mantauis before and I've always thought as a surfer like, am I good enough to surf there? Because you know, you see telescopes and you see all of those waves like HT and you're like God, I can't surf that. But there are hundreds and hundreds of waves that aren't the marquee waves that are available that not that many people surf because a lot of the boats go there chasing those marquee waves. And we're going later in the season when the winds aren't as strong, which opens up so many more options. And Twiggy's been a guide there for eight years on a boat.
So we are in very good hands to hunt waves that will be suitable for that progression. So I'm really excited. I was really nervous, you know, with my own skills thinking God, am I going to get, am I going to be way out of my league? But I've been assured that will not be the case.
So I'm excited.
Michael Frampton
You'll be fine. You'll be surprised when you put yourself outside your comfort zone how much you can step up.
Yeah. Cool.
Well, thank you for taking the time. Pleasure. Amazing. And what website again was?
Alexa Hohenberg
Stillstoked .com And on Instagram was still underscore stoked. And on Facebook, you can search for us as There is the hashtag I got you.
Michael Frampton
Still stoked. Yeah. And is there a hashtag for this campaign?
Alexa Hohenberg
I got you. The hashtag for our cause to ask women to take the pledge to be a positive influence on others in the surf. Okay, Thanks so much for the opportunity to chat to you.
Michael Frampton
Great. All right. Again, thank you for your time. Sweet. Thank you. Take care.
51 Alexa Hohenberg - Still Stoked
For the passionate surfer—whether you're a weekend warrior, a surf dad, or an older surfer—this podcast is all about better surfing and deeper stoke. With expert surf coaching, surf training, and surfing tips, we’ll help you catch more waves, refine your paddling technique, and perfect your pop up on a surfboard. From surf workouts to handling wipeouts, chasing bigger waves, and mastering surf technique, we’re here to make sure you not only improve but truly enjoy surfing more—so you can get more out of every session and become a wiser surfer. Go from Beginner or intermediate Surfer to advanced.