Time to check in with our favorite goofy footed team rider from Narrabeen, Kyla Whitfield. Kyla is a new recruit to the Ratpack program and before all this Covid stuff went down she was set for an absolute cracking year.
We decided to check in and see how Kyla was going balancing her sanity, school work and surfing during the whole isolation process. Buckle up.
RUSTY: Just getting a coffee! Will start this shortly!
Kyla: Hahaha yeah it’s all good no worries!! Coffee comes first ☕️
RUSTY: Groovy! Let’s go! Surf was kinda cooking over here this morning . Sorry for jumping in late!
Kyla: No problem I totally understand
RUSTY: Kyla, first off. Give me little recap of what’s been going this last month and a bit, have you and the family been stuck at home? Have you been allowed to get outside and get waves?
Kyla: The last month has been interesting 🤔 but I’ve been loving it.... my family have all been at home due to everything being cancelled or from home which has been fun and luckily we can still go outside and enjoy the waves... plus the waves have been pumping which is just a added bonus
RUSTY: Where have you been surfing mostly? Do you have to fit this in around school work or anything?
Kyla: I’ve been surfing just around the northern beaches but mostly North Narrabeen..... it’s been good to be home for this long.

Yeah, trying to fit everything in has been a bit of a learning curve but now I wouldn’t change (if I could) being home-schooled, I get to surf, workout and do things that make me happy whenever, as long as I get all my school work done!! 😂
RUSTY: Amen to that. I guess one thing that I think we all miss right now is travel. I’m sure this isolation makes you appreciate home and everything around home more. Where are you looking forward to going after this is all said and done it safe to go out? Western favourite places you’ve been he would mind going back to you?
Kyla: Yeah for sure, I think because I was always travelling I definitely took home for granted, but honestly I love getting out of Sydney and the one place I would love to go after this all would be somewhere warm, uncrowned waves, with the people I love!! I miss seeing all my friends on the Pro Jr Tour.... I don’t understand the last question!! 🤷🏼‍♀️
RUSTY: Hahaha many many typos! I dictated to the phone. Guess the techs not quite there yet. I’ll rephrase. You kinda answered it anyway... have you heard any news about the pro jnr or any comps for the remainder of the year?
Kyla: Ummm, not much is being said at the moment for what the future holds, but for now most things are either postponed or canceled. Unfortunately I don’t think I will be surfing a heat anytime soon..... but hopefully we still get the opportunity to towards the end of the year. Even though I’m sad that I couldn’t completely do my first full year on the Jr Tour, I just want everyone to be safe and health to get back to doing what we love!!
Sorry that took so long, my phone died 😬🙏🏼
RUSTY: All g! Let’s talk boards. You’re kinda new to the team. Run me through rusty you ordered from Aido. What are you liking?
Kyla: Well currently I just have one board from Aido, which is a mi amigo epoxy, 5’9, 18 3/8, 2 1/4 and is 25.1L. I’m in love with it, it go’s so so sooooo good!! And I’m thinking of ordering a pu version with a pin tail for the windy and bigger days....
RUSTY: I want to talk about swell art studio now, what is that?
Kyla: Swell Art Studio is my business that I’m developing and building at the moment where I freelance as a photographer and videographer and hopefully one day sell prints and work in social media management. I’ve always had a love for creating and editing good quality images and films. I’m still learning and I’m only small but I’m hoping one day I can make it a side gig from surfing... but for the moment I’m just focusing on surfing and finishing school..
RUSTY: How did you get into photography and shooting videos?
Kyla: Honestly my brothers and I would make home videos and do mini photo shoots, so it must of grown from there. Once I got a proper camera, I was hooked... plus combining surfing, photos and videos made it even better!! I just love the process from start to finish!!
RUSTY: Awesome, thanks so much for hanging today. What’s the plan for the rest of the day?!
Kyla: Go surf for a couple of hours, do some more school work, finishing setting up my Instagram and do some art and editing I’ve been working on 🤙🏼⚡️ Quarantine isn’t bad at all 😂