Champion SA surfer carves a new path with surf therapy to stoke joy in kids with disabilities – Roxy Davis

Roxy Davis, a nine-time South African surfing champion, has turned her love for the waves into a mission to provide surfing opportunities for children with disabilities, many of whom rarely visit the beach. Driven by her belief in the transformative power of surfing, she founded the Roxy Davis Foundation in 2019, offering free surf therapy to people with disabilities at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town. She has also completed a doctorate in health and rehabilitation at the University of Cape Town. In an interview with BizNews, Davis shared that the impact of surf therapy goes beyond physical benefits, with participants reporting profound mental health improvements and life-changing experiences. One remarkable example is Raemondo Lessing, a quadruple amputee who began surfing at 14. Within 18 months, he became a South African national champion, inspiring others with his determination and joy. As Davis puts it, “Surfing is the hook, but the impact goes far beyond the waves.” .Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview.Linda van Tilburg (00:00.466) Cape Town is home to Roxy Davis, a nine-time South African surfing champion and professional coach who has been using surf therapy as a tool to address mental and physical wellbeing. She offers surf therapy programmes to boost children with disabilities and has completed a doctorate at the University of Cape Town on how surf therapy promotes mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. Roxy joins us in the studio today to share her journey. Hi Roxy, thanks so much for joining us today. You've had an impressive career in surfing, so what led you to shift your focus to surf therapy? Roxy Davis (00:0042) I started surfing when I was about 12 years old, and surfing has always been my safe space. It's the place I go to for peace and solace and it's been my therapy. I started a surf school about 25 years ago. Through doing that, I wasn’t aware of persons with disabilities not accessing the surfing environment. I had a friend, Ant Smyth, who came back to South Africa from the world championships. In 2016, we realised that adaptive surfing or surf therapy was something that needed to be implemented in South Africa. So, we started doing that and, slowly but surely, began creating surf therapy programmes. In my business capacity, we structured surf therapy through Surf Emporium, which was the business I ran. Then in 2019, we formalised the Roxy Davis Foundation, a nonprofit organisation delivering surf therapy for free for persons with disabilities in South Africa. Linda van Tilburg (00:12) So that is for physical disabilities? Roxy Davis (00:20) It’s for all disabilities - physical, intellectual, sensory, and cognitive. Individuals suffering, for example, with mental health challenges as well. We welcome anybody who feels they would like to immerse themselves in the ocean. Surfing is the hook, but it’s not the total sum of what we do. There’s so much more involved: community, outdoor spaces, physical activity, access to our beautiful oceans, and being in nature. There are so many elements that contribute to surf therapy. Linda van Tilburg (02:29) One of my friends, whose son is a surfer, says he sees the suffers at Muizenberg. Is that where you are based? Roxy Davis (02:29) Yes, we’re based in Muizenberg, Cape Town, and we run our surf therapy programmes from there. We have subsequently branched out to other pillars of our organisation as well. We host a monthly surf therapy programme. In December, celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we had 80 participants accessing the beach. Rolling out the beach mat and enabling individuals to simply access the water’s edge is something significant. Removing barriers and improving accessibility is vital for us. We are also focusing on mentorship and training programmes to educate young persons with disabilities, preparing them for employability in South Africa. Just last night, we returned from the South African National Para Surfing Championships, where two of our athletes won gold medals. Linda van Tilburg (03:39) What has the response been from the participants? Roxy Davis (03:46.37) The response has had a significant ripple effect. When I started looking into the research, we examined the impact of participation for youth with disabilities in South Africa. We observed a significant increase in physical, mental, and emotional health promotion. Beyond that, there has been real change. The skills and tools learned in the surf therapy programme have been applied in participants’ lives - in school environments, local communities, or as ambassadors for change. Communities where these participants live have seen a shift, and more young surfers are joining our programmes simply by hearing about what is possible. Linda van Tilburg (04:36) Do you have a specific