Rochelle Ballard

Rochelle Ballard is an accomplished professional female surfer and veteran of the Association of Surfing Professional’s (ASP) World Championship Tour. She is considered the best female tube rider in the world and has been a pioneer to the advancement of women’s surfing in the past two decades. Rochelle’s mastery of big waves and support of women’s surfing rank her among the surfing most elite.

Throughout her career, Rochelle has been adamant about giving back, be it for the sport of women’s surfing, youth development or the environment and her local community. Rochelle played a key role in the creation of female-only surfing events and was pivotal in boosting prize money for the women's competitions. Rochelle also inspired and led surf camps for girls in her native Hawaii for six years and continues to place youth involvement and access to the sport as a top priority. Her current focus is on youth outreach to less fortunate communities around the world through the Surf into Yoga Crossing.

As an activist, Rochelle serves on multiple advisory boards including the Advisory board to Ali'i Nui, the “Save the North Shore Paumalu Project” Board of Directors in 2006 (along with Kelly Slater and Jack Johnson) and the ASP board for a total of 5 years. Currently working with a Hawaiian Non Profit organization, Living Life Source Foundation, a healing center for wellness and sustainable living, (Pu’uhonua). Rochelle is also a supporting team athlete for Keep a Breast Foundation. She feels that having the opportunity to share her passion and energy to our environment and surfing is just as rewarding as riding a great wave.

As a competitive surfer, she continues to excel. After winning First and a Gold metal in 2012, in Nicaragua, and in 2013, placing in the grand finals, in Ecuador, the Hawaiian team won the Gold for 2012 and 2013 as the current ISA World Master Champions. Rochelle 's talents as a surfer have led to appearances in several movies and television shows, most notably Step Into Liquid, Blue Crush, and Beyond the Break. She is also a regularly featured on programs within the surf community including Surfline, ESPN and was recently the focus of a program produced by Outside Magazine.

Rochelle’s longetivity as an elite athlete is rooted in her commitment to a balanced and natural lifestyle. Having built a successful career in the wellness industry in tandem to her rise as a professional surfer, Ballard calls on her training as an LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist since 1991) and Yoga Alliance Certified Instructor (YogAlign Method, 2008) to inform her integrative Surf Into Yoga approach to wellness.

Raised in Kauai, Rochelle moved to the North Shore of Oahu for her surfing career and opened The North Shore Wellness Retreat offering yoga, massage, surf and organic meals, as well as workshops for other facilitators from around the world. In 2008, Rochelle Produced the successful Surf Into Yoga DVD with the interest of sharing her teachings beyond her local community.

Now an established leader in the wellness space, Rochelle recently headlined the 2013 Wanderlust Yoga Festival at Turtle Bay on Oahu’s North Shore this past March with great reception. Shortly thereafter, she made the decision to sell the North Shore Wellness Retreat Space and moved back to her native Kauai to focus on her mission of taking the Surf Into Yoga experience to the rest of the world. Her journey kicks off this fall in NY with the first Surf Into Yoga Crossing focused on sharing yoga, surf and wellness with the NY beach communities hardest hit during last year’s Hurricane Sandy.

Learn more on Ballard's current Surf Into Yoga Crossing Mission and Youth Outreach here.