My pal Hannah Walsh likes to think she will someday develop gills and live in the sea. She is a former collegiate swimmer, ocean lifeguard, bodysurfer, and talented surf cinematographer.
“My passion for bodysurfing started not in the ocean but in a pool,” says Hannah. “I spent ten years as a competitive swimmer before moving to Costa Rica. Competitive swimming gave me the foundation I needed for bodysurfing, which I learned as a lifeguard in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
“Lifeguards use bodysurfing as a safety skill, but also as a fun and simple way to catch waves. It was the lifeguarding community that really sparked my passion for wave sliding.”
Hannah spent four years living and working as an in-water surf photographer and cinematographer in Costa Rica. In fact, many of the photos and videos posted on this blog were taken by Hannah during her time in Costa Rica.
Speaking of Costa Rica, Hannah will co-host a weeklong bodysurf retreat at Playa Grande in February, 2025.
As a filmmaker, Hannah has worked with a number of notable companies and organizations in the surfing industry such as The Changing Tides Foundation, Carve Designs, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, and 1% For the Planet.
Hannah recently moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she works as a cinematographer for FlyOver Canada. When not filming, you can find Hannah frolicking in the frigid waves of the Pacific Northwest.
Make sure to check out Hannah’s work here, including her new short film Skin Swimmer.