Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark - Inside Bethany Hamilton’s Life: Modesty, Motherhood, and The Diet That Fuels a Champion
Episode Date: November 21, 2025Everyone knows Bethany Hamilton as the fearless surfer… but her real strength shows up off the waves 🌊Bethany is a pro athlete, author, and mom who’s turned unthinkable challenge into unshakeab...le purpose. We go beyond her comeback story to talk intentional parenting, homeschooling, raising grounded kids, staying strong in your faith, and why she’s speaking up about fairness in women’s sports. She also gets honest about what resilience looks like behind the scenes and how she makes decisions with conviction, not fear.Bethany just launched The All Things Possible Podcast — so make sure to go listen to her episode after this! 🎧Thank you to our sponsors!TAYLOR DUKES WELLNESS: Use code ALEXCLARK for 10% off your purchaseANCIENT CRUNCH (MASA CHIPS): Use code REALALEXCLARK for 25% off first-time ordersCOZY EARTH: Use code ALEX for 40% offBLDG ACTIVE SKIN REPAIR: Use code ALEX for 20% off your orderBRANCH BASICS: Use code ALEX15 for 15% offPRIMALLY PURE: Use code ALEXCLARK for 15% offOur Guest:Bethany HamiltonBethany's Links:Bethany's WebsiteBethany's InstagramBethany's YouTube Playlist'All Things Possible' Instagram'All Things Possible' Apple Podcast👗 Get Alex’s freshest fashion picks and exclusive guest recommendations—delivered straight to your inbox!Sign up for the newsletter HERE: WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SIGNUPFOLLOW ALEX:Instagram | @realalexclarkInstagram | @cultureapothecaryFacebook | @realalexclarkX | @yoalexrapzYouTube | @RealAlexClarkSpotify | Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark Apple Podcast | Culture Apothecary with Alex ClarkJoin the Cuteservatives Facebook group to connect with likeminded friends who love America and all things health and wellness! Join the CUTEservative Facebook Group!Subscribe to ‘Culture Apothecary’ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. New episodes drop 6pm PST/ 9pm EST every Monday and Thursday.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
I kind of saw through the propaganda very early on.
Do you let your babies drink raw milk?
Yes.
That's controversial!
We talked about taking ownership of our health,
and I think women really need to take ownership of our health.
Stop making the excuses.
I want to raise really healthy children.
Like, if there's two things I give them, it's health and faith.
She's one of the most fearless athletes on the planet.
But today, we're talking about what courage looks like off the waves.
Bethany Hamilton is a pro-surfer, author, and mom who's turned unimaginable,
challenge into purpose. In this conversation, we go beyond her comeback story to talk about parenting
with intention, raising grounded kids through homeschooling, staying strong in body and faith,
and why she's speaking up about fairness in women's sports, especially surfing. It's real,
it's thoughtful, and it's everything that you'd expect from someone who's built her life on
resilience and conviction. She's a brand new podcast that she interviewed me on, so go listen to that one.
Her show is called The All Things Possible podcast with Bethany Hamilton. You can listen to that
anywhere you get your podcast. By the way, I made a vlog of this Hawaii trip and Bethany teaching
me to surf and me meeting Gavin from The Suburite Turn Pretty. It's all on the real Alex Clark
YouTube channel. You can watch that episode and this episode on the real Alex Clark YouTube channel.
Big shout out to Jevity, our sponsor of the show. And don't forget to leave a five-star review
for Bethany and I because I was so scared to go surfing. Okay. And I deserve a five-star review for
that. Please welcome professional surfer, motivational speaker, mother, wife, and author.
Emily Hamilton to Culture Apothecary.
Okay, I want to start with something really juicy out of the gate.
Oh, no.
Okay.
When people come at you and you get comments about modesty as a Christian pro surfer, what is your response?
Oh, my gosh.
I haven't even really noticed that.
Oh, well, that's good.
So people just kind of are like, you think accepting, like, I'm going to be in bathing
suits.
I literally surf for a living.
I think about this a lot.
And I honestly don't think I'm that modest, but I try to be more covered.
And I also like sunbathing and getting sun on my body.
But I also now I'm raising two young boys.
And the porn culture is so aggressive.
And there's just so much sexuality in our culture that I'm like, I don't want to be a part of that.
And then I've also had mentorship programs with teenage girls.
and I'm just seeing how young these girls are getting sexualized so young,
and they literally have no clue what they're engaging in
and the way they're attracting the male eye.
And while I'm not blaming them for the man's lack of, you know, self-control, so to say,
I just think it's a pain point in our culture,
but I'm also like I've grown up in a swimsuit.
And like, I actually am 100% more modest than most of my peers.
Like, where I live, like, people surf in thongs.
Like, they literally wear almost nothing.
And it's very normalized here.
And so, but then when I go to the Midwest and I have my swimsuit, I'm like, whoa.
I'm like, not very modest.
Yeah.
It's funny that people, you know, used to be very like, I have to be bikini bod ready.
You know, I cannot possibly wear a swimsuit.
not wear a crop top or any of these things, you know, if I don't look a certain way. Now it's like
absolutely no shame. Like nobody cares. Like we're wearing anything we want no matter what we look
like, nothing. Like, yeah, I mean, so I don't know. I just think that that's interesting.
Like, I think that there is, I see what you're saying. And I think there's something to be said to
like there's just different cultures. Obviously, you're going to see more skin living somewhere like
Hawaii. Oh my gosh. Where we live, it's like literally people are wearing like strings. Like that is
very normal. And even now, though, like, now having a daughter, I'm like, what do I want her to see
mom looking like? Like, this goes through my mind a lot. Right now, she's young. She doesn't know
really what's going on, you know? But I'm like, how do I want her dressed? What do I want
her to look like? I sometimes feel a little uncomfortable when I'm around a 13-year-old in a
thong. That makes me really, like, feel like, whoa. Are parents? Are you seeing parents
That is normal out here. That is very normal. Wow. But then it's like there's such extremes in modesty around the world and I'm very well traveled. So I've seen it all. And and then I'm like, well, I'm posting this on social media. And like there's like, you know, different cultures that like barely even show their shoulders, let alone their belly button, let alone their thighs. Right. And like I do consciously, you know, especially.
if I'm going to be photographed, I'm wearing a very modest, in my mind, it's more modest.
You know, my belly button might be showing, which supposedly your belly button getting
exposed to the sun is it will absorb even more vitamin D than other areas of your body.
Okay, health and wellness hack.
So I like think of all the things.
I'm like, but my skin needs some sunshine on it.
I think I did hear that, that if you really want to make the most of like a vitamin D sunwalk in the
morning that getting that infrared light and also having your stomach exposed and your thighs.
Like you need to have your upper legs that like those areas, I guess, for absorbing sun is like super
crucial and important. I don't know. You never, I don't think anyone would have called you
controversial a few years back. Right. Nobody would have thought Bethany Hamilton controversial.
