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US president’s comments came after he was asked why North Korea can have nuclear weapons when Iran cannot.

United States President Donald Trump has described North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “a friend” and played down concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, saying, “as long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine”.

Trump made the remarks in Washington, DC, on Tuesday after a reporter asked him why North Korea could have nuclear weapons but Iran could not.

“That’s interesting. You know why? Because you had a different president, and they could have stopped him,” he said, referring to previous US administrations.

“He happens to be a friend of mine, Kim Jong Un, he’s a friend of mine. He likes Trump, doesn’t like a lot of other people. I’m about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him,” he said.

He said North Korea’s nuclear capacity was “pretty large” but “not like us”.

“You know what, as long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine,” he added. “You know why? Because he respects me and he likes me.”

South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said last week that its northern neighbour possessed between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads. The figure is significantly higher than Trump’s recent assertion that Pyongyang has 57 nuclear weapons.

Trump is seeking to re-engage with Kim and secure a win on the international stage as the US and Israel’s war on Iran enters its eighth month.

The US president launched the war along with Israel on February 28, saying Iran could not have a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied seeking a weapon, noting it had signed an agreement with world powers in 2015 that curbed its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But Trump abandoned the agreement during his first term in 2018.

The US-Israel war on Iran has disrupted global energy supplies, raised fuel costs and hurt Trump’s popularity ahead of the November midterm elections.

Trump held summits with North Korea’s Kim in 2018 and 2019, but diplomacy broke down over US demands that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. Since then, Kim has expanded his arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and strengthened his diplomatic footprint by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China.

Trump had earlier said he planned to hold in-person talks with Kim before the end of the year.

But North Korea has not formally committed to such a meeting.

Pro wrestler PAC, whose real name was Benjamin Satterley, died Sunday at 40 less than 24 hours after competing in All Elite Wrestling’s “All Out” pay-per-view event, AEW announced.

“All Elite Wrestling is saddened to announce the passing of Benjamin Satterley, aka Pac,” AEW said in a statement. “A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Satterley began his wrestling career in 2004 and went on to perform for wrestling organizations all over the world, captivating fans with innovative high-flying moves and incredible in-ring ability. Pac signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2019 and held multiple AEW Championships and competed in some of the most memorable matches in AEW history. Our condolences go out to Satterley’s family, friends and fans.”

AEW owner Tony Khan posted a message on X honoring Satterley.

“Benjamin Satterley defined excellence, as a beloved husband & friend to his many loved ones, + in his wrestling knowledge, skill, unprecedented athleticism, professionalism, consistency + dedication to the sport that he loved & traveled the world to pursue,” Khan’s statement read. “May Ben rest in peace.”

Satterley broke into pro wrestling in 2004 and made a name for himself in the U.S. as part of the Pro Wrestling Guerilla promotion in Los Angeles. He signed with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2012 and was given the name Adrian Neville, later shortened to just Neville. He became part of their NXT promotion and won its heavyweight title before he was promoted to the main roster. He won the NXT Championship while in developmental and later made it to the main roster in 2015, winning the WWE cruiserweight title.

Considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, Satterley was was a relatively small 5 feet 8, 194 pounds and was not given a push relative to his ability in WWE. He left the promotion in 2018 and later joined AEW, where he changed his name to PAC and won the International title and the Trios title.

He was currently involved in a feud with Andrade El Idolo and challenged him for the national championship Saturday in Chicago, with El Idolo winning to retain the title.

When AEW launched in 2019, he was announced as one of the first signees, becoming the first All-Atlantic Champion and also won the Trios Championships. Since 2024, he had been a member of the Death Riders group.

Leslie Jones was 14 when her father broke the news to her: “We’re moving to Los Angeles.”

For the actor and former “SNL” cast member, leaving her Memphis hometown felt like the end of the world. “I lost every bit of my s—,” she recalls. “I cried and begged him, like, ‘Please don’t take me away now.’” She’d just become friends with the popular kids at her high school. Plus, she was in the marching band — a rifle twirler — which in the South basically means “you’re a jock, you’re a star,” she says, laughing.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Despite her resistance, Jones’ father stood firm: “He was like ‘I can’t let you stay here in Memphis. You’re not going to do what you need to do with your life,’” Jones says.

