Manhattan’s Water Woman
Tamara Lentz’ bright blonde hair fell just below her shoulders. The dark denim of her overalls stood out against a row of white surfboards that leaned against the wall behind her.
For over a decade Lentz, a self-proclaimed water woman, has been surfing near her house in Manhattan Beach.
“Wherever I live, from here on out, I’m like, dude, I need to live by an ocean. It’s such a part of my life. I’m in it every day,” she said as her blue eyes widened. “I surfed yesterday but I hadn’t surfed for a whole week because of the storms and stuff. So, I get really like, ‘Oh my gosh, I need to get back out there.’”
Tamara works at Spyder Surfboards during the day, but she also gives surf lessons on the side, teaches spin and she’s a mother to her 14-year-old son, Mathias.
“He surfed with me when he was little but, the last couple of years, because he’s a teenager now, he’s like, ‘Dude I don’t want to surf with my mom,’ but then his friends will come up to him and they’re like, ‘I saw your mom ripping today!’” she said, “I think when he’s older he’ll be like, “God, mom you really are cool.”
Surfer, standup paddle boarder, volleyball player and Manhattan Beach resident Tamara Lentz hangs out at her day job, Spyder Surfboards, when she’s not catching waves | Photo by Marie Targonski-O’Brien
After living in Utah for eight years, Lentz, a California native, came home and found solace in surfing.
“When I went through my divorce, that was my outlet. I just totally fell in love with it,” she said. “When you go through something like that, there’s always something that gets you through.”
For Lentz, the ocean gave her relief from the difficulties in her life.
“I’ll just be out there and it’s just instant. I’ll have a smile on my face. It’s like I’m in my own world out there. Even if it’s a big day, I’m getting worked and I’m getting frustrated because I’m caught on the inside and I can’t get back out, it’s still just … so rad out there.”
Lentz occasionally travels to El Porto on her days off but mostly, she likes the quiet, less crowded surf in Manhattan and Hermosa.
“El Porto gets kind of, I don’t know, douchey. It’s really crowded. I like my own little spot,” she said. “It’s just fun to be in a place where there’s just four or five of you out.”
Maintaining a modest love for the sport is important for Lentz, who thinks social media can make an impact on the vibe in the water.
“There’s a couple girls around here that aren’t very humble. It ruins the whole love of it.”
While Lentz is turned off by the surfers who have photographers accompany them to the beach for the sake of Instagram, she said there is still a community of people who have a real love for surfing.
“There’s so many young girls that you can tell, just have so much stoke and love for it. They just go out, have fun and laugh. That’s what it’s about.”