Now when people call you controversial, does it make you laugh? Does it hurt you? Does it fuel you?
I don't really feel like I feel any of that.
It's good.
I just hold to my convictions and I know that I've been given a platform and when I feel it's a right time for me to hold to my conviction, I do.
Honestly, like, I'm not very passionate about that though.
Like, I'm not like, yeah, let's go fight the battle against all the people behind their keyboards, you know?
like that's not my passion. But I also feel like God has given me a strength and a will and a
conviction that I'm called to hold by. And when I should, I should. And so it's been such a journey
because, yeah, as COVID started to happen, like a very, you know, I was already pretty anti-vaccine.
I was very holistic minded, but I kept it mostly to myself because I'm like, it's not really
fun to go and battle people. And but then like everything in COVID happened and we avoided a lot of
the things going on with that, like vaccines. I rarely wore a face mask. I was just, I kind of saw
through the propaganda very early on. And I think it was like when I got married to my husband,
like we weren't super aligned on health stuff.
Like I just would say he didn't really have much of opinion on anything health.
But then when we were having children, he was like, oh, we're vaccinating them.
And I'm like, oh, we're going to talk about this.
But as he deep dove into it, he's pretty good at researching.
So I'm good at raising the flags and then he's good at researching.
And I think the biggest book we read, the Dr. Sears vaccine book.
Obsessed with Dr. Bob Sears.
We interviewed him on this show.
Yeah, he talked about the safe levels of, say, like, mercury for a child. And almost every single
vaccine was above the safe levels. Who's to say those safe levels are even accurate?
So that was kind of the start of our journey. And I was just like, I want to raise really healthy,
basically like hippie babies in Hawaii. We're playing in the dirt, sand, mud, and we're playing
in the sunshine. We're knowing God, we're eating healthy, and we're living on each other.
Like, that's the life I want to live.
And eventually Adam was like, okay, I agree with you.
And then, yeah, life's just gone in so many different directions.
But then I had heard rumors that the World Surf League, which is the main, like, NBA of
surf.
And I heard that they were going to allow transgender males into the female category.
And so, and then on top of that, my sponsor, since I was nine years old, Rip Curl also was doing a campaign
with a guy in a bikini.
And I was like, hey, I can't promote this to little girls.
Like, I just can't.
We're not going there.
Like, I can't stand for this.
I'm out.
Let's end the contract.
When you first reached out to Rip Curl and said,
you are putting a man in a bikini in your ads.
I am not promoting this.
You've been my sponsor since I was nine years old.
Did you do that publicly?
Did you put this on social media?
Or at first, did you try to tell them this behind the scenes?
Like, I'm giving you a heads up.
I'm not posting while this is going on.
Respectfully, they actually came to me first and let me know.
that this is what was coming. And at that point, I had already said, like, hey, World Surf League,
I want nothing to do with you if you're making this a rule within the female surfing category.
So first, the World Surf League did their move. And what was really awful about that was they had all
their surfers conveniently sign a contract that said, oh, you can't say anything negative towards
the World Surf League, or we will find you 10K and you'll be removed from the World Surf League.
And so all the athletes were basically like, unless they wanted to give up their career and pay 10K, they were silenced.
It was like Ariel and the Little Mermaid signing away her voice to Ursula.
Right.
But they didn't really like probably read the fine lines like a lot of athletes do.
We don't learn to read contracts and we trust these agencies that have our best interests in mind when they don't actually.
And they just want to make some money off us.
I've signed some bad contracts over the.
years. So I've slowly learned a bit of a thing or two about contracts and whatnot. But I was like,
the most well-known surfer in the world. I'm not under that contract. And I staunchly am against
this. And I'm like, okay, here we go. It's my turn to say no. So before you decided to openly
come out and condemn the World Surf League for this decision, was this something that just on your
own one day you just like post this and like everyone was like whoa okay bethany bringing the fire or did
you have this was this a long discussion with your husband at home like hey should I do this I'm
really feeling convicted to say something I had an internal conversation going on like if this hits
surfing I'm I'm speaking against it because it was already happening in other sports and then when
the world surf league sent an email to all the athletes we are actually competing in an event
on the north shore of Hawaii, which is like the epicenter of surf.
And then, yeah, we, as soon as they announced it, I knew it was my turn.
I was like, it's my time to shine.
And I just kind of prepared a note and wrote it out and then read it out.
And I knew it was going to be kind of gnarly as far as like the backlash and the hate.
But also I thought there might be some support too.
And yeah, we just sent it and put something out.
on social media. How many sponsors did you lose? Rip curl and I parted ways, which was my,
like I had like three more years, which for at my age to have a contract go to my mid 30s,
it's pretty dang good. From nine years old. And then I probably would have re-signed with them
again after that. It would have been more of like a lifelong partnership. I was just like,
you know what, if I'm having a daughter and I'm promoting this to her, like I won't be able to live
with myself. Like, I'm not on board for that. And it's really interesting. The guy that they
invited to be a part of their bikini campaign, he's a unique fellow in that he won a longboard
contest in Western Australia in the male category. And then he transitioned with drugs and whatnot.
And he won the female division like a year or two later in the same competition.
That is interesting because usually these men that want a transition that are athletes is because they're losing.
Like they suck basically.
Like the guy was a good surfer.
And then he was like, wait, I'm a girl and I'm going to change my life.
And also what was interesting is they would like promote a lot of promiscuity.
And he also, he looked like he aged really fast in like a year's time.
Like you could see photos before and after.
And like, you know the drugs that transcuit.
meals will take to, I don't know, I don't even know what they're taking, but the research I've done,
it's not good for you. It destroys your health. Yikes. You could literally see him go from healthy to
not healthy. And yeah, it's just been such an interesting journey. Like, I definitely could not have
envisioned my surf career kind of ending like that. Like, I haven't competed in a World Surf League
event since. They still have the same rule in place. Almost no sense.
None of the female surfers have spoken out against it.
Why do you think that is?
Well, a lot of them are contracted, and then a lot of them are fearful.
And what really disappoints me is like even the former world champs who had their heyday,
who never had to deal with this sort of rule, granted, currently there's no males in the female
division in the surfing industry.
So it doesn't feel like a weight on them, I'd say.
But if a male did enter, like, I think he would smoke them.
because the differentiation between females and males in surfing is a very large.
But yeah, it was definitely very lonely.
And you know what really bums me out too is the fact that none of the men spoke out.
Yeah.
Like it's like the girls have to self-defense.
Like it's all up to us to figure out our own shizzle.
Where are the real men to protect women?
And I'm like, where's the men?
Where's the fathers?
Where's the guys who are supposed to be protecting the girls?
And they're like, oh, you girls figured out.
Do you think silence from other Christian athletes on this topic is wisdom or fear?
Oh my goodness. I think it's for sure fear.
Do you think that that is a sin?
I mean, I'm sure you could find some scripture to back up like, you know, like not standing up for what is good and right and truth.
