In February 2022, Tara Jeisman decided to go for her first sunrise swim at her local beach after she saw her best friend Asha, post a photo of a sunrise swim. Tara filmed and posted a TikTok of her running into the ocean at 5:45am, and bam – sea gals was born! From that first TikTok, Tara accumulated thousands of views with multiple women wanting to tag along for a sunrise swim, instigating the beautiful community that sea gals is today.

The Sea Gals community has spread to six locations around Australia, including our very own backyard. We chatted with Sea Gal Chloe Healy, who is bringing the sunrise swim movement to the Gold Coast.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Chloe, I’m 26 and have lived on the Gold Coast my whole life. I live in the beautiful town of Mudgeeraba with my boyfriend, kitten Jinx and puppy Eddie. I graduated high school in 2014 and started Uni in 2015. I remember being so nervous about getting my OP and even had to ask a nurse to wait 5 more minutes as I was due in for surgery to get my wisdom teeth out! I was accepted into a Bachelor of Fine Art and went in with my mind set on majoring in drawing. However, in your first year you try everything and I soon fell in love with jewellery making. I could still draw but was able to turn those designs into tactile forms that could be worn or displayed. I graduated from Griffith University Queensland College of Art in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Art Majoring in Jewellery and Small Objects. I have worked in a variety of jobs such as a Gallery and a Herb Farm, but I currently work as an automotive receptionist. I have always loved plants and animals. They have a large influence on my jewellery designs and inspire new ideas every day.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
My whole life, 26 years.

What do you love about the Gold Coast?
I love that you can live in the beautiful hinterland, but still only be a short drive away from our stunning beaches. I love our communities and that the art scene is ever growing, with new opportunities popping up all over the Coast.

You are the Gold Coast organiser of Sea Gals. Tell us a little bit about Sea Gals.
Sea Gals is an Australian community movement for women and people who identify as women (we call them Gals), that provides a space for connection to self, others, and nature by meeting for sunrise swims and other events.

Our mission statement: To provide a safe space for women that promotes body positivity, mental well-being, along with connection to self, others, and nature.

Core values: Stepping outside comfort zones, creating connections, and self-reflection.

How did you get involved with Sea Gals?
I came across a post or story of Tara’s on Instagram and loved the concept. Once I noticed that she was asking if others around Australia would be interested in volunteering, I showed my interest. As someone who struggles with mental health, I am not only doing this for myself, but for others who might be experiencing this also. You are not alone and a small step like going for a sunrise swim with new friends can help make a world of a difference in not only your own life, but others too.

What should we expect if we turn up to a Sea Gals catch up?
A welcoming atmosphere with relaxed music and a morning of meeting new people. We usually chat for a while before I do a short introduction and welcome to country, then we head into the water to wash away the week and start the day fresh. We even got greeted my two dolphins passing by last week, which was so exciting.

Have you always enjoyed early morning swims or is this concept new to you?
I lived in Burleigh Waters for a while and loved to head down for early runs and a dip afterwards, but since moving a few times I have not done it as much. So, I am excited to be getting back into early morning swims.

What are you most looking forward to in the next 12 months?
I am most looking forward to the store I am a part of called the Mudgeeraba Village Arts and Crafts Collective growing and evolving as we settle into our space in the heart of Mudgeeraba. I also look forward to the new opportunities this may bring. I am very excited to see the creative hub in Currumbin come to life. I am also looking forward to continuing watching my kitten and puppy grow and surprise me with their cute quirks every day.

Do you have any Gold Coast favourites you keep going back to?
Café/Coffee spot: I don’t have a favourite in particular, but I enjoy Fuel Bakehouse Currumbin, Dust Temple, The Paddock Bakery, Junior’s Deli, The Oak Cafe and Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab to name a few.
Restaurant: The same goes for restaurants. I do enjoy Mr Hizola’s and the Acai bowls from The Fruit Shop Burleigh Heads. I practically live on these in summer.
Bar or place for a drink: Oi Izakaya and The Fruit Shop Burleigh Heads
Beach: Burleigh Beach and Tallebudgera Creek Beach

How do you choose to spend your weekends?
Now that we are coming into Summer, I love to spend my weekends at the beach every chance I get. Eddie and I love to go to the Palm Beach dog off-leash beach with our family. We always have such a great time. Otherwise, it is spent doing the jobs I couldn’t get sorted during the week. I like to be organised, it helps keep my mind clear.

If you’d like to join the Gold Coast Sea Gals on their next sunrise swim head to their Gold Coast instagram page for more information.

Where: Tallebudgera Creek Beach, Saturday mornings.

Lauren Murphy, the Founder/Owner of The Style File Aus is our go-to Gold Coast girl when it comes to fashion advice. She’s the resident stylist for Robina Town Centre, a personal and editorial fashion stylist and a busy mum of two. So, it’s safe to say she knows how to dress to impress! Lauren gave us a rundown on the 2022 Melbourne Cup fashion trends and why she loves calling the Gold Coast home.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
My family moved from Sydney to the Tweed Region, (just South of the border), when I was four. At 17, we relocated to Tallebudgera Valley. I then spent my early twenties renting beachside units from Mermaid to Currumbin, and in 2015, bought a house with my husband in Elanora, where we currently live and love with our two children.

