Dangerwoman Delivers

Kim and Valeh

My name is Valeh Levy and I'm a 45-year-old surfing mom and radiologist from New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I recently had two incredibly wonderful surf trips to Southern California and I just had to share my experience with the East Coast Wahine community. The purpose of these trips were to elevate my own and my family's surfing skills. We hired former world longboard champion Kim “Dangerwoman” Hamrock to give us lessons. My husband Bob, daughter Sydney (age 8) and son Bobby (age 6) improved dramatically in our short time with Kim. We not only worked in the water, we did out of the water Indo Board training, went skateboarding, worked on our noserides, bigger wave takeoffs, fine tuned our surfing equipment, and learned how to better evaluate surf conditions. Our kids were afraid to surf before they met Dangerwoman. They would bodyboard, but there was something about the surfboard that scared them. After one week of private lessons with Kim and her family at places like Newport Pier and San Onofre, my kids returned home to New Smyrna, entered a local surf contest and caught waves on their own! My daughter Sydney placed 4th overall and my son Bobby placed 4th in his heat. Needless to say they were stoked.

My husband and I have only been surfing for four years and we have really fallen in love with surfing. I read about surf history and current events daily, collect surf videos and vintage surf films. Radiology is my career, but my family and my surfing are my passions.

I didn’t start surfing until I was 41. I even entered my first surf contest in 2003-- the Sisters of the Sea. My division had legendary surfers like Mimi Munroe, Melody DeCarlo, and Suzanne Varano…need I say more? That was the turning point when I told myself, "Hey I'm never going to be that good but I've got to get some coaching so I can be the best that I can be.”

That’s how I found Dangerwoman. I first read about her in an article in Surf Life for Women, when she won the World Longboarding Championship in Costa Rica. Later I saw an ad for Kim Hamrock Surf Instruction offering private lessons for intermediates and beginners. So, I called the number and Kim herself answered. She was so enthusiastic and began coaching me over the phone, giving me surf specific exercises and out of water training tips I could start right away. What surf instructor does that sight unseen, no money down, simply because she wants to communicate her knowledge and skills to another stoked surfer?

At first my husband was reluctant to take lessons, but after a few phone conversations he was as stoked as I was to go to California and meet Kim and her family. I was probably more excited though because as a mom I was thrilled at her age (she’s in her 40’s too), her physical strength, and the fact that she is a mother of three and happily married for over 25 years. Now there's a role model that we older newcomers to surfing can relate to!

The Levy family- Bob, Valey, Sydney, and Bobby
So last summer we spent a week of daily private family surf instruction, including coastal cruises to Trestles and San Onofre. There was of course endless entertainment courtesy of the carefree, crazy antics of Dangerwoman herself. Not only did she communicate her vast knowledge of surfing and ocean safety to us with her powerful and memorable teaching style, she babysat for our kids on the beach while my husband and I got a few waves in together! She sang and played Neil Young songs to the kids, taught them how to play Bocci Ball, and the art of food fighting with mini-marshmallows

As a mother, I was so inspired by Kim's parenting skills, keeping daily phone dialogue with all three of her young adult kids, daughters Margeaux 16, Nina 19, and son Chris 22. My kids fell in love with her kids who also helped their mom with the surf lessons and beach playtime while my husband and I were getting our lessons. Her husband and soul mate Marty is a devoted father who surfs so effortlessly and gracefully, carving smooth turns on every wave he rides.

Bobby Levy
Sydney Levy

The one lesson I took home from my time with Kim was life is all about living your dreams.

Our family went back to California over Thanksgiving to once again surf with Kim and her family at San Onofre. I've benefited so much from surf instruction with Kim that I invited her to come back east to give our girls a chance to gain some pearls of her wisdom. Kim has said she would absolutely love to give a weeklong surf clinic for beginners to advanced surfers, including a two-day competition clinic. She is already doing such a camp in Canon Beach, Oregon. Plans are underway for Kim to come to New Smyrna Beach this July. I will keep East Coast Wahines posted as the details unravel. Hopefully some other east coasters will benefit from Kim Dangerwoman Hamrock’s talent and teaching.