I don't have any off the top of my head.
And I don't want to go as far as to be like, hey, you're a sinner.
I don't know if that's my place right now, but I do think that cowardice is such a big thing in our culture now,
and it's degrading the strength of the family, of the unit, so to say.
Like we need strong men, and we need women aligned with their men, and we are having a lot of misalienable.
alignment and a lot of lack of strength and just standing up for what is right. And I think it's just
devastating. And you can see the effects in our culture across the board, the dysfunction
within the home and beyond and dating culture and everything just about everything's just become so
degenerative. Do you ever feel pressure to just tone it down to keep certain doors open in the
professional world? Not really. I think for me, it's more based off like my, the energy that I have.
Like, I'm not speaking out against males in female sports all the time. Like, I'm just loving on
my family and raising my children. And we launched our podcast, which we will touch on this topic
soon, which we haven't really done it yet. But I have someone I'm trying to get her to come up.
Is it Riley? I would love to have Riley. Because I can do you, Riley. We can text her right now. We should
send her a picture.
and say, Riley, look who it is.
I kind of want her to bring out baby and, like, come hang out here.
Yes.
So I was going to, like, as soon as I wanted to reach out to her, she was, like, announcing her pregnancy
and she's pretty far along.
So I was like, you know, I'm going to wait until she gets past all that.
Yeah, her and her husband, you guys will love them.
Like, her and her husband are so much fun.
And, dude, you know what?
I guarantee she will freaking kill it in a serve lesson with you.
Oh, yeah.
She will smoke me.
Let's just get that out of the way.
You can take her on the real stuff.
I bet she just crushes.
If she doesn't already surf, who knows she might.
But yeah, so you have somebody in mind that you want to cover it with.
Do you think that the surfing world has changed since you started?
And if so, for better or for worse?
I think certain areas within surf, like surf media has followed a lot of the woke patterns.
Like, you can just see them kind of softening and kind of like following the trends of, you know, global warming and stuff like that.
and, you know, the way they communicate around women and race and all that, it seems like to me it's a very much following along the woke ideologies, I guess.
Does it break your heart or does it just not bother you?
I mean, I just think that's part of life and the world and there's sin and there's lies and there's darkness and it's going to be everywhere.
It's going to be everywhere.
But at the end of the day, we know that God's in control and he's stronger and greater.
more powerful than all of that. And I think it just draws me more to the Lord because I'm like,
okay, that seems like chaos. This is peace. And I want the peace. Okay. Ditch the Botox appointment
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Wow.
Mom, you should really pay more attention to what your kids listen to.
There are some real weirdos out there.
If you could say one uncensored thing to the World Surf League right now that you've
never said publicly, what would it be?
Y'all do not have female surfing's best interests in mind.
And it's absolutely so rude that you're allowing this and you're
bowing to what the greater powers of, I don't know if it's linked to the Olympics and some greater
powers above the Olympics.
Like, I feel like there's some dark spiritual thing going on because you watch the Olympic
opening celebrations.
You're so right.
And they're so messed up.
You're like, what is this?
This is some tweaked out mess.
Like, they almost look like they're on some sort of mushrooms as they're preparing this, like,
and sports used to be.
What is going on?
This used to be or should be, sports should be, the great unifier.
I would just say shame on you, WSL.
Like, why?
Why?
Like, you truly do not have women's best interests in mind.
And you're just following along with some trend that will end because we're going to win at
some point or another and get things back to a more stable position.
You're in a sport where your body is both your tool and your platform.
How do you mentally separate taking care of your body from idolizing it?
Oh my goodness. It's been so much fun diving into health. And I'm, I had the cutest little nerdy start with health. So a lot of my best friends and I, when we were like 16, we started a no hydrogenated oil club.
You're joking when you were 16. Wait, so you and I are basically the same age. So when we were teenagers, because I did not even know what the heck that was. You were saying no seed oils, basically. No hydrogenated oil.
The OG seed oil.
When I was 16, I was like, oh, hell no to this.
Yes.
And they've banned that now.
I mean, for the most part, they know what's bad.
So you knew this?
How?
I don't know how I knew it.
Maybe one of my friends or I don't know who discovered it.
I don't remember how this all came together, but we joined the club.
So like, Oreos were a no-go because Oreos had hydrogenated oils.
And then by the time I was 18, I won this, like, my parents won this gift raffle.
for a live blood analysis.
So that was like my first invite into like working with a professional around my health.
And I hadn't gotten my period at that point.
I was 18, super athletic, super like driven, like working my body really hard.
And that's the case for a lot of female athletes as teenagers.
They have no period.
I actually have this new kind of like wisdom, I guess, is like I actually don't think athletes are like the ones you should go to for health advice.
Like I really think a lot of athletes make a lot of mistakes.
They're super depleted.
They under E.
A lot of them are just not actually that healthy.
Like maybe there's a gem here and there.
But I'm like, don't get your health advice from athletes.
This is some wisdom right here.
This is sending me.
You were literally healing a sick culture.
You were culture apothecary at 16 years old.
And like your entire life has been dedicated to this.
Like I need to be learning so much from you.
I'm so impressed.
So yeah, so I did the live blood analysis. I see how dirty my blood is. Even at 18, there's like parasites, toxic buildup, lack of blood flow. And so I did a cleanse. And like from there, it was just my journey of like starting to read and nerd. And I found just a lot of interest in it. And I was also like, well, this will help me perform well in my sport. But even then, I still didn't have it figured out, so to say. And maybe I won't ever. Who knows? But
Fast forward. I have a very athletic career. And then fast forward, I get married. I have two babies.
It was after I had my second baby when I hit another wall in health. Like, I think I was just so depleted. I was
under eating. Not because I had an eating disorder. I want to be clear there. It was just that I simply wasn't
eating enough to be breastfeeding and super athletic. I was still surfing a ton. I was even competing.
I was trying to get back on the main world surf league tour.
I was competing like around the world.
But then COVID hit.
So it kind of shut everything down.
But I had like done this recommit to like try to qualify for the world surf league.
So I was just pushing my body through the ringer plus nursing and just not eating enough.
And I literally hit a wall.
Like my nervous system was fried.
I would like drop something and just start crying.
I was like waking up at three in the morning wide awake like stressed out.
But like not understanding.
understanding why. Like I was nursing and co-sleeping, but I would wake up and like the baby would still be sleeping and I was just like lay there. So it forced me to have to like problem solve health issues and like what's going on. Obviously my adrenals were probably fried. My thyroid was probably off. And so long story short, I got really into the pro metabolic movement, which is kind of like high protein, high carb, a good amount of calories, not under eating. And then very mineral based. So making sure you're getting things like, oh, you're
Boathe, bone broth is very high in minerals, eating things like bee pollen, taking magnesium,
trying to get potassium in orange juice, coconut water dates, various foods. And so, like, paying attention
to those minerals and the calorie intake, I probably doubled my calorie intake. I was probably
at, like, 2,000 calories a day, and I went up to, like, 3,500 or more. I went from, like,
not eating enough to like being fully satiated and eating a lot and like I felt my energy come back.
