JettyGirl: A one million
dollar check arrives in your mailbox with a
note that reads, "Half of this amount is
yours and the other half is to benefit the world
around you." How would you spend the money?
Kyla Langen: I'd
buy land by the beach and create a shangri-la.
It would be a permaculture (permanent agriculture),
a highly efficient farm system that mimics nature
and outsources as little as possible. We'll
grow lots of organic veggies and crops and fruit
trees, and have chickens, maybe a goat, a pond,
and be off the grid. It's also a cafe/market
and we'll sell what we grow and make to the
community, providing people with the healthiest
foods and products for their bodies and the
planet. There is a huge library and a
workshop/studio where people read, research,
learn and create, and once a week there is a
free seminar where folks learn how to make things—lotion,
beer, bread, an alaia etc... There is a daily
donation-only yoga, pilates, dance, martial
art, or meditation class. And it's also
like a clubhouse, with a half-pipe, a stocked
boardroom, and heaps of bikes people can borrow
for a cruise, or for our monthly critical mass/ride.
There is a jam room of course, with all kinds
of instruments, and some nights we serve beer
and wine, have live music, and showcase the
art gallery. It would benefit the world
around us by helping create community and providing
people with a safe creative space to express,
learn and get inspired. And hopefully our demonstration
of ways to live more sustainably would rub off
on people.
JG: Describe the best surfboard
you've ever ridden and why it was special to
you.
Kyla: The blue,
foam Scott board I learned to surf on.
I was able to go down the line on it and try
do turns and floaters. It is the board responsible
for getting me hooked on surfing, and I owe
it my life (or least a shout-out.)
JG: If you could travel
back to any time in history and hang with one
person while they go about their daily activities,
who would it be and why?
Kyla: I'd go back
and hang with the first human to ever live on
this planet. I'd see where and how she or he
lives, what she/he eats, sounds like, looks
like, acts like, who she/he hangs out with,
and what she/he does for fun.
JG: For thirty days you're
stuck on a desert island with one book, one
song, one surf movie and one snack food. Which
ones would you choose?
Kyla: A dictionary/thesaurus
because words are fun. The song is a tough one
but maybe some long, ambient meditative, singing
bowls, gregorian chant kinda song. For the movie,
maybe Thomas Campbell's The Present
because I haven't seen it and it probably has
a good soundtrack.
JG: What is your best surf-related
memory of 2009?
Kyla: A session
out front in Carlsbad, longboarding with my
dad, uncle and cousin. It was a gorgeous day,
glassy clear water, small but clean pretty waves.
We all rode waves together, cheered each other
on, and played and laughed like silly grommets.
I remember feeling this huge weight lifted off
my shoulders and realized that I didn't feel
the pressure of competitive surfing, yet still
had genuine stoke inside and wanted to try ride
every wave to the beach.