Though she hated L.A. at first, she eventually found her footing and joined the basketball team at Lynwood High School. She grew to love the city and now splits time between L.A. and New York.

“[My dad] was really strategic and smart and I’m really glad he did it,” she says.

Jones’ latest project is hosting HGTV’s “Roast My Rental,” a reality show in which she visits some of America’s worst-rated short-term vacation rentals and attempts to transform them within 72 hours, alongside designer Jasmine Roth.

One of her Airbnb pet peeves: when owners put out items that are too personal. “Sometimes they want to put their personal linens in there. They’ve got pictures in there. Like why are your pictures in my room? I don’t want to know who’s renting to me,” she jokes.

Jones, who is also in the middle of a comedy tour, shared what her Sunday Funday in L.A. entails.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

1 p.m.: Sleep in ’til the afternoon then make a big cup of tea

Sunday is the day I know that I can sleep in. I don’t schedule anything on Sundays and Mondays. I’ll probably get up around 1 or 2 p.m. because I stay up until about 3 or 4 a.m. I’m a comedian so we have late hours. Then I’ll come out my room, which is a freezer — it’s literally 59 degrees because I gotta sleep in the cold — to warm up.

I’ll make me a big cup of tea. I’ve got those big “Friends” cups. My favorite is ginger tea. I’ll pick a lemon off my tree to add to it. Then I’d lay on the couch and figure out if I’m going to watch something on TV or play a video game. I play the dumbest games. What has me in a choke hold right now is “Brilliant Sort.” It’s almost like jigsaw puzzle, but it’s electronic. It’s so f— relaxing and I play it for hours. It’s bad now because I’ve been spending money on it and my accountant was like “Hey, you’re spending a lot of money on a video game.” I said “Well, it’s not crack” and they were like “What?” [laughs]. I might have end up deleting this f— game.

3 p.m.: Brunch at the Waffle

About an hour later, I’d figure out what I want to eat. Sunday is the day I eat anything I want. I don’t like to call it a cheat day. I always order from this place called the Waffle in Hollywood because they’ve got this biscuit sandwich with a whiskey glaze and bacon. It’s good as f— and then I get my egg over medium. I always order it with a blood orange-flavored Pellegrino over some ice. Wooooo.

5 p.m.: Watch an action movie

On Sundays, I really like to watch movies. I’ll go on Apple TV or another streamer to find something to watch. If not, I’ll watch “SVU” all day. Some days I can watch serious stuff, but I really like a good action movie like all of the “Fast & Furious” films. I know people talk about them but I f— love “Fast & Furious.” I love “Mission: Impossible.” I love all of the Marvel movies.

7 p.m.: Order dinner from all my favorite spots

Usually I order food from my cook when I’m at home and she’ll make like a week’s worth of food. But if I don’t, I’ll order in. If I want a really good steak, I’ll go to the Nice Guy. I spoil myself on Sundays because I might get a steak from there, a salad from Tender Greens and a lemonade from Cheesecake Factory. The key is getting one driver and telling them, “I’m going to order something else, do you want to go get it?” because then you can give them a big tip. I might not eat until like 10 or 11 p.m. though.

11 p.m.: Catch a second wind

During the day, I probably took a nap so my brain is activated around 11 p.m. to midnight. If my friends call me and say they want to go out, I might go to this karaoke night hosted by Project Studio that my friend Neff took me to. There’s good drinks and a good DJ. I like to go see live music too. I recently saw Olivia Dean [at the Crypto.com Arena]. If there’s a Sparks game on a Sunday, I will go. If not, I’ll stay home and I’ll be up until maybe 4 or 5 a.m. just watching TV, playing my game, doing nothing [laughs].

A Northern California community college wrestling star slipped and fell to his death Sunday at Yosemite National Park, officials confirmed.

Santa Rosa Junior College sophomore Ryan George died in an apparent accident, his college coach, Fred Duerr, posted in a statement Tuesday.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat broke the news Tuesday, saying the 19-year-old “was hiking with friends near Illilouette Falls in Yosemite when he reportedly slipped and fell to his death.”

