{"id":38014,"date":"2025-08-15T17:28:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T23:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/?p=38014"},"modified":"2025-08-16T08:44:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T14:44:40","slug":"surfs-up-for-sayulitas-chia-mexicos-first-dog-surfing-competitor-%f0%9f%90%be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/surfs-up-for-sayulitas-chia-mexicos-first-dog-surfing-competitor-%f0%9f%90%be\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf\u2019s Up for Sayulita\u2019s Chia: Mexico\u2019s First Dog Surfing Competitor \ud83d\udc3e"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sayulita\u2019s own Risa and her surf-loving pup, Chia, made history this past August in Pacifica, California, as the first Mexican team to compete in the World Dog Surfing Competition<\/strong>. From fostering rescue dogs to riding waves together, their journey is filled with heart, adventure, and plenty of \u201chang paws.\u201d We caught up with Risa to hear their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photos by Harley Hudson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tell us a little about yourself, Risa. How long have you lived in Sayulita and what do you love most about it?<\/strong>
I\u2019m an indie filmmaker and surf coach\/owner of Surf It Out who has had the privilege of living in Sayulita for almost 16 years. It\u2019s a special place that draws special people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Chia come into your life?<\/strong>
I was looking to foster after having to put my dachshund down a few months prior and saw an ad in a local Facebook group that said \u201cse regala.\u201d
An hour later, I went to pick Chia up and she was full of rasta knots, fleas, and ticks \u2014 definitely in need of some TLC. I gave her three baths and got her cleaned up! Chia wasn\u2019t going anywhere after that. \ud83e\udef6\ud83c\udffe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you get into dog surfing?<\/strong>
Chia followed me everywhere in the beginning\u2026 to the bathroom, to the kitchen, and into the sea. One day I grabbed a wavestorm soft-top surfboard and tapped my hand on it. Chia jumped on, went straight to the front of the board, and did a \u201chang paws 10\u201d \u2014 one of the ultimate positions in surfing \u2014 like a pro. I looked up at the sky and shouted, \u201cThank you universe!\u201d Chia is a natural and truly enjoys surfing it out.<\/p>\n\n\n

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When it all started!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What was it like competing in the World Dog Surfing Competition in California?<\/strong>
The water was cold, but it was an incredible experience. The look on Chia\u2019s face, seeing all the other surfer dogs, was special. She was so excited and basically saying, \u201cWhen is my turn?!\u201d
I\u2019ve attended many international surf events, and this one had the highest attendance I\u2019ve ever seen \u2014 thousands of people and many dogs! The event was well-organized with booths offering everything from sunglasses to teeth cleaning, plus free dog walking for the pups.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Did you expect this level of attention and support?<\/strong>
Not at this level, but I\u2019m not shocked! Chia is a gem, and I\u2019m excited for her to keep spreading the joy of surfing and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for you and Chia?<\/strong>
I\u2019m working on getting the remaining funding for my feature film ASI ES<\/em>, where Chia will have a cameo. It\u2019s a surf journey that crosses the border to fulfill a dream, with a strong cast and support from the Nayarit government. It will be filmed locally and across Mexico, inspired by true stories \u2014 especially surfers from Sayulita and surrounding areas.
Also, the World Dog Surfing Competition organizers are interested in holding an event in Sayulita next year, and we\u2019re working on making that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any advice for other dog owners who might want to try surfing with their pup?<\/strong>
Try in warm water first if possible \ud83d\ude42 Overall, surfing is for everyone, and adopting pets is a true blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sayulita\u2019s own Risa and her surf-loving pup, Chia, made history this past August in Pacifica, California, as the first Mexican team to compete in the World Dog Surfing Competition. From […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":38015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sayulita-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38014"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38026,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38014\/revisions\/38026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sayulitalife.com\/sayulero\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}