The Surfer's Journal presents Soundings with Jamie Brisick25 Nov 2025

Sachi Cunningham

For more than two decades, Sachi Cunningham has been training her lens on women and the pioneers of big-wave surfing.

After earning a BA in history from Brown University and a Masters of Journalism from UC Berkeley, Cunningham started the first video team at the LA Times, where she produced the award-winning series Chasing the Swell, which documents the first ever Big Wave World Tour. She was the first person, male or female, ever to have water shots published of wily Ocean Beach.

Other "firsts" include serving as the first female board member of Save the Waves Coalition and first woman to receive the Wave Saver Award from the non-profit. She documented the first women's heats at the Mavericks WickrX Invitational, the Puerto Escondido Big Wave Challenge, the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, and The Eddie. Cunningham has been included in both Surfline's list of top filmmakers and Surfer magazine's list of top photographers. Her feature-length documentary, SheChange, about the quest for pay equity in big-wave surfing, is presently in post-production, and has been featured in the New York Times and on the Today show.

A mental health advocate and cancer survivor, Cunningham lives with her husband and daughter in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, where she's a Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University.

In this episode of Soundings, Cunningham sits down with Jamie Brisick to talk about shooting from the water at Ocean Beach and Maverick's, the importance of journalism, her quiver, motherhood, and her battle with cancer.

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett.
Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).

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