Susan Mowadeng at A Woman's Touch

Susan Mowadeng came to Second Life early in 2010. In her first few weeks here she became a regular at a Woman’s Touch (AWT) and was a Manager there by September of that year. AWT had surfing in those early days but it wasn’t there where she got her introduction. In those early days, she also became instrumental in another pair of sims, Fearless Nation PTSD Support. It was there that Sue first got into surfing in Second Life. Fearless Nation provides education to people on what PTSD is and some of the latest research on the topic. It also provides PTSD sufferers with activities geared to supporting their condition, including peer led discussions and, early on, surfing. It was after Sue learned to surf there that she turned her attention to surfing at a Woman’s Touch where she was a Manager. She helped to upgrade the surfing at AWT and soon became AWT’s surfing pro, providing lessons for beginners. Sue became co-owner of AWT last year alongside Ashra Lang, its founder. They are currently the oldest club for women in Second Life, in their 13th year. They are a women only sim and men are allowed only if escorted by a woman. Surfing began in the early days of AWT and is still a major activity offered to visitors.

The first thing you notice when you meet Sue is that she is a vampire. Somehow when one thinks of taking surfing lessons, they think of the beach and the sun, things not normally associated with the undead. Sue embraces the dichotomy. AWT is home to many kinds of women which not only include a few vampires but a few fairies as well. Sue took a lesson from the TV series, True Blood, and portrayed herself as a “daywalker.” This is a vampire that can walk in the daylight without harm and the condition is brought on by drinking fairy blood. It has become part of her backstory and she can now roam around AWT anytime of the day or night and surf when she wants.

AWT got a major upgrade sim-wide in 2016-2017. The surfing areas were revamped by Sue and Ashra and now feature Maoli Waves. There are three runs with two running parallel between the two islands on either side of the sim line. There is a third run on the main sim that comes into the other run at an angle. If you can time it just right, you can get a ride that is longer than the length of a sim. Fearless Nation has returned to SL and Sue is a current co-owner and Director. She likes holding herself out as an example to other PTSD sufferers that you can learn to live with PTSD and there is a future. She is currently installing a new beach area there and yes, there will be surfing when Sue is finished. Sue spends most of her time at a Woman’s Touch (AWT), where she remains the resident surf pro. If you don’t think that a surfing vampire is all that weird, then stops on by and ask her for a lesson.

Editor's Note: SurfWatch is proud to have A Woman's Touch as one of our Partners.

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