I felt like slowly but surely the emotional side started to mellow out and I just found my flow
with food. Like I always was actually like as athletic as I was. I was never really like toned.
I was kind of like chubby. But I would work out like six hours a day. I would like work out and
surf a ton, especially before I had children, right? When I had all the time in the world to
like do all the things. So I would just like surf for like six hours straight. That's wild.
But my body was just not getting enough nutrients and it was almost like holding on to whatever it was
fed. And so fast forward now, I feel like my energy is better than ever. And now I have four children.
And I'm like ready to charge the day. I'm way more stable like mentally and emotionally.
granted there's been a lot of hard things in my life so emotions have been a little all over the place
but that's more of like I think circumstances versus like health stability so you can have like
unstable health and you're kind of like fried and nervous system overworked and then there's just like
really hard things in life and so anyway I'm just so grateful that like in our conversation on our
podcast all things possible we talked about taking ownership of our health and I think
women in particular really need to take ownership of our health. Like stop making the excuses.
Because eventually if you do have children, you're going to have to provide for their needs.
And like, I want to raise really healthy children. Like if there's two things I give them,
it's health and faith. That's the two things I want to give them. And like, if I can do just that,
well, and love. Love from mom and data. But like, that's what I think of like when I want to, you know,
What am I going to get my children? That's like the two most important things.
Is it true that you surfed through pregnancy and postpartum?
Yes. So I surfed. Well, I usually stop surfing around seven months. So I'm pretty far along.
It's pretty big. That baby is in your tummy is surfing while you're surfing.
What's crazy is I got better at surfing when I was pregnant. Why? Do you think it was an extra like something extended to help you balance?
Let me paint the picture. So I'm like, we were talking.
about being a ballet surfer, more graceful, free, flowy, and, like, the more, like,
a hip hop dancer surfer. I'm more of, like, the hip hopper. Like, I want to, like, get crazy
and, like, do the crazy things and surf the big waves and get the barrels. And so I really, like,
go out the wave hard, you know, like, I put my all into it. And it's, like, with passion and fire.
And when I got pregnant, it almost slowed me down and smoothed out my style because I had this extra
weight and baby and like my timing got better and I think it was also like some maturing going on
and I literally got better at surfing and then over the years I was just like you know what this is
my one thing I love to do we're going to be able to maintain surfing as we had the babies thankfully
my husband's like around enough that I can go and get in the ocean and so what what is the physical
prep to be able to do that surf while pregnant I think it's just being kind of fit to begin with and I'm
also an expert at surfing and then just continuing throughout the pregnancy.
Talk about how you prioritize fitness during pregnancy.
Because a lot of women, I just want to get your take on this.
So I interviewed, I don't know if you know who Benny Johnson is, his wife, Nurse Kate.
So Nurse Kate Johnson is phenomenal and great friend of the show.
And she gets on and she says something kind of spicy.
She says, look, I hear a lot of excuses from mothers after they have baby about why they can't get
healthy why they can't lose weight. She's not talking about, you know, in the immediate aftermath,
but she's saying like, if you are years down the road after pregnancy and you're like,
this is my baby weight, she's like, it's not your baby weight. Like you are not prioritizing your
health and, you know, your health is suffering and, you know, eventually your own family's health
could suffer because of that, you know, having to deal with you. So she's like, this is,
you need to own it, mom. So Kate gets on and kind of drops that bomb. I mean, do you feel the
same way? Like it is crucial throughout pregnancy to be working out and taking care of this
and not slacking. So I probably have a very balanced approach. I want to backtrack a little bit
on an influence in my life was actually my mom, because my mom was a total surfer babe.
Like she moved from San Diego, California to Hawaii pursuing surfing. She was a little surf
hippie, lived in a Volkswagen van, eventually met my dad who also lived in a Volkswagen van.
They're total hippies. Fell in love, got married, and then had us children. But my mom was a
total mermaid. And then after she had me, she kind of let go of her health. And she, like,
within, you know, by the time I was 13, she wasn't really surfing. And so I was always like,
Mom, I want to be in the ocean with you. And even to this day, she's such a surfer. Like,
she'll check the waves. But, like, she's older now and she's lost her mobility and she's gotten
really overweight. And I was just like, before I had my first child, I was like, you know what,
I'm going to take care of myself because I want to serve with my children. I want to be there
with them. I want to venture hard with them. And I don't want to be held back by any, you know,
health limitations. And so going into my first pregnancy, I had a very strong mindset.
Granted, my first pregnancy was before I, like, feel like I dialed in my health very solidly.
I was so exhausted, like just falling asleep. Like, the first trimester, just completely exhausted,
falling over in my chair, like, can't stay awake.
So by the time you had your second pregnancy,
what were you doing different in that first trimester
that gave you more energy, you think?
Second trimet, second baby, same thing, like, exhausted.
Okay, but the third baby.
Been nursing a baby and then had another baby also traveled the world,
filmed my documentary, unstoppable, like running hard,
pushing myself too much, doing too much,
nursing, not eating enough, then having another baby.
And mind you, I'm not eating enough because,
I just literally didn't know how much calories I needed.
I had the same problem.
I needed close to like 3,500 to 4,000 calories with the amount of output I was putting out.
And so, fast forward, third baby, or yeah, third baby, I'm at this point I've had to
start problem solving, like I shared earlier.
So I started doing the pro-metabolic, so eating a lot more raw dairy, high protein, high
carb, like getting it all in, eating, drinking orange juice again, like being kind of scared of
sugar for a while, even like fruit sugar. And then I'm like, now I'm eating it all, but making
sure I'm getting enough protein so that that helps to regulate if I drink a glass of orange
juice. I'm like, I haven't eaten a few eggs before I did that, right? And so now, fast forward,
the second two pregnancies, the babies just, there's something different about them. They seem a little
like they got a little more edge than the first two. And my energy is amazing. Like I napped like less make maybe a handful of times in my second two pregnancies like total in the seven month window. And what does your exercise regimen look like while pregnant? Okay. So back to your question though with being exercise. I do try to listen to my body and I feel like I push myself too hard with my first pregnancy and maybe even my second pregnancy because I was like I'm determined to keep my athletic.
And then fast forward to my third and fourth baby, I just kind of free float it.
Like I didn't let loose, so to say.
I didn't like stop moving, but I would just work out when I felt it.
I would surf.
I would do things that made me happy, go for walks.
Like it was more of like a flow with life.
I already know how to move.
I already know how to work out.
I know what feels good during pregnancy.
And so I had experience on my side, especially with a professional athlete background.
and all the trainers I've learned under.
I also started doing functional patterns,
which is one of my favorite forms of working out.
It just helped balance my body.
