Photography courtesy of Lululemon

Lululemon Just Launched a Pro-Surfer Approved Swimwear Collection

How does one become a free spirited surf goddess? We head to Malibu with Malia Manuel x Lululemon to find out.

Date May 12, 2018

Living in Toronto, there aren’t a ton of opportunities for me to slip on a wetsuit and catch a wave. And when the opportunity to hop on a surfboard does present itself, I usually opt to watch from the sand with a lukewarm beverage and trashy beach book. Mastering a new water sport can be frightening—especially when you know there’s a video camera nearby, ready to upload your wipeouts to the web.

But, when Lululemon invites you to California to test out their newswimwear line with pro-surfer Malia Manuel, you hop on a plane and head for the ocean. With one of the world’s best female surfer’s nearby, I knew I’d be in good hands: born and raised in Kaua’i, Hawaii, Malia stared tandem surfing when she was just three-year-old. Fast forward a decade, and Malia becomes the youngest surfer ever to win the US Open of Surfing when she is just 14. (I know, right?) Now she’s 24, an elite Lululemon ambassador, and she’s celebrating the launch of a swimwear collection she worked hand-in-hand with a massive brand to design.

She sounds intimidating on paper and she looks intimidating on a wave, but on land, Malia is anything but. Just listening to her speak to her passion for the sport makes you want to hop into the frigid Zuma Beach waves and stand up on a six foot board. I was nervous, but I was ready: wearing my Lululemon x Malia Manuel ‘Will the Wave’ suit, I felt and looked the part. (And I was confident that I wasn’t going to lose a bikini strap or get distracted by a wetsuit wedgie. Balance, bend your knees, feet forward… when you’re learning to surf, you already have enough to focus on.)

After standing on a surf board for apx. five seconds —with the help of some Cali surf instructor dudes, of course—I was feeling pretty good about myself. Then, I watched as Malia paddled out into the water and over the waves with the grace of a practiced ballerina. I made my way to the shore as I watched her glide through Pacific Ocean on her board. She quite literally blew me out of the water.

What exactly is the secret to looking like a free spirited surf goddess? Well, it takes a stellar swimsuit—and a lifetime of practice. In the mean time, these Malia Manuel-approved products can help get you there. Grab a suit and some sunscreen, and you’ll be willing the waves in no time.