What do you love the most about the Gold Coast?
The main things I love about the GC are the laid-back lifestyle, the weather, the beaches, the incredible business starts ups, the healthy lifestyle and the fact that it is a beautiful place to raise young children. I also love the proximity to everything.. for example; the fact that I can go from school drop off to morning pilates to taking a client shopping, followed by a live football game, to dinner and drinks by the beach all in one day is very gratifying.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband Scott, who works FIFO as a Mining Manager, and two beautiful children – Cuba, 6 and Yorke, 4.  I worked my entire teen years, every weekend and school holidays in a Kirra beachfront surf shop. I then went on to complete a Marketing Degree and a 10 year career in Media, Events and Public Relations. But after my second child was born, I decided to shift my career focus solely to my styling business, The Style Files Aus. I work closely with freelance clients on cleansing their wardrobe and shopping in alignment with their personal style, and I am the Resident Stylist at Robina Town Centre. I am a true Libran – a calm creative who loves beautiful things, a fighter of fairness but I am extremely indecisive. I have five brothers and sisters and five foster siblings also.

What made you want to pursue a career as a stylist?
A natural-born creative and a lover of all things fashion, I had dabbled in elements of styling without even knowing it as such in my old jobs. I found myself googling fashion courses while at my desk one day and I had a friend tell me she had enrolled in a styling course. I remember telling my husband “I wish I could do that” and his response was simply, “why can’t you?”. And from that moment on I decided no excuses would override my passion. I enrolled in the Australian Style Institute and took annual leave to complete my intensive personal and editorial styling training in Melbourne. The rest is history!

What trends do you think will be huge this year for the spring racing season?
I’m 100% confident that colour will be huge, especially monochrome colour play with shades of purple, pink, green and orange will taking centre stage. Feminine gloves, puffy sleeves, bows and statement eyewear will all be dominant. Along with woven, rattan textured accessories. Overall, a European Summer influence.

What’s on trend for headpieces this year? Fascinators, headbands, hats, what is your pick?
I think we will see a lot of netting and classic bows. Along with wide brim, sleek hats. And as mentioned above, I think we’ll see a beautiful display of woven, rattan textures.

What has been your favourite spring racing fashion trend to have emerged in recent years?
I love seeing suiting on women on track side! Although it can be a little warm on the GC for that year-round, so I’m going to say the glam 60’s style. Think structured smocks with pinched waistlines and buttons, paired with big hair, thick headbands and mini handbags.

What race day style trends do you think are overdone?
Those higher neck, lace dresses that make a person look 10 years older than what they really are and bodycon/bandage dresses. They are so done.

Which Australian designers are your favourites for racing season?
Aje and Zimmerman always bring the feminine frock goodies and some personal faves favourties of mine for a slight edge are Alice McCALL, Shona Joy and Dion Lee. If you’re chasing a last-minute spring racing outfit, Issue 1 at Robina Town Centre always have beautiful Australian labels.

What do you love about Gold Coast race day fashion?
I love that us Gold Coasters dare to be different and always wear a smile! We aren’t afraid of colour, colour and more colour, and wear outfits that make us feel good aka we’re big on “Dopamine Dressing”.

How will you be celebrating the 2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival?
I will be getting dolled up and heading to Nineteen at The Star with a couple of girlfriends for a few champagnes and a cheeky punt. I have always loved getting dressed up for Melbourne Cup and putting a complete look together, head-to-toe, and being around other people so full of energy and good vibes. I can’t wait!

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café/coffee spot: Coffee- My local Down to Earth Café for coffee (7^th Ave Palm Beach)
Breakfast spot: Plantation House (Tallebudgera Creek Road).
Restaurant: Tommy’s in Currumbin or Light Years in Miami for a girl’s lunch, Nineteen at The Star for fine dining, Ze Pickle Burleigh for a casual burgers and wings.
Bar or place for a drink: I can’t go past a Gold Coast Surf Club! Palm Beach, Currumbin or Tallebudgera are where I go most. Otherwise, it’s my favourite restaurants above with a side of margaritas!
Beach: The Alley, Kirra or 11^th Ave Palm Beach. Gosh we’re luck here to be spoilt for choice.

How do you choose to spend your days off?
My days off usually consist of running around after my kids haha. Cuba plays football for Currumbin Eagles and is in Palm Beach Nippers, and Yorke dances at Coastal Dance in Currumbin. There is also soccer and touch football during the week. We also attend lots of kid’s birthday parties and social events lots of different venues around the Coast. I like to try and get to one of our local markets and if I can sneak away, I’ll do a reformer pilates class at Studio Pilates in Palm Beach. BBQ’s with friends by the pool are definitely popular in Spring/Summer, as are beach days with a few sneaky bevies to finish off!