“Details are limited right now, and it’s been a really hard time for us all trying to process everything,” Duerr said in the statement. “If you knew Ryan, you know he was one of the most genuine, positive people you could ever meet. He had this way of lighting up a room, making you feel welcome, and bringing out the best in everyone around him.”

Yosemite National Park officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

George is listed as a Santa Rosa native in the school’s media guide and graduated from Montgomery High School in that city.

Last season, he enjoyed a strong run through the state championship in the 197-pound division. He entered sixth-ranked and finished with five victories, including two falls, en route to third place.

His finish was impressive considering he lost in the second round of the double-elimination tournament.

George rallied with perhaps his best effort of championships, defeating No. 5-ranked Dominic Sanders Jr. with a pin in 2 minutes, 38 seconds, in elimination bracket action.

He picked up the bronze in that tournament by defeating teammate Joe Ellis via a 6-2 decision.

“He was an amazing leader and wrestler, but more than that, he was an amazing human — kind, loyal, funny, and the kind of friend everyone wishes they had in their life,” Duerr said. “We love you and we will miss you so much, Ryan. Thank you for everything you gave us all.”

A GoFundMe was established to aid George’s sister, Jaida.

Hayley Williams is speaking out days after her ex-husband, Chad Gilbert, the founding guitarist of pop-punk band New Found Glory, died at 45 following a battle with cancer.

Williams posted the statement on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, writing that she hasn’t known what to say or “if it’s appropriate” but that she wants to address her former husband’s death because “life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”

“Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot,” she wrote. “He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways, and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer.

“There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what he contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in. His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me.

“I will forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.”

Musician Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory and singer Hayley Williams of Paramore arrive at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards.

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for PCA)

Williams concluded her statement by sending her love and sympathies to Gilbert’s family, friends and his New Found Glory bandmates Jordan Pundik, Cyrus Bolooki and Ian Grushka.

Gilbert died Sunday morning “peacefully in his sleep,” the band and his wife, musician Lisa Cimorelli, announced on social media. No cause of death was given, but the musician had been candid about his battle with cancer in recent years.

“He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished,” the joint statement posted Sunday to Instagram read.

Williams and Gilbert were married in February 2016 after nearly a decade of dating but split the following year in July 2017, saying at the time that marriage wasn’t for the faint of heart.

Gilbert later married Cimorelli in October 2020, and the two welcomed a daughter, Lily, in 2021.

Four days before they’re set to play the first-ever concert by their new band, Dhani Harrison and Nigel Godrich sit down to enjoy a post-rehearsal libation in the parking lot of a North Hollywood practice space.

“Is there an opener?” asks Godrich, who holds a bottle of fancy root beer. Harrison, who’s clutching a Sapporo, grabs his friend’s drink and neatly pops the top off using his own bottle.

“I went to Brown,” he says with a little smile. “That’s what they teach you in the Ivy League.”

Harrison, 48, is the son of the late Beatles legend George Harrison; long before college, he got a priceless musical education from his father, whose final solo album — 2002’s Grammy-winning “Brainwashed” — Dhani helped complete after George’s death in 2001. Godrich, 55, made his name working in the studio with Radiohead on game-changing records like “OK Computer” and “Kid A”; he’s also produced for Beck, Paul McCartney and Roger Waters and played with Thom Yorke and Flea in Atoms for Peace.

Now the two have teamed up in Dragonflies, a spacey and atmospheric art-rock duo with a self-titled debut album due Friday from Dark Horse Records, the label George Harrison founded in 1974 and Dhani Harrison relaunched in 2020. This weekend, Harrison and Godrich will celebrate the LP’s release with two shows at Hollywood Forever’s Masonic Lodge, where they’ll be joined by guitarist Nick Valensi (of the Strokes) and drummer Joey Waronker (who’s played with Beck, R.E.M. and Oasis).

Asked how exactly the group came together, Godrich and Harrison look at each other across a picnic table and shrug. “The real reason we did it was as a vehicle to hang out,” Godrich says of the two, who’ve been pals since both were living in Los Angeles in the early 2000s and who both found themselves back home in England a few years ago.

Yet “Dragonflies” has plenty to offer the rest of us: Built around Harrison’s high, sighing vocals, the music moves with a funky rhythmic propulsion rooted in Godrich’s signature tape loops; lush string arrangements by David Campbell (also known as Beck’s dad) add a touch of slightly spooked romance to songs about nature and friendship.

