Hi Team Tama

Welcome back after the long weekend and to our next extraordinary profile of ‘She’s a Lifesaver’.  I met our next fabulous Tama woman when subbing on Patrol 11 last season, and during some Groper swims, she is an incredibly strong swimmer. Hailing from Brisbane, studying marine science and working in the film industry, everyone you speak to about our next wonderful woman, absolutely loves her. She joined us on Rainbow Beaches day and our Celebration of Women in SLSC Weekend, yes, it is our own Steph Atkinson. 

Jesse Price, PC for patrol 11 (with Sandra Fox), when approached for his thoughts, was very pleased to be able to contribute, 

“Steph and I graduated our bronze course together on 18 December 2018 (which feels literally like a lifetime ago) and then patrolled on a very small Sunday afternoon patrol (6 members at some point) which meant I got to see Steph in action regularly. She loves the water and was always in it swimming or showing us her board skills were better than the rest of ours. On top of her excellent life saving skills, during patrol Steph would also regale us with excellent stories from her work in film, like the picnic blanket she was gifted by her dear friend Nicole Kidman. Steph is an all round excellent human - 5 stars - would recommend patrolling with her”.

Over to you Steph..

Thanks for reading, Zoe  - VP 

Steph prefers to be behind the camera than in front ;)

Tell us a bit about yourself, three words that best describe you: Chilled, dog crazy, ocean lover

How did you get into Surf Life Saving? How did you join Tama? I joined Tama about 4 years ago after moving to Sydney from Brisbane. I loved being near the ocean and had always wanted to join a surf club. Tama seemed like the perfect mix of great people and an easy going attitude towards life on the beach.

Rainbow Beaches Day, Charlotte, Steph, Nat and Marlin

What are the best things about being part of the Surf Life Saving community? The variety of people you meet. Whether they’re people you get to know on patrol or through social gatherings, everyone has a different story on how they ended up here. I love the melting pot of so many different careers in one place. It’s such a great feeling engaging with someone over a shared love of the ocean but ending up learning so much more about the world. 

How would you describe our community at Tama? Fun, energetic and caring. Anyone will go out of their way to help others if they can. We all come to save lives but stay for the beautiful community at Tama. 

The original Patrol 11!

What has been your biggest achievement from being part of life saving? Before becoming a life saver at Tama I was a water baby through and through. I love to surf, swim and relax in the ocean but I was never much of an ocean swimmer. Being from Brisbane it was a full out day trip to get to the beach so my daily dose of water was usually a chlorinated pool. I have loved learning to re-love the ocean as a swimmer these past 4 years. There is no better feeling in the world than after a salty swim with people who love the ocean just as much as you. I’m super proud that I have become so comfortable in the water from patrolling at one of the most dangerous beaches In Australia. It’s a powerful feeling understanding the ocean and letting it do its thing around you. 

Tell us what you do when not at the beach at Tama looking after people? I work in the Film and TV industry as a camera assistant. I work on anything from commercials to blockbusters like Marvel and everything in between. My job is essentially to fix a problem before it happens so my bosses don’t have to deal with it, along with a few other things like  clapping the slate and making sure the camera doesn’t run out or film or data. I do love the industry and thankfully I have had many amazing opportunities in my career but the glamour of Hollywood is mostly hard work with very little reward for crew like me so I am currently back at uni studying Marine Science and loving every minute of it. 

Steph with Soph :)

 Favourite place to go for food in Sydney? I can’t go past Tequila Mockingbird in Paddo. Margaritas and amazing Latin American food, what more can you want?

Ideal holiday destination right now? I really want to go to Japan, covid got in the way of my plans to go there a few years ago so it’s definitely still at the top of the list.

What would be your advice to any woman thinking to give surf life saving a go? Just give it a crack. The best part of Surf Life Saving is you can go at your own pace, there’s no pressure to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with and especially at Tama there’s a whole group of people out there to guide you until you feel confident to rescue someone. Saving a life is a very rewarding feeling. 

Steph with some familiar faces

What have you learned from your time at Tama? What has been something that surprised you? People at Tama love an acronym almost as much as they love a hot shower. I’m looking at you winter swimmers :) 

Thank you Steph for being part of our ‘She’s a Lifesaver’ campaign. These words bring it home about what we do. 

“I’m super proud that I have become so comfortable in the water from patrolling at one of the most dangerous beaches In Australia. Saving a life is a very rewarding feeling”.

You do us all proud, glad you moved to Sydney and to Tama.