If you are not already familiar with Dr Libby Weaver, she is a Gold Coast local who is also a thirteen-times bestselling author, speaker and founder of the food-based supplement range, Bio Blends. Dr Libby has announced her first live speaking series since 2019, which will see her visit seven centres around Australia, including the Gold Coast on Thursday the 29^th of September, with her new event, What’s up with my hormones?

Armed with an abundance of knowledge, scientific research and a true desire to help people live with energy and vitality, Dr Libby empowers and inspires people to take charge of their health through her books, events and online courses. 

We found out a bit more about Dr Libby ahead of her nationwide speaking tour, including how she juggles the work/life balance and what exactly she loves about the Gold Coast.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up in Tamworth in Country NSW with chickens in the backyard, I then went to the University of Newcastle for 14 years where I studied Nutrition and Dietetics and then did a PhD in biochemistry. Since then I’ve worked with people for over 20 years, in a range of different settings, both my own business and in health retreats. I was part of the team who set up Gwinganna in the Gold Coast hinterland in 2005/6 which was a great fun and such a privilege. I still run retreats there occasionally. After that I lived in New Zealand for 7 years, where I still have an office, before moving back to the Gold Coast and continuing my business here, including formulating a food-based supplement range called Bio Blends. I’ve always loved the winters and in between seasons on the Gold Coast and glorious nature of the hinterland. I’m awed by how miraculous the body is and it is my belief that if more people lived in touch with this, they would be inspired to make changes to help them experience greater health. So I share what I have learned over the last two decades of research and clinical practice to help people get to the heart of their challenging symptoms. And I look at everything through three lenses: the biochemical, nutritional, and emotional.

What do you love about the Gold Coast?
The easy access to fresh, organic food—I especially love Ground Grocer. I love the sunsets and how you can go from the beach to bushland within a 30min drive. And I love how, even in the midst of the busyness of the city, there are so many pockets where it still feels quiet and unhurried.

Tell us a little bit about your new speaking tour?
For many women, their hormones are the bane of their existence. From the onset of their period, it’s a rollercoaster of challenging symptoms that often doesn’t let up even after menopause. It’s as if things like PMS, endometriosis, bloating, weight gain, night sweats, mood swings and anxious feelings have become synonymous with being a woman. All of these symptoms are common, but they are not normal. They are road signs indicating hormonal imbalances. Our body doesn’t have a voice but it will give us symptoms to let us know whether it’s happy or not with our choices and sometimes the feedback is asking us to eat, move, sleep, drink, breathe and/or perceive differently. Most common approaches to women’s hormonal issues involve using a pill or medicine to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. Through this two hour seminar, I will be sharing exactly what your body is trying to communicate, helping you get to the heart of your symptoms while offering what you can do to alleviate and, in many cases, irradicate them altogether

What are hormones and why is it so important that we better understand them?
Essentially chemical messengers that regulate cellular and organ activity, these tiny substances have an incredible impact on how we look and feel every day. In the correct amounts, hormones can be our best friend – increasing our energy, vitality, happiness and optimising every biochemical process in our body. When we have too much or too little of any hormone, it can wreak havoc. We might experience symptoms such as brain fog, irritability, low mood, anxiousness and poor sleep – as well as the more female-centric symptoms related to our cycle. When we understand how they work and what hormones need in order to be produced at their optimum levels, it empowers us with the knowledge to make changes that support them and free us from the challenging symptoms they leave us with when they’re out of balance.

As a very busy woman, how do you manage your time to really strike that work/life balance?
I prioritise things. This may seem incredibly simple yet getting clear on what your priorities are and deciphering what truly matters to you helps. Also being clear and honest about what is truly urgent (which most of the time is not a lot) is an incredibly valuable time management tool. Sometimes work is the priority, sometimes ringing my mum is the priority, sometimes weeding the vegie is the priority.

What is your greatest achievement to date?
Writing 13 books – with another one formed in my head and heart that I’ll write this summer.

If you could give anyone one bit of advice, what would it be?
Let yourself have what you already have. Too often we are striving for the next accomplishment, goal, destination—always reaching forward and missing what is here right now. Even if it is right in front of you every day, and you don’t let yourself have it — which means noticing it, taking it in, allowing yourself the pleasure of it — it is never yours. It never becomes part of the ground of goodness on which you can live, and this, the essence of this, forms so much of our foundation of health and energy that isn’t really discussed. If you don’t let yourself have an amazing sunset, a cool evening breeze on your face after a hot day, a majestic view, then what else are you denying yourself?

What are you most looking forward to in the next 12 months?
I used to roller skate as a child so when a dear friend asked if I wanted to start skating with her, it was an instant YES! So, I’m looking forward to using my new roller skates on the path at Currumbin Beach.

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café/Coffee spot: Dust Temple
Restaurant: Burgster
Bar or place for a drink: Scottish Prince
Beach: Currumbin

How do you choose to spend your weekends?
I’m a homebody so you’ll mostly find me pottering around my house or garden. Other than being entertained by my backyard chickens – Moira, Alexis and Stevie (named after Schitt’s Creek characters) – and the local birdlife or working in my vegie patches, I might visit The Bathhouse at Currumbin Eco Village.