Harrison describes the band’s sound as “a bit creaky” and compares it to the feeling of being out on the water. “I always thought that’s a cool place to start — like you’re on a sinking ship,” he says.

Godrich laughs and adds, “Well, I hope not.”

For Harrison, working with Godrich provided a kind of full-circle moment nearly two decades after he caught one of Atoms for Peace’s first gigs at downtown L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre in 2009.

“I remember it made me want to quit music,” he says, which draws a frown from his bandmate.

“That’s not a great review,” Godrich says.

“No, that concert blew me away,” Harrison replies. “I went home and I was like, Oh, they’ve already done all the things I want to do. So I just went and sulked for a few days.”

Dragonflies began after Harrison returned to England, where he’d grown up on his father’s Friar Park estate, following the death of his grandmother, who famously raised George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, in Hawthorne. “I was still here basically to be around her,” says the musician, who formed the bands Thenewno2 and Fistful of Mercy while in L.A. “When she passed, that was the last of my grandparents. My mom was living in England, and so I just thought, Well, time to go.”

Harrison sought out Godrich for help on his 2023 solo album, “Innerstanding”; later, he lent the producer one of his dad’s old tape machines — “They did ‘Shankar Family & Friends’ on it,” he points out — which led to a series of casual jam sessions at Godrich’s studio in London’s Brixton neighborhood.

“It was like, ‘Hey, you want to get some Japanese food and make some tape loops?’” Harrison recalls.

Godrich notes proudly that “the way the record was made was completely mechanical,” meaning nothing was programmed on a computer but instead recorded “live on the fly” using older equipment.

“Fortunately, we both own a ridiculous amount of analog gear,” Harrison adds. “Because we’re nerds.”

“I’m not a nerd,” Godrich says. “I hate gear chat.”

“That’s true,” Harrison says. “He doesn’t nerd out about that stuff — I’m the nerd. He won’t even let me use six Kaoss Pads onstage.”

What’s a Kaoss Pad?

“You don’t want to know,” Godrich replies.

Gearhead or no, the producer was adamant that Dragonflies not rely on prerecorded backing tracks when it starts playing live.

“No computers were harmed in the making of this show,” Harrison says — thus the extra players.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Waronker is an old friend of Godrich’s who played drums in Atoms for Peace and on Beck’s “Sea Change” and “Morning Phase” (not to mention Beck’s brand-new “Ride Lonesome,” which Godrich mixed); the producer has known Valensi since he “didn’t work with the Strokes,” as he puts it, in 2003, when Godrich tried a couple of sessions with the New York garage-rock band before deciding it wasn’t a good fit.

Godrich says he plays bass in the live group because it’s easy. But also: “Bass is such an important part of the sound that if somebody else was doing it, they would never do it the same as me, and it would annoy me.”

Top three bass players of all time, according to Dragonflies?

“McCartney’s good, isn’t he?” Godrich asks.

“Les Claypool,” says Harrison. “I’m a huge Primus fan.”

“I like David J from Bauhaus,” Godrich says. “He’s an incredibly innovative bass player — always did very interesting things. Stylistically, he’s someone that I probably copy a lot from. It’s just the root notes, but whoever’s in control of the root notes is in control of everything.”

“It really is a power move to be the bass player,” Harrison says.

“I don’t want to be at the front — that’s not my thing,” says Godrich. “I don’t want to be the guy.”

Does Harrison?

“It takes me a while to get warmed up,” he says. “I don’t really look at people when I’m playing a show. I’m not sure if that means I’m mildly spectoral. I took the test, actually — I scored highest in my old band. I know a lot of neurodivergent people who perform.” He shrugs. “Sometimes you don’t get to choose if you’re the guy, but you’re the guy.”

In addition to his father, one of Dhani’s mentors was George’s friend and latter-day creative partner Jeff Lynne, who for all his musical genius has never seemed particularly comfortable onstage.

“He’s brilliant at what he does, but you talk about in-ear monitors or the sound onstage or the lighting or something, and it’s over,” Harrison says. “It’s too much input. That’s why Jeff wears the Spider-Man goggles,” he adds, referring to the ELO frontman’s ever-present aviator shades. “He has too much Spider-Sense. My dad was the same way. He definitely was like, ‘Look at him — don’t look at me!’”

