Bianca Valenti, a big wave surfer out of Ocean Beach, San Francisco, rides a wave at last year’s SWITCH.

Photo: Courtesy Queer Surf

Having skateboarded for years, Army veteran Bibi Benitez decided to apply her skills from the street to the water and take up surfing. In 2018, having recently moved to San Francisco, she made her way to the shoreline in Pacifica south of the city and rented a surf board.

“Ever since, I’ve been in the water,” said Benitez, 30, who is an analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission and also barbacks at the Edge bar in the Castro. “If you want to find, like, a connection to your body, to the environment, surfing is a huge way. And I think it's like a spiritual practice in that kind of way.”

Just prior to learning to surf, Benitez had come out as a

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