Summary

We Interview the 2022 Todo Wafi Community Hero Award Winner Giselle Carrillo, Surfer, Author, and Founder of Los Courageous Camps/El Barrio Athletic Club; an organization that helps to bridge the economical and cultural gaps that prevent the Latino community from going to the ocean to learn how to surf.

Giselle Carrillo

Giselle Carrillo was born and raised in East Los Angeles. Her parents, immigrants from Mexico raised on her of their blue collar paychecks. In order to uplift her family from their socioeconomic status, education became Giselle’s sole focus. Leisure and sports became non-existent activities in her life.

But at 25, she decided to find her inner joy again and embark in a journey to overcome her fears. Surfing was one of those fears that she was also secretly curious about. Growing up, she never knew a Latino surfer, and built the mindset that surfing was not for her. But she decided to try it anyway- against her families’ approval. In the waves of the Venice Beach “Breakwater”, Giselle found something she had lost for many years – her courage.

The idea for Los Courage Camps came in 2017, when Giselle and her friends decided to take 2 friends surfing. 2 friends, grew to 5, which grew to 30. Each Summer, Giselle continues to bring new families from the Los Angeles barrios to enjoy a day at the beach and teach the new generation a sport that has completely changed her life

Follow on Instagram  | Los Courage Camps: www.loscouragecamps.org