case study or person you can describe for us? Roxy Davis (04:52) Yes, we have a young chap, a quadruple amputee, who started surfing with us at 14. When I first interviewed him, he said he’d never touched the water or been surfing before. After a six-week surf therapy programme, he told me he wanted to train for big waves because those are in the Paralympics. Eighteen months after starting surfing, he won the South African titles and became the national champion. On his 16th birthday, he went to the World Para Surfing Championships to represent South Africa. In 2022, we placed fifth in the world out of 28 countries competing, and he ranked 17th in his category. He recently defended his title as South African National Champion and has now won it three years in a row. When he was three months old, he was on death's door with meningococcal disease, and he nearly didn’t make it. His journey, from a little boy fighting for survival to a national champion, is truly remarkable. Linda van Tilburg (06:28) Can you share his name? Roxy Davis (06:30) Yes, it’s Raemondo Lessing. You’ll see him in the media, and he has the most beautiful surfing style. He competes in what we call the prone division. When he’s stoked, he beams with a smile from ear to ear. Linda van Tilburg (06:50) You’ve got to explain ‘stoked’ to me. Roxy Davis (06:53.39) ‘Stoked’ is surfer terminology for being happy. Once we catch a wave, we’re stoked. Linda van Tilburg (07:01) Are you planning to expand to other beaches in South Africa? Roxy Davis (07:07) Muizenberg is an excellent beach. It’s one of the best learning beaches in the world. Our findings from volunteers, participants, and families have informed the City of Cape Town on developing new ablution and beach facilities with universal access as a central theme. The ramp will no longer be down the far end where nobody wants to go - it’ll be centrally located. The financial cost of infrastructure for universal access makes it better to focus on one excellent beach rather than smaller additions across South Africa. However, we’ve developed a training programme that could make our model replicable at other beaches locally and globally, supporting organisations to implement similar initiatives. Linda van Tilburg (08:53) Beyond local shores, your work is making an impact and has been noticed by the United Nations. Roxy Davis (08:53) Yes, in everything we do, disability and inclusivity are at the forefront. We’re working hard to share the message of living in an inclusive society. It’s important to be conscious and considered in our actions and to spread that message to others.Linda van Tilburg (09:20) The surfing community is very unique. You’ve just explained ‘stoked’ to me. To finish off, can you describe what surfers are like? I know surfers who are nomads - they work in the digital world and travel the globe searching for the next big wave, eventually settling somewhere like Portugal for those killer waves. What’s the magic? Is it an addiction to surfing?Roxy Davis (09:50) I call it my healthy addiction because you’re driven to experience the most incredible high or thrill from the freedom of riding a wave. For our adaptive surfing community, that’s exactly what it is. If you’re wheelchair-bound for most of your day, the feeling of gliding across a wave is indescribable. I’d like to invite anyone to come and join us and feel it for themselves.As surfers, we plan our lives, days, and work around the swells, tide, wind, and waves. That daily high is pure magic. I started my week with a Monday morning surf, and it was the perfect way to begin. That feeling is truly indescribable.Linda van Tilburg (10:44) Beyond helping people with physical disabilities, there’s clearly a mental health advantage as well.Roxy Davis (10:51) Enormously so. The physical support and rehabilitation are significant on their own, but the psychological health promotion is just incredible.Our organisation is entirely volunteer led, with volunteers from specialised fields like physiotherapy, biokinetics, and occupational therapy. Participants get the support they need, filling gaps in mental and physical healthcare in South Africa.We’ve partnered with a private taxi service to overcome transport barriers. Sometimes, someone might live a kilometre away but have never touched the shore or the ocean. We’ve made it possible for participants and their families to access the beach. It’s a day of bonding and precious moments with loved ones.We focus on inclusive participation, ensuring siblings of young disabled participants can join in as well. We don’t want reverse exclusion—we aim to involve everyone.Linda van Tilburg (12:16.172)Sounds like an amazing programme, Dr. Roxy Davis. Thank you so much for speaking to us.Roxy Davis (12:18)Thank you for having me.

Champion SA surfer carves a new path with surf therapy to stoke joy in kids with disabilities – Roxy Davis

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