After Dragonflies’ Hollywood Forever shows, Godrich and Harrison have dates scheduled in Europe for November and hope to play more in the future, depending on when Godrich finishes a couple of records he’s producing. (To give a sense of the stress he’s under, he mimes putting a gun to his head.) The duo already has enough material for a second album too.

How much time does Harrison intend to dedicate to the project?

“As much as I can, really,” he says. “How much do you want to hang out with your mate? I got bored of being Dhani Harrison anyway — I like being Dragonflies now.”

The Country Music Assn. will put on a two-hour live TV special honoring Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80.

The association said Wednesday that the television tribute — titled “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton” — will be recorded live at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville.

The tribute will air Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. Pacific on ABC and Disney+, and will stream on Hulu a day later.

In a news release, CMA described the special as a “joyful, emotional celebration” dedicated to Parton, the rhinestone-studded singer whose life began humbly, in a one-room cabin at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Robert Deaton, veteran executive producer of the Country Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards, will fill that role on the Parton project.

“Dolly gave Country Music its heart, and giving some of that heart back to her is an incredible honor,” said Deaton in a news release Wednesday. “My hope is simply that we do right by her story, her music and the people who love her, so that this evening feels like the tribute my friend deserves.”

Sarah Trahern, CMA chief executive, added that the tribute is the association’s “responsibility”: “This special is our way of saying thank you, on behalf of every artist, industry member and fan who found a piece of themselves in her music.”

The tribute is in partnership with Belmont University, which hosted the 2025 world premiere of “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” a biographical production about the “9 to 5” singer that is scheduled for its Broadway debut on Jan. 19, what would have been the Parton’s 81st birthday.

The university also previously launched “Dolly U,” an immersive educational partnership designed to connect students with hands-on opportunities in entertainment, media and creative industries.

Greg Jones, president of Belmont University, welcomed the special with a statement of his own: “It is a privilege to welcome artists, friends and fans from around the world to celebrate her extraordinary life and legacy from this stage in Nashville, honoring a woman whose love for Tennessee was woven into everything she did.”

Both the CMA and Belmont University will make a donation from the proceeds to Parton’s Imagination Library, which was launched by the Dollywood Foundation in 1995 to address childhood literacy by giving millions of children the gift of a free book each month. Disney will also support the program.

News of the television tribute follows an announcement last month by Parton’s estate that revealed plans for Dollyfest, a two-day celebration in Nashville and London next year across two consecutive weekends to honor her legacy.

Additional details for the CMA special, including performers and tickets, will be announced at a later date.

At age 14, Glen Walsh started surfing because of a crush. He was a boogie boarder until the object of his adoration told him, “What are you riding that for? You should be surfing. Get a surfboard.” So, he did. “I was terrible at it, but I kept going. I was super persistent.”

That resilience proved useful. As a gay teenager in Santa Monica, Walsh was often called slurs on the Venice Pier. “You think you’re like a unicorn — a weirdo,” he says. He felt at odds with the local surf community. To Walsh, surfing was “super straight, very hypermasculine, very intimidating.” Yet his love of the ocean — and sure, crush-worthy surfers — kept him returning to the water. “I wanted to be around them, and surf with them,” he says.

When Instagram launched in 2010, Walsh began posting one of his early loves — only this time, it was morning surf conditions. Every morning, before surfers paddled out, the longtime Venice resident described swells, winds and surf conditions to his followers, becoming for some the town’s trusted surf chronicler.

A “Surf Swim” sign greets beachgoers at Venice Beach — a stretch of coast where daily surf reports and grassroots organizing have helped break down traditional surf stereotypes.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

His videos combined informative dispatches with the laid-back vibe of surfer ASMR. “Light offshore wind. Clean, glassy barrels,” he declares softly to the camera as gray waves break behind him. “Lumpy close-out with hollow barrels with low tide, fam.”

At first, the account functioned like a group chat for local surfers. “Friends were asking me how the waves were, and I was texting them. I figured I’d jump on Instagram and start doing it for them,” says Walsh, who has been a Venice resident for 15 years.

