Taylor Miller - Byron Bay Surf Festival
The Byron Bay Surf Festival – an annual three-day event - focuses on the creative aspects of the surfing culture showcasing everything from surf art to swap meets, music to markets and surf films to sustainability, just to name a few. Now in its fourth year, and having recently run another successful event in October, organisers have grand ambitions to see the Byron Bay Surf Festival become an iconic world-class cultural event bringing together a global creative surfing community in a non-competitive context.
So what does it take to run an event like the Byron Bay Surf Festival (BBSF)?
We asked Taylor Miller, Public Relations Director to share some insights about the event and why she believes it’s important to showcase the creative aspects of the surfing culture beyond the water.
Describe your role with the Byron Bay Surf Festival
As Publication Relations (PR) Director for the festival my role is quite multi-faceted. In addition to PR I also manage the SurfLit Lounge, which is an independent event within the festival. The festival runs on the resources of a small team, so I work closely with Director Mike Jahn providing input, as a local surfer, and ensuring we deliver an event that genuinely reflects the culture of the Byron Bay surf community.
I’ve got some humble university qualifications under my belt, including an Arts Degree (Honours) attained at the University of Sydney and surf coaching, which greatly benefit the work I do. Ultimately though, succeeding in this role has had more to do with my background (Taylor is the daughter of surfing royalty and legendary, big-wave rider Rusty Miller across many fields) and an enormous breadth of history and literature centred on the sea and surfing, but it’s not really accessed or consumed by the surfing masses, so there’s a great opportunity to share this. It’s a fun realm to play in and it brings something new to the festival, which is all about celebrating diversity and innovation.
What’s the best part of being involved in a surf festival?
The best part is the feeling of inclusion and being part of something that celebrates the beautiful aspects of surfing. My role is dynamic and I have a lot of freedom to express my creativity, which feels good.
Greatest challenge?
The greatest challenge for me is time – there are never enough hours in the day! The greatest challenge for the festival is the red tape and financial constraints involved in running a free community event. It is really difficult to raise sufficient funds and sponsorship to keep it going, which includes having the right people on the ground to deliver the event. We rely heavily on the generosity of volunteers from the Byron community.
Do you have to be a surfer to be involved in surf festivals?
I think it’s a big advantage if you’re already immersed in surfing. This doesn’t mean you must be a surfer and there are plenty of non-surfers with incredible talents who support festival in areas like finance, management, sound and audio visuals. But you do need to really understand who surfers are as your target audience and always keep that in mind.
What advice can you offer to anyone wanting to get involved in surf festivals?
You should only get involved with a surf festival if you are passionate about its mission. Make sure you know what the festival represents, what its’ higher purpose is and speak with people who are involved before getting wet. Working in the realm of surfing can be wonderful but it can also be quite disenchanting. One of the great things about a career in surfing is that you’re around other surfers who share similar worldviews, or at least have an understanding about the desire to maintain a ‘drop-everything-when-the-surf-is-pumping’ lifestyle. The reality, however, is that it only works if you’re doing things with the right intention - if you’re trying to sell, exploit or flog surfing in anyway, your work will become as shitty as any other regular job can be. Surfing is a growing sport and there are plenty of open doors, especially for well-intentioned and meaningful ventures. For me, working in this industry is really about doing something meaningful, genuine and beautiful, and that makes it the best ‘job’ ever./p>
Where can we find you online?
| Web:: | www.byronbaysurffestival.com.au |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/ByronBaySurfFestival |