Bold Journey Magazine Feature - Meet Dana Richards

 

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Part 3 of the Voyage LA series with Bold Journey Magazine. Together WE CAN create those indelible ripples to generate powerful forces TO CHANGE this world for the better. LIGHT A PATH of service and others will follow

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"We recently connected with Dana Richards and have shared our conversation below.

Dana, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform, and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Sometimes you know your purpose; sometimes your greater purpose finds you. It took me years to find my voice after a breast diagnosis at 35. The surgeries, chemo, radiation, and what felt like an endless treatment regime, all of it changed me. It caused the complete unraveling of the girl I once was, but I now realize it was all part of a grand master plan. It was a metamorphosis; the “unbecoming” of one’s self can be damnably painful but it can also be beautiful in the “becoming” of someone new. I found my way back to the light with the inception of Malibu Dana Activewear in 2017 with a single mission to serve and give back. I found my greater purpose by raising awareness and by helping other breast cancer patients. I had the opportunity to give the keynote speech at a fundraiser at my 5-year “all clear” cancer mark. It was the first time I found the courage to speak publicly and to tell my story. There were grateful tears as I was consumed with raw emotion on stage that evening. It was at that pivotal moment I realized I could use my voice to help others, and I am now an advocate for early screening, patients, and survivors. I will continue to fight to end this disease, but until we find a cure, I will advocate for the patients who need our love and support to create a world where no breast cancer patient feels alone.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Malibu Dana is a person, a brand, and a movement. Malibu Dana the brand (Activewear, Swimwear & Apparel) is committed to year-round fundraising efforts throughout Los Angeles and beyond, and the brand donates a portion of proceeds from every purchase to breast cancer patients in need and to innovative research that will end this disease. Malibu Dana “the movement” is about authenticity. The movement comes from using compassion to find your purpose, so you can be the change you want to see in the world – whatever that means for you. The best way I know how is by paying it forward in my own community through volunteer work and a life of service. The city of Hermosa Beach most gratefully took my husband and me under its wing after we lost our Malibu home in the Woolsey Fires in 2018, and we know how lucky we were to receive such charitable goodness and support from our South Bay friends and neighbors. Together we can create those indelible ripples to generate powerful forces to change this world for the better. Light a path of service and others will follow. Be an influencer of good by inspiring others with the light that shines in you. That is the impetus behind the “Butterfly Strong” collection, which simply means being your most authentic self, by taking any challenge or adversity you face and turning it into a strength. As Malibu Dana, the person, I am a 14-year breast cancer survivor, patient advocate, and an ambassador for breast cancer charities and causes that speak to my heart. My dream is quite simply to leave this world a little better and brighter than when I got here.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Learning through curiosity, being fearless in your pursuits, and following through on your commitments. I have always been driven by curiosity and wanting to try and learn new things, constantly making mental notes of my short-term and long-term goals, and always striving to be better and to learn more, which is all a part of improving the human condition. Most of the time I think it comes down to taking risks and being brave even when you are afraid. Most of us are here bumbling around this planet, doing the best that we can, and faking it until we figure it out. If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it. Be fearless in your pursuits; and even when you are terrified, pretend you are not. I do it when I surf, every single time I get out there and white knuckle in the uncertainty of the ocean. I paddle my heart out and I feel so alive when I catch a wave, and I feel equally alive when a wave closes out and I get tousled out there. Either way, I know I have to flip back around as fast as I can because I know those waves are coming for me, and I do it again and again and again. Surfing is a beautiful metaphor for life. Finally, there is commitment. Always follow through. Always do what you say you are going to do. Talk is cheap without actions to follow it up. When you commit, and say you are going to do something, you just do it, and ride the crest of that wave wherever it takes you.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents had a laissez-faire approach with my brother and me. They were the opposite of the helicopter parents we talk so much about today. They let me be me. They led by example; they were both trailblazing long before there were names for any of the movements we have today. They have a very simple belief system, that if you are productive and work hard, you can have – and be – anything you want to be. They also let us fall hard so we would learn to pick ourselves back up, because when you rise up in the face of uncertainty, resilience becomes your middle name; and it is those crucial moments that most define your character. The obstacles in life become gifts once you realize that the comeback has the potential to be stronger than the setback. You get to choose every day how you want to live. Are you going to be a victim or a survivor? I choose survivor. Every day you get to make that choice. You get to create the tidal wave of change you want to see in the world. Let your faith be stronger than your fear. That’s the mantra I try to live my life by."

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