Anytime my back would feel kind of out.
I've never heard of that.
Functional patterns is amazing.
What is this?
Is it like a class?
It's kind of, it's a more holistic style of working out.
So you're doing a lot of twisting while lunging,
and it's more of like following the motion of the body.
So as you walk, you tend to like shift your, you know, your right arm goes with your left leg.
Your left arm goes with your right leg naturally when you walk.
If you're in a healthy pattern, some of us aren't.
So is this something that you go to a class for?
Is it something you do at home with videos?
What is this?
I found a trainer who knew it.
And so I started working with him.
They do sell, like I bought one of their programs and I've been going through it.
I actually want to get certified so I can just like.
train myself better and share it with people here and there if they want to learn a bit about it.
But it's been such a game changer. And I feel like it's bringing even more longevity to my surf game.
So here we are four babies later. And I still really love surfing. And I want to be in the water with my
daughter when she's, you know, 15. And I want to get barreled and then watch her get barreled right
after me. Like I want to like maintain that. So how old she's two and I'm 35? So by the time she's
15. That's what like 13 years from now. So I'll be like 47. How old do people compete in surfing?
Like what's the oldest? I mean, Kelly Slater is like one of the most incredible surfers of all time.
As far as competitively and he surfs incredible and he just retired at like 52. But he's also an anomaly.
He's like one of the best athletes of all of a history. And like he's one events at like age.
Does he live on the big island? He lives. You're thinking of maybe.
Shane Dorian. He's a big wave surfer and he's, yeah, he's very well known too. But Kelly Sater,
he's from Florida. Okay. He gets kind of a nomad.
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So I'm in the bathroom last week, right?
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off the premium starter kit. What surprised you the most about returning to the waves after each
pregnancy? Okay, my first return back to the water after my first baby was so humbling because I just
could barely even stand up. I felt so weak and I had the extra weight. And I had the extra weight.
and I was just so humbling. I think like I was so excited to get in the water and then it was just like, oh, that was awful. But so leave it Shirley, I, you know, worked on my strength. And I think that's the thing is like with my first two, I feel like I was really hard on myself. And there wasn't a lot of love there. It was just like aggression and like hurry up. I had been invited to compete and I had had some of my best career moments after I had my first baby.
And it was shortly after.
That's cool.
It was a year after I had my first baby, I won.
Not one.
I finished third.
So I made the semis and I lost to the girl who won the event.
But it was just like I took down two world champs in that event.
That's incredible.
You know who that reminds me of?
A little bit of Ballerina Farm.
Yeah.
You know her?
She, you know, just had that baby and then like a couple days later competed in a beauty page and people were shook.
That was insane.
That reminds me.
I mean, that was a lot for me.
I was like, well, I can know.
I don't know.
But I actually had competed three months, three and a half months after I had my first baby.
That is so freaking cool.
And in hindsight, like, yeah, it was cool, but it was pretty intense on my body.
It wasn't gracious.
It wasn't loving.
It was like, hurry up.
Do you like the 40-day rule of, like, if you can, try not to get out of bed for 40 days?
I've had midwives that are like, don't leave your bed for the first week.
don't leave the 10-foot radius for the second week. Don't leave your room for the third week.
Don't leave that floor for the fourth week. So I've had that sort of influence. And I think for women like
myself who want to go and just like do all the things really quick, you know, I want to go just
get back to the beach. I think it was really good for me. And I think you're just adjusting to so much
in that season. And you really do need a lot of focus on the baby. And if you add,
more things, you're, like, kind of stressed out. Like, it's a lot to get out in public. Like,
I didn't like getting out in public without my husband for, like, the first three months.
And I think some women, like, maybe they can adopt really well. For me, I think also having one
arm does make it harder, like, changing the diaper. I use my feet. I don't like to use my feet
out in public. Like, you know, like, you want your feet clean. Yeah, that will be really hard in
public restrooms. Things like that are kind of hard for me. And, like, I, it's just, like, mentally was
like, I just liked staying home and keeping things simple. But I think there is a huge adjustment.
And I think there is a culture that pushes a little too hard. And we need to find that balance of like,
you know, get your health back in order, like take care of yourself, like get some movement in.
But also like, you know, you don't have to compete three months later, even though it's possible,
you know. I don't know. I kind of go back and forth because fast forward to my.
fourth baby in particular, I was the least pressured. I was in the most restful season. I was very
confident in my nutrition. I just ate nourishingly. And I almost felt like it was the easiest one.
It was the easiest one to kind of get my body back into that athletic shape. And I was just more
patient and loving on myself. And I felt more at peace. And so I feel like I learned a lot as the babies went. And
like I think there is a time like when you're feeling stressed out, slow down. When you feel overwhelmed,
slow down. You don't have to do all the things every day. Like just show up how you can show up.
But then like when you have the energy, like go for a walk, take care of yourself. Like do some movement
to help yourself regain that strength because it does feel really good to be strong again.
Like I want to be able to like piggyback my children and like, you know, do all the things and be like adventurous
with them. So that's what drives me is like charging hard with my children. What do you see other surfers
eating and how does your own approach differ? It's funny. I am a surfer, but I'm not like super
integrated into the surf world. I feel like I don't really like pay attention too much.
You've got your own family now. Yeah. I'm just like on my own journey. And also I feel like with
health, I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel like we've hit this jackpot of like figuring out the like raw dairy,
lots of red meat. Are you doing raw milk? Yeah. My bra. My bra.
brother is a dairy farmer, so we get fresh milk from him, and we can go and milk the cows if we want.
You let your babies drink raw milk? Yes. That's controversial. I think I have gotten sick from it,
too, because we, like, let us sit out too much in the, like, over night in the car, and I got a little sick.
Oh, you're wild for trying that, Bethany. That's any milk, by the way. That wouldn't just be raw.
But I will say, like, after weaning my children, I think dairy is a blessing, and some of the, like, health
influences I've read is like there's something called like serratus plasma or something in milk
that helps you like with copper convert it like is like this energy magical connection inside
the body as far as nutrition and I also grew up lactose intolerance so now I'm drinking dairy
and eating cheese and it's all good what does recovery look like for you sleep nutrition
mental reset oh my goodness this one's kind of an overwhelming question for me
because I honestly haven't slept for like 10 years.
You're not sleeping.
Bethany, what's going on?
Well, I finally figured out, like, my children have airway issues.
Oh.
And I realized that I had airway issues, too.
Dude, did you get them a tooth pillow?
We're working on it.
We're, like, in the process because there's literally no one on the island that does that.
So we've just been, like, trying to make these appointments and we have to fly off island and make it happen.
So anyway, we're figuring out their situation to.
me they're more important, but we might end up doing it for me too at the same time. But like,
we did this like test thing recently where I had my finger attached to this thing all night and it's
like, I wake up a lot. Like my sleep is not healthy. Yeah. And I even like put mouth tape on.
