From quitting corporate life in Hungary to finding joy in sunsets, surf, and community, this is my reflection on what Soul & Surf has meant to me.
Words by Anita Seres | 30th September 25
I joined Soul & Surf back in 2019 – which, yes, means I missed the first glorious years of the company. I can thank my well-travelled brother - who has visited Soul & Surf way before me - pushing me to volunteer in a place I had never even heard of in the south of India. In autopilot mode, I quit my job, rented out the apartment I lived in and bought a ticket to Thiruvananthapuram ??? India. Sitting on the flight to this place I could not even pronounce. I remember thinking “What the hell did I just do?”
My first day as a volunteer in Soul & Surf Kerala
Before he applied instead of me (not sure if I ever gave him enough credit for this), I didn’t know anything about Soul & Surf. The first thing he sent me was the Find Your Love video and it gave me goosebumps. Something about it just clicked, like the narrator was talking about me and to me. The simplicity, the vibe, the feeling that life could be about more than performance reviews and the weekly new collection in any fast fashion store. I knew then, he was sending me to the right place.
Before Soul & Surf, I was living in the middle of a misogynistic corporate world in Hungary in a mildly shopaholic haze, trying to climb the corporate ladder and thinking that happiness was about new outfits, nights out, and the next promotion. Don’t get me wrong – that was also a part of my life, and it taught me a lot. But joining Soul & Surf taught me something very different.
That I could be so much happier with just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, meaningful conversations, long walks on the beach, and endless sunsets. Of course, I could have simply changed companies, or even moved cities within Europe, but this option felt more radical – and exactly what I needed, a big jump.
The slightly drunk moment before Rachel falls
It is also my 6th anniversary at the company, so it made me reflect a little on the things that has happened, and sooooooo much has happened:
I could continue but it might be boring for someone else and I don't want to brag about it.
Let me be clear, at the end of the day it is still work. We do hate each other when we need to make hard decisions, we can be angry at the boss and meetings still suck – even as a surf company, we hate them and use the time to send memes to each other every chance we get (if you know, you know).
And of course, we do have running jokes about everyone. About Joel’s receding hairline, how much Andy can talk, about Nikita’s non-existing computer, and my love for wine and Aperol Spritz – or maybe it is a wine with a side of Aperol Spritz? These little things make Soul & Surf what it is.
The people of Soul & Surf
None of this would have been possible without the people. The people that make sure each guest has an amazing week, the guests who make us laugh daily or teach us with their fascinating life stories, the founders who kept the dream alive, and the lifelong friends I found along the way.
I don’t know how long this journey will last. But one thing is certain – Soul & Surf has become a part of my life that I would never change for a second.
So here’s to Soul & Surf – for teaching me that life is better with sand in my hair and a surfboard strapped to the roof of my car (or in a tropical hotel next to a surf break which I can reach on a scooter).
If you want to see what's on the wall, you have to come to Varkala (although it needs repainting every year, I did it once)
