Born into a full-on surf family, 21-year old Eden Edwards lives a charmed life grounded in friendship, family, and fun. The humble yet confident goofyfooter started surfing before she can remember.

“My sister, Sahara, is eight years older than me and started competing when she was young, so I was exposed to that side of surfing early on,” reveals Edwards.

“I think I did my first Roxy contest when I was four or five”

 

Ms. Edwards tees off on a Steamer Lane Slot Screamer @edenedwards

While Sahara chose to pursue modeling and her own line of women’s swimsuits, Edwards kept surfing, and it wasn’t long until she developed a solid backside approach. Throughout her teenage years, Steamer Lane became her, “Garden of Eden”, and she relished sharing space with its insane talent pool. Some very big fish kept a watchful eye on her.

“I grew up surfing with the boys, so I’ve never really had any issues in the water, but sometimes, the people I don’t know, who can’t surf, could get annoyed when I paddle around them (laughs).”

Eden savors all things silly and salty! @edenedwards

Although she loves competing, she put the brakes on when she went graduated from high school. “I miss it mostly because of all the epic people I’ve met at events, but there is something to be said for surfing just for fun”.

With this spirit in mind, Edwards decided to broaden her horizon and see the world, travelling to 15 countries over five months. Currently Edwards is enrolled at UCSC, where she’s working on a sociology degree, with a minor in Spanish. During the past five summer’s she’s worked as a Santa Cruz City Lifeguard, a natural extension of her 12 years of prior Junior Lifeguard experience.

Eden serves up a mean right hook! @myallsnaps

All this time surfing and living an athletic lifestyle garnered the attention of local brand O’Neill, who signed her to represent their Women’s Surfwear. She also models for their swimsuit catalogs and social media accounts.

“I try to rep the brand anytime I can, be it travelling or at home. Being a female traveler in Santa Cruz, swimsuits are a hot commodity. It’s rad to work with different companies, like O’Neill, where you are able to represent your style, and to feel and look good, while also being part of an awesome brand,” says Edwards.

Relajando en Mexico! @edenedwards

I guess I forgot to mention that Edwards is stunningly beautiful (hence the modeling), but if you took a gaze at her Instagram account you’d see that she’s not a typical attention seeking individual. She lets her words and actions speak for themselves.

“To be honest, I don’t care about my follower count or number, but I do see it as a cool portfolio that represents who you are as a person.”

Now I understand the "model" part! If you've got it, flaunt it! @edenedwards

Lately, to curb the Co-Vid Blues, Edwards has been thinking of ways out of the box to have fun while exercising, with one throwback team sport that sticks out.

“My friends and I have been playing dodgeball at Derby Park, and it’s so much fun. Fifty dollars for a pack of six dodge balls-best investment ever!”

Follow Eden’s adventures @edenedwards

 

Eden, getting goofy while going goofy and loving life even when she's wiping out @myallsnaps

“HONESTLY, THERE’S NOT MANY THINGS THAT BOTHER ME, EXCEPT WHEN SOMEONE SAYS THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO. BECAUSE I THINK THAT’S NOT TRUE!”