I put eye blankie. There's no lights on in the room. I'm turning me like all our lights are
circadian rhythm. The airway dentist that created tooth pillow. She's a huge fan of the show,
friend of the show. She's based in Texas. We get you out for YWLS.
next summer? Like that you could, I could set you up with her.
Because you can do a tooth pillow even as an adult, right? I don't know if you can do
tooth pillows and adult. I think there are things that adults can do. What she could help you
with that though. But I'm saying if you wanted to make a whole thing of it, like I could link you
guys because she's incredible. But she's been on the show before and she's there in Texas. So it would
be a quick, like easy to, you know, while you're there. Yeah. So while I have improved my sleep a lot,
I've just been nursing, co-sleeping. I just like kind of free flow it. But I
I keep going back to my first two children versus my second two children.
The diet made a huge difference.
Wow.
Like I would wake up in the morning after having my first two and I was like haggard.
Like, you know, must drink coffee.
Like can't get moving until 10 o'clock.
Like really low motivation.
Kind of like that extreme fatigue sort of feeling.
And then the diet shift and like the focus on minerals and getting enough calories and like
Even I went through a season, which this is counterculture, I would have a bedtime snack.
So I would have like ice cream and like some protein right before bed.
That helped me sleep through the night because my body is different than yours.
Like breastfeeding, being super athletic.
I'm bruning through a lot of calories.
So I wasn't getting through the night off the calorie intake.
And so the bedtime snack literally shifted my life.
So anytime someone's like, don't eat right before bed.
I'm like, but you might need to if you're like super calorie.
burning human.
Babies that have trouble sleeping
or falling asleep
or waking up in the middle of the night,
I've seen moms talk about giving them
just like a big bite of butter.
I've tried that.
Did work?
I think it did help.
I need to get back on that
because my little one still kind of wakes up.
Yeah, you should try that out
because I'm like seeing people
have like these miraculous stories.
Like, dude, I gave my kid
like just a spoonful of butter
and like out like a light.
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I'll never forget this one white elephant gift party I went to.
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Everyone was fighting over a sock puppet.
And the host was just roasting people left and right.
Like, yeah, Sam, you really needed that sock puppet.
Huh, big boy, you want to bark at my wall later?
Um, I did not last five minutes with that crowd.
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code Alex Clark. Is there a food or practice that is non-negotiable before you surf? No, I'm definitely
hydrating and I just make sure I eat something decent, you know. But nowadays, I feel like I just
kind of eat throughout the day and I go surf and I just have really good energy. So to me, health is
having good energy. Health is having good sleep. So we're working on that aspect. But I think that's the thing
with health is you're never going to reach, you know, the pinnacle. Like, you're always going to be
kind of tending and maintaining and taking care of yourself and little things might come up that you've got
a problem solve. And I've kind of learned to accept that, like, I'm not going to be the perfect,
you know? Yeah. We're just focusing on what we can do each day and, like, we build in some habits.
And before you know, the habits just feel really natural and you're not thinking about them. And then
you throw in another extra little habit and it just becomes your way of life. And so I would just
encourage any listeners if you're like, oh, it feels overwhelming with health. Like just slowly stacking
in new habits and eventually the habits just feel natural and you just do it and it just happens.
And a lot of our health routine as a family just, we're together and we're doing it and it just happens.
Are there any new therapies or hacks that you're into wellness-wise? For me, something that
that's been helpful. It's not necessarily something new, but it's stacking health. So, for example,
I have a sauna and I have a red light in my sauna. So I can do the two together. Sometimes I'll have a
gwashaw tool or I'll read my Bible. So I'm like stacking a few things at the same time. Because as a
mother, I don't have all the time in the world. I don't want to neglect my children for myself.
But I do want to have little windows for myself. So for me, a
day will be like, I'm going to go surf or workout. I'm not doing both in the one day. I'm balancing
out my life and I've become more comfortable with like just balancing out the things so that I can
show up for my family in a way that's good and healthy and not neglectful, so to say. Because I think
sometimes you can get like, I don't know, I'm like an overachiever. So I want to like do all the
things and be super healthy. But I've also found that slowing down and doing less has also been good for
my health. So being able to get just, you know, I'm not working out all the time. I'm not surfing as
much as I used to and that's okay. Just finding the balance and like letting go of like extreme
expectations towards everything like health. Like even the way I expect of my children or my
husband, like having too high of expectations can actually be like counter healthful.
You grew up in a Christian home, right? When do you feel like your faith changed?
change from being something that you inherited to something that you owned?
It's interesting in the Old Testament.
This was something I recently was talking to someone about and how faith was inherited.
In the Old Testament, they talk about faith being inherited through generations.
And I think this is how God designed it.
Like, our children should inherit their faith from mom and dad.
Like, that is a good blessing.
And I would say my children today have faith.
Like, even though they might not, like, it might not look like extreme faith.
Like, they're not evangelizing out on the streets.
Yeah.
But they hear from God's word and they pray with mom and dad and they receive that church.
It's a really beautiful gift.
And just being able to raise my children in their faith.
But I'm so grateful for my childhood.
My mom would read the Proverbs and Psalms with me.
That was her favorite and pray with me.
many nights of the week. My dad was adamant to go to church and then fast forward. I got married.
Well, actually, I'm going to touch on when I lost my arm, I prayed to God going in.
Like, that was like the one thing that really sticks out to me is like I was praying to God
immediately. Like, Lord help me. Just survive. Yeah. And then even I think like in the weeks to follow,
I had a peace that only God could have given me. Like a peace that surpasses all underst.
Like truly I'm in awe of just how I handled that and I believe that the Lord was with me and like he gave me a piece that I might not have found in any anything else or anywhere else.
And then fast forward, you know, I got married and started having children and new challenges in life came up and just diving into my faith on another level.
Like fast forward, I grew up non-to-nom and now I'm a
L. CMS Lutheran. So they're kind of like, you know, our church is more liturgical. We sing hymns. It's very
more rooted in history. And our theology is very clear versus kind of being wishy-washy. Like I feel
like I grew up in more of a wishy-washy environment. Yeah. And now I have a lot of clarity. And to me,
this brings a lot of surety and peace. And my faith is not rooted in my emotions or in the
challenges of life, but it's rooted in God and His word and His promises. And I think no matter what
denomination you come from, like you can have that same like kind of rooted in God's words, so to say.
But I really appreciate the beauty of like our church now. We expect to receive the grace of God.
the law every Sunday and there's a lot of scripture reading and the reverence is very different
and I just like have fallen in love with our faith now. It's very rooted and grounded and full of God's
grace. That's what leads us and nothing else. And like it's because of his grace then the work's flow.
Whereas like I feel like there was always this like better have your act together. You better like
show up and do some work. It was the work.
