SB_issue54_digital

connected by
water
Sometimes when your head gets the better
of you, it’s important to take a step back,
breathe, and feel the smooth, wooden
grain of your very own creative and
passionate project under your palm.
I’m certain no one reading needs to be reminded
of the healing power of the sea, the surf, and the
board. Whether it’s cruising waves or shaping
surfboards, surfing has always been a therapy for
many people as well as a lifestyle.
Someone who knows this exceptionally well is
Greg Wallace, who, after 15 years of lecturing and
practicing naturopathy around Australia, quit his job
and built a legacy for himself by giving people the
opportunity to learn, share, heal and grow through
wooden surfboard workshops.
For those who don’t know, naturopathy is a holistic
approach to health and includes natural remedies
like sunlight, exercise and stress management -
which sounds a lot like surfing if you ask me. Greg
would agree, which is why he founded Connected
By, a charity that merges mental health and healing
with the satisfying, long, and therapeutic process of
wooden surfboard shaping.
The charity is a branch of Bodhi Tree, a company
founded Greg in 2012 that specialises in sustainably
sourced wooden surfboard DIY kits. Back in the
day, Bodhi Tree also provided wooden board
building workshops, until Greg noticed an
increasing amount of first responders and Australian
Defence Force personnel seeing value in his
lessons, propelling him to turn his company into a
movement that would outlast him.
“What I did nearly four years ago was create a
charity out of the workshop component of Bodhi
Tree, and I did this because I recognised that the
long-term benefit for people’s wellbeing through
building boards.
“What I’ve done is combined all of the philosophies
and understanding from my past career and created
a space where people come to build a board and
deal with trauma and transition.
SB / #54 / 48