When I was a kid, two things could break my heart- If I couldn't go out and to play, or worse, if I couldn't wear a dress when I went out to play. Fashion and sports have always been important to me. If I had to choose, I don't know which I love more.

In many ways, sports have defined my life. I started skiing at age six and started teaching in my teens. I tried snowboarding in my 20's and the thrill grabbed me so much I founded a major snowboard company. I surfed my first wave at 44 and my new love of surfing inspired me to launch Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women, leading the way for women in the waves. But as much as I love the challenge and thrill of sports, I remember my first powder blue parka almost as much as I remember my first turns on the ski run. Sports and fashion, I was hooked.

In 1997, the year Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women began, I also discovered Athleta sportswear. At a time when few clothing companies recognized women's interest in sports, Athleta plainly said, "We know you're out there."

They were right. I was out there. Me, and many more like me.

So I made a simple proposal to the folks in Petaluma- Let's send an Athleta gal on surf safari. She'll wear the latest sports fashions while learning to surf the warm waves of sunny Mexico.

They liked the idea so much they tell the story in the pages of their catalogs- surfer girls, carving waves, hanging out on the beach, looking good.

Sports and fashion. Who knew?

Bev Sanders
Founder, Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women