And I'd go back and get myself baptized again because I was feeling like I wasn't being communicated God's grace in my life. And I needed that every single day, not just on Easter. I didn't need the Easter message only on Easter. I needed that every single day. And fast forward now, I feel like I think of that every single day. Because of the influence of faith that I have now, it's rooted in the grace of God. But, like,
like it's married with his law. And so it's the grace that moves us forward to want to respect his
law and his call in our life. And that is what moves us to do good works, to love our neighbor and to
show up our best versus that pressure of like, oh my gosh, I'm not showing up my best. Like,
you know, I got to go get rebaptized and rededicated. Like there was kind of this lack of surety,
I'd say, in my young years versus like, God.
God's grace is sufficient, and you can always rely on that.
And so it's been this big shift.
And mind you, that's been a 10-year transition.
It wasn't like a light thing that we just kind of jumped on the bandwagon.
Like, we're 10 years in now.
And we're just super grateful.
You decided to homeschool your kids.
And as soon as you started talking about this, people started saying, you're sheltering them.
And you said, yeah, I am.
Tell us what you meant by that.
It blows my mind that that is the, like,
number one question you get like, oh, like, are they getting enough socialization? I'm like,
yeah, and they're also avoiding a lot of negative socialization. So especially today, it's like you look
at the impact of devices on children's childhood. Like, children are not the same as they used to be.
The average young boy is now being exposed to some sort of pornography by eight years old. We've
covered this a lot in our podcast because I'm obsessed with like, people need to know this. It's
crazy. And I just think that in the young years, our children need to be raised by mom and dad and
nobody else. Yes, we can have grandpa and grandma involved. Yes, we can have friends. Yes,
we can have aunties and uncles involved. But at the end of the day, mom and dad are the number
one influence. Like my four-year-old, like he's just, mom, dad, let's go. Like, he doesn't need to be
with 20 other children. Like, he needs to be with mom and dad. And I see that. And I see the impact of,
I don't know, my children, I'm just like, maybe it's a bit of pride and, like, joy and, like,
love just, like, seeing how they're developing. Like, I think they're amazing and they're doing
so well. And they have such a balance. Like, they can have a great conversation.
with someone who's 90 or someone who's three or two or a baby.
Like my 10-year-old, he's just so amazing with everyone.
And even my 7-year-old, he's very similar.
And their personalities are super different.
But just seeing how they interact with the world around them and the different ages is really cool.
And we're focused on not just math, reading English, but like habits, faith, music.
Like, I think homeschool allows for that.
And maybe you're listening and you're like, well, Bethany, you make good money.
Like, you can pull it off.
Well, I have a lot of friends who are also homeschooling and they're living off of single income and they're just scraping by.
But they're choosing to make a sacrifice that is really hard.
When you say single income, do you mean like a single parent household?
They're married.
They're married.
But like the mom is not working or, you know, she's fully devoted to the children.
So a lot of people, you know, I think there's just ways to work your finances.
You know, some people are just, you know, some of them are barely scraping by.
They're not living in luxury, but they're devoting them their time to their children in this season.
And so anyway, I homeschooled from sixth grade on.
So I went to public school up until sixth grade and then I homeschooled.
And there's certain aspects of my homeschool that weren't amazing.
I'll be super honest.
But there was other aspects that, like, I was so developed and ready to charge of the world by, like, 16, 17 years old.
Like, I think I was traveling international by myself at 17.
Whoa.
And it wasn't a big deal to me.
Like, I was so developed and in a good way and very driven towards my sport.
And then eventually I got into other lines, like, I got into motivational speaking, which did not come really easily for me.
I was very shy and like didn't like to be the center of attention.
And so there was things along the way where I was able to devote myself.
And then I got into health too.
And I put a lot of time into like just learning and pushing myself in certain areas.
And it's just been such a fun journey.
But I see the beauty in like being able to pursue things that I was genuinely passionate about from say 14 on.
How do you realistically manage school time, family time, church time?
your wife, your athlete identity. How does that all fit in in a day? Oh my goodness. Well, we're not always
killing it on everything in every single day. And there's rough moments and realignment moments where we got
like realign and reevaluate our time spend. And I would say nutrition is a big part of that and
respecting my need for sleep so that I can show up and do all the things and not feel like I'm burning
out by two o'clock. And then I just prior like our children are home with us. But,
we do have a really cool setup because my mom lives with us. My mom and dad live in our guest
house and so my children can run back there anytime. So a lot of times I'm like, we got to get a
meeting down done. So run back to grandma's and go hang for an hour. So we have like some things
going for us that make it definitely more doable. But even if they weren't living there,
I believe there's ways to set up your children to have creative playtime where they're
somewhat independent. Like my big boys are just, I don't know.
know, they're doing their thing a lot of times when they're not being directed by me.
Yeah.
And they have an independence, but also they're very involved and engaged and helpful and
learning.
And yeah, it's been wild to see like my two older is learning to read.
So my oldest, I started at four and a half.
He was showing interest in wanting to read.
And then my second eldest, I started him at six and a half.
And it was so much easier to teach my second.
It was such a joyful process. He was ready for it. And so I believe in delayed learning. Like,
you know, the studious learning, I don't think we need to start at five or four and a half.
I don't either. Preschoolers are learning how to read. I'm like, why? I don't either.
You're pulling your teeth out. Mom's like, just stop and go play in nature. And if you want to draw a letter in the sand, do it. But you and I are on the same page. I literally, the way I have freaked so many people out being like, my kid isn't reading by.
you know, six, seven years old, I'm not, I'm not pressed. So here, listen to this though. So with,
I mean, every child's different. So I know that I'm thinking of that as I say this. So I'm like,
my seven year old's like six and a half. Oh my gosh. Like he's not reading. Like what in the world
are we doing? We start his reading. And by the time he's like seven, he's full blown reading.
And if anything, he's like at a sixth grade level. Wow. So it has.
happened really fast. And he was ready for it. Yeah. I do love the read aloud family. Like,
I never read the book, but there's a woman, she's like, calls it the read aloud family. She might
have a podcast or something. I never listened to it, but I heard her talk. And it made such an
impact that we started reading a lot to our children right away, like not just like a couple board
books, but like really reading and like starting to get them to get their attention span to be
able to handle a little longer. So by the time my eldest was five, we were reading like Little
House on the Prairie series. And he had the attention span to listen. And then the younger brother
was just along for the ride. So he's hearing everything too. And it's kind of this domino effect.
And they're kind of being read to on a higher level than they're maybe used to. But it's interesting
seeing like my three-year-old his vocabulary or four-year-old his vocabulary is really almost
seems above. And it's just like been amazing to see how even just reading aloud can be such a big
advantage. And I'm like, if your child has a passion to read, they can learn anything. You know,
that's the biggest thing they need in education is reading. Like it's so basic. And we want to
complicate education. But I'm just learning that, you know, a lot of those fears, worries and
doubts, like our children can learn really fast. And I saw it happen. And I'm so glad this happened
early on in our educating at home because I had that peer pressure, that cultural pressure,
that mom fear. Like, he's behind. He's six and a half. He's not reading. And then boom,
he's like way above his grade level. And actually, I can't get him off a book. I'm like,
stop reading. We're going to do something else. When people tell your story, DeKine,
from now, what do you hope they emphasize? I mean, I just really do love that my story is a story
of determination and hope and perseverance and pushing through pain because, you know, in this life,
we will have trouble, but take heart. Christ has overcome the world on our behalf. And so
having this deeper hope, this greater purpose that life isn't just the shark attack moments,
but how we react to those and how we keep going.
