Michelle Rozzen
Photographer . Writer . Editor
Massage Therapist

I arrived to Puerto Escondido on July 28th for the IBA Zicatela Pro. I came to be the Massage Therapist at the contest and also cover the event for 71 Magazine. It's been nothing but good times with new and old friends. I've been having a blast and here are a handful of photos from my trip thus far. You can see all of the others on my facebook.

I don't even know where to begin. It has been awhile since I updated my blog and I apologize for that, however I have been super busy and lovin' life! I will not go into great details for the past two months, as it would take way too much time, so I will just focus on the recent occasions. Also, thank you to all my friends and family for your support this year. My dreams are coming true and I am loving life happily. Mahalo.

The BIA hosted a comp at Zuma Beach on June 12th. Waves were fun, June gloom was in effect and work was done on my part. I took a bunch of photos and have an interview lined up with a female rider for 71 Mag, stay tuned.

My cousin Rochelle and her man, Tim, got married on June 12th at their friends beautiful home in Los Feliz. Congrats to them for a long, healthy, happy and loving future together. I love you both!

Random stuff that has happened since my last post....

I had 3 stories published in the current issue #3 of 71 mag. Jacob Romero, Natasha Sagardia and Kiril Shchegolsky. Check it out!

Also, June 16, was my Dad's passing 6 years ago. So he has been on my mind more than often lately. Daddy, you are missed but your heart and soul lives on through me and your family. I honor his positive attitude, his strength to NEVER GIVE UP, his on going laughter and smiles, his tears, his ability to be an amazing Father and most of
all, my hero. We