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Darla is the type of woman who when she manifests something, she and the universe work in tandem to bring it into fruition. It’s not as simple as she just works hard – Darla dedicates herself to her goals wholly and with an increasingly rare authenticity to see them through to the finish line.

And it’s that fierce commitment to cultivating a life of her dreams that one might not readily see. What shines brightly about Darla at first is her giggly, earthly nature, her gentleness with those around her, and her gracefulness in the water as she dances across longboards. Her long, strawberry brownish-blondish hair invites you in, along with her smile that has a humbleness and wisdom about it.

While there is no naivete behind her eyes, there is a preservation of optimism about the world and her destiny in it.

Like unfurling a spool of technicolor yarn, what reveals itself next is Darla’s passion for helping people through the world of preventative care, using combinations of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as her deep ties to mother nature and her soulular bond to the ocean.

The next looming question mark is, of course, how did she become such an avid water woman?

Born in the deserts of Southern Nevada, Darla’s first experiences in the ocean came during summer family vacations, when her father would take them to the beaches of Southern California. It was in Laguna Beach where she got her first taste of froth as a child, and later at the age of 16 when she took her first surf lesson.

“My dad would play in the waves and boogie board with me and hold my hand as I stood up on the waves,” Darla said. “Being from the desert and then witnessing the ocean for the first time it's just such a mystical source of energy that I couldn’t readily be near while growing up.”

This was in the early-2000s, when there weren't many opportunities to see herself represented in the world of professional surfing, so she had to work overtime to find inspiration in legends like Alana Blanchard and Bethany Hamiliton, who Darla admired growing up. She knew there were many trailblazing women out there charging, but at that time it was predominantly the men who were being marketed as next-level surfers.

“From that day I took my first lesson, I knew all I wanted was to be a surfer girl,” Darla said. “Once you’re exposed to something that beautiful you want to keep going back.”

Seeing as she was still in high school when she wanted to commit her life to surfing, she couldn’t immediately make the move to the California coast. But the idea never strayed far from her mind. She was able to finish her last year of high school in Northern California and from there moved to Santa Barbara to go to college.

It was around 19-years-old that Darla rediscovered the thrill of longboarding through her friend, Phoebe, and was able to integrate surfing into her daily life as a college student. At the time she would surf any and all types of boards, most often on the shorter-to-mid side, but something about longboards started to pique her interest.

“It was the most fun ever surfing on Phoebe’s longboard and I immediately wanted to get one of my own,” she said. “My first was an 8 '8” vintage Jacobs.”

In college she was surfing as often as she could and made that a priority alongside her studies. Nothing would stop her from getting out into the ocean, as her passion for surfing both consumed and stabilized her life, and through surfing she met more like-minded friends.

“I finally was able to achieve the goal I had wanted since I was a teenager – to be a surfer girl and live close to the beach,” Darla said.

In college she simultaneously pursued her other passion – helping people through understanding how the planet and humans intersect. She studied biomedical sciences, anthropology, traditional medicine and Native American plant medicine, among other classes, first at Santa Barbara City College and then at UC Santa Barbara.

“I loved the natural world and helping people – combining my love for the planet and people through natural medicine was the path for me,” she said. “It made me understand that we’re all not that different from other animals and the world, we have seasons in our bodies, too, and we’re all connected to the earth.”

During that time she lived in different areas around the central coast for about five years, becoming part of the underground surf communities and honing her surf craft. She found healing and peace through the ocean, before falling more in love with the redwoods each time she visited Santa Cruz.

“I had gone through some harder life stuff during that time and the ocean healed me, was nurturing me,” Darla said. “A distinct memory I have is from Rincon when the ocean was literally hugging me. The ocean could of course hurt you, too, and you have to be humble, but it's an energy source you could always go back to regardless of whether you’re a surfer.”

Her eventual move to Santa Cruz was thoughtful, intentional. Although she felt in her heart she wanted to be here after her first visit in 2013, she waited until the timing was right. Through her uncle’s niece — an acupuncturist that Darla worked for — she discovered Five Branches University, a graduate school in Santa Cruz for traditional Chinese medicine, and one of the top schools in the nation for those specialties.

“This medicinal approach sees the mind, body, spirit as one, and all symptoms are looked at together,” Darla said. “So you really see the body as a whole and you don't treat it all separately, you’re treating the root cause of someone's disease, which can be a different approach from western medicine.”

After deciding to enroll in the program she moved to Santa Cruz, a place where she felt she was always meant to be.

Longboard surfing ran parallel to her life, never taking a backseat. Although she competed as a shortboarder earlier in life, it wasn’t until 2023 that Darla competed in her first longboarding event at Steamer Lane, where she placed second.

She grew up playing competitive soccer and with four older brothers she was always pushing herself to not just hang with the guys, but to be better than them. So when the opportunity to join Santa Cruz Longboard Union came along to allow her further chances to compete, she jumped at it.

Darla appreciated how much more “chill” the longboarding community seemed in comparison to shortboarding. Although come contest time everyone wants to perform and possibly win, there is still an emphasis on the element of fun amongst longboarders that she deeply appreciates.

“With longboarders it’s more about style and having a good time together, which is a different energy and for that I like longboarding a lot more competitively,” she said. “I pretty much told SCLU I wanted to do every contest possible as soon as I joined, which was only a year ago, so I haven't been doing longboard comps too long.”

Despite her newness to the longboard competition scene, she’s done very well.

But it’s not just about winning for her.

When Darla shows up at a competition, she goes out of her way to say hello to new and familiar faces, as well as cheering on her fellow surfers. It’s the community element that matters most to her, checking in on her friends and making new connections.

It’s why women-focused competitions like Women on Waves are especially sacred to her.

“Women’s surf history reflects how our heats were always at the worst times, with the worst waves, at the worst places and we were primarily showcased for our looks,” Darla said. “Today having the whole ocean to showcase our talent and connect with each other is just completely different than it used to be. It’s just so cool to come together and be inspired by each other at events like WOW, because we do belong here.”