And for me, my faith has been a grounding,
but I think also God made me the way I am
and he designed me in this unique fashion
to go in charge and surf big waves
and keep surfing after I have all my babies
and all the things I've done along the way.
But I do love being able to encourage people
to just persevere through life
because there is a lot of hard things that we go through.
And I think we all need a reminder
of hope and encouragement and persevering through the ups and downs.
If you could go back and talk to your 13-year-old self and just talk to her about her life ahead,
what would you say?
I feel like the Lord's been so faithful to me throughout all the years since I lost my arm
that I don't really have much to say to her.
Like, I feel like the Lord provided everything I need.
Maybe I would just say, like, hey, girl, the Lord's going to provide everything that you need.
and just lean on me no matter how hard it gets.
You interviewed me on your podcast.
You also taught me how to surf today.
By the way, which you did amazing.
Thank you.
Yeah, first time ever.
I mean, I've never done anything.
So, like, it was good for like never, ever doing that,
which you can watch on the real Alex Clark YouTube channel.
But where can people subscribe to your podcast?
Tell us about it.
Who do you interview?
How often are episodes coming out and where to watch?
Okay.
So we launched our podcast, all things possible.
I've been wanting to launch one for like three years.
And finally, like, we did it.
My husband and I co-hosts together, and we're talking about a lot of things, faith, family, health, and a little bit of culture.
I'm especially passionate about, I don't know all of it, but like I want to dive deeper into theology.
Like I think a lot of the churches in America are very watered down, and a lot of our faith has gotten so watered down, and we need to get back to our richer roots.
And so a lot of our podcasts are like as we're kind of still developing here,
trying to figure out what's working and how to go about it.
But that's a big passion point of mine.
And then obviously I'm really into health.
So I really want to encourage people to overcome in their health.
So we're diving into that a lot.
Then naturally family, I just love encouraging people to want to have families and to look forward to this
and to be able to problem solve the challenges that come with it.
You know, no matter where we're at in life, there's going to be challenges.
And even, you know, having children, like, I think there's been a season where I remember, like,
getting to bed and I was like, that was awful.
Like, that day was not fun.
Like, that was an awful day.
Like, I don't enjoy being a mom.
To, like, finding my flow and overcoming those moments and truly loving motherhood and being
able to like problem solve the little challenges that come with it and navigating emotions and
all the things. And so I just want to be an encouragement at the end of the day. So yeah, all things
possible. And I'm on all the social medias at Bethany Hamilton. I am Bethany Dirk's, but we kept
the Hamilton going. Yeah. I was just asked that the other day. They were like, when you get married,
will you drop Clark and take his last name? I'm like, well, first of all, I will be taking his last
name? But like when you're in a business like us, like, you're in a business like us, like, you're
It's like impossible. First of all, it's so expensive to change so much branding and things
like with your name. But also it's just practical. Like for searchability, people to find you.
But I'm like, I'm going to be putting my real last name, I think, on my social media,
but also just like my handle would stay the same. Part of me is like a little bit more private too.
Like I like, I like my incognito like when I'm like traveling and I'm like dirks.
That's true.
But then sometimes they'll go to an event and they put my name under Hamilton and I'm checking into
the hotel and they won't let me check into my room because my idea says dirks.
Oh, yeah. Come on. Yeah, that's a good point about having privacy. I mean, geez, so much of that.
Like, I'm not that private, though. I'm like, I share quite a bit of our life. But there's a lot that I
don't share. I mean, different people have different, you know, rules about, like, showing their kids and
all that. And that are in this space. And, like, I always was, like, gung-ho about, like,
I'm going to be showing my kids. And honestly, in the last month since Charlie was murdered,
It's like, dude, now I don't even know.
Like, again, it's these types of things, stuff happens in life.
And then you change your opinion.
And I am like the most bullheaded.
Like, I'll never do this, whatever.
And like, dude, guess what?
Like stuff happens and like you change your mind.
I'm probably going to change my mind on so many things.
After I spoke out about trans, I was like, I need a body yard.
Like, at every event.
Like, I'm going to go start doing kickboxing and self, like self defense.
I was like had this moment of fear.
I haven't ever done that since that, even though I kind of wanted just for fun.
Yeah, you would probably.
It's weird how you're seeing our world change and there is a lot of chaos.
And it's, it is intimidating.
Like, it's awful to see some of the things going down.
But I mean, look at like, so Charlie and Erika had made that decision early on.
First of all, they had made the decision to keep their pregnancy besides a couple key people at the office.
And obviously, their close friends and family, they kept their pregnancy completely private.
Like, so for, you know, those nine months, she did not come to our events, everything.
She stayed home.
They enjoyed their pregnancy privately together.
Yeah.
They did that with both their pregnancies.
And they also made the decision to not, you know, blast their kids' names anywhere.
Right.
And so or show their faces.
And I'm like, dude, like they thought that ahead.
And then with everything that has happened, like, what an absolute gift and blessing that their kids are protected in this way now?
Because there is, yeah.
I mean, this is now like, you know, I mean, it's just scary times for them as a family.
And so it's just like such a blessing that people don't know what their kids look like.
And I'm just, I'm really thankful that they have made that decision.
I'm sure Erica is too.
On a different kind of like similar topic, but different.
Like I have this passion to inspire the next generation to look forward to being a mom.
Like I feel like there's not enough of that.
And like there's some incredible influencers.
And like you know they love being a mom, but you don't really know.
And I feel like the next generation really needs to see joy in motherhood.
And I feel like the things that I share, like I have a lot of purpose and
desired to inspire the next gen.
Like this one girl told her mom the other day, her mom shared this with me.
She's like, I just, she just got an Instagram.
She's like 17.
And she, I was one of the first people she followed.
And she's like, oh my gosh, I want to be a mom just like Bethany.
I was like, yeah.
Like that to me is so beautiful.
Okay.
So this is the perfect segue to my question I ask every guest, which is if you could offer one
remedy to heal a sick culture, physically.
emotionally or spiritually, what would it be?
Oh, Jesus Christ, for sure.
And his grace.
And I think that the world needs that more than ever.
Like, there's so much darkness,
but his grace is sufficient for even the darkest of dark.
And that's what can heal a sick world.
Bethany, like I said earlier,
you've been the OG at healing a sick culture.
Thank you for coming on culture apothecary.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Don't forget to go watch our vlog.
Real Alex Clark on YouTube.
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