What began as a practical update for a handful of friends eventually attracted followers in London, Berlin and Tokyo — people who checked in daily to see whether the surf was firing in Venice Beach. The account has amassed over 10,000 followers, inspiring imitator accounts. “Now it’s just for everybody,” says Walsh. “I built a community around the surf reports. It really blew me away. I didn’t realize that people were so interested.”

His surf reports have made him an unofficial mayor of Venice surf culture, getting recognized at the beach town’s local hangouts like Hinano Cafe and the Cow’s End. “People stop me and tell me they love my surf reports. They don’t even surf, but they see it every day,” says Walsh. “I always tell people I’m very popular between Washington Boulevard, Lincoln Boulevard and Rose Avenue.” His nickname around town is Glenice Venice.

However, the real triumph wasn’t becoming recognizable around Venice — it was finding other queer surfers, something that felt elusive in Walsh’s youth in Southern California. “I had met a lot of other surfers from all over the world and built a queer community of surfers here in L.A.,” says Walsh. “It was pretty awesome.”

Walsh saw an opportunity to use his surf report to not only report on the condition of the ocean — which is especially unpredictable during our current El Niño cycles — but to also create a burgeoning queer space in the Venice surf scene. “I could set up a community-based surf report for everybody, and the fact that I happen to be queer made it a little more unique,” he says. He began to connect with gay surfers, organizing trips with them and building lasting friendships. “It was just a lot of fun, building a little team.”

Later, Walsh became a co-producer and music supervisor of a movie about homophobia in surfing titled “Out in the Line-Up” that premiered at film festivals across the world in cities such as New York, San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. “The movie kind of spoke for itself. It was a worldwide issue — homophobia in surfing.” Since then, Walsh has served on panels about queer people in the surf world. Last June, the film had a 10th anniversary screening in Venice, hosted by the Venice Surfing Assn. “At some point, I brought some diversity to this culture. I put my name on it,” he says.

In recent years, others have joined Walsh’s efforts to create a burgeoning queer surf scene at Venice Beach. In 2020, Shelly Guidera relocated to Venice and noticed that there wasn’t a strong queer presence in surfing. “My friend and I were maybe the only queer people some of these surfers had ever seen,” she says. Shortly after, Guidera started Dream Team Surf, a collective for queer surfers to meet up and build camaraderie.

Its mission is simple. “It’s all of us looking out for each other,” Guidera says. “ Having a team of people makes the experience that much more enriching and safe.”

Surfers ride the waves near the Venice Pier, where Glen Walsh does his daily surf reports.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Early on, Guidera was inspired by Walsh’s uplifting presence in the Venice surf scene. “This person is respected in the community for what he brings, which is knowledge and insight and fun and flair,” says Guidera. In turn, Walsh has championed Dream Team Surf.

In January 2025, Dream Team Surf hosted a Pride beach party with a banner that read: “Trans bodies belong on the beach.” In some San Diego area beaches, Guidera says, queer representation can still feel like an anomaly. “It’s so funny because it’s like these people have maybe never seen a woman in a bathing suit with hairy legs,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s not that deep.’”

Guidera is certified in surf therapy, taking courses through Groundswell Community Project, a surf therapy program that uses surf to promote holistic healing. The mental health benefits of surfing are lifelong, Guidera explains. “Growing up as a swimmer, surfing was a form of play and wellness,” she says. “It eased the brakes on competition and the structure within competitive swimming.”

Group photo of Dream Team Surf, which hosted a Pride beach party.

(Sara Werner)

Even if you don’t shred waves, being in the ocean can promote healing. “To give people access to the ocean that is in and of itself a form of wellness,” she says. “There’s a level of surrender and humility that comes with surfing and that comes with being in nature. … You have to be so present in such a way that makes you a stronger person.”

Like Guidera, Walsh also works as a surf instructor with a similar goal to instill confidence in his students. “I was teaching a lot of people to surf, mostly women who didn’t want a straight man to teach them how to surf because it feels vulnerable enough,” says Walsh. “I try to break down the stereotypes and have a little fun with them and let them become a kid again.”

When done correctly, he argues, surfing can invite expansiveness. “I love seeing people out there. Feel the fear and do it anyway,” says Walsh. “And creating a lifestyle around it — going to different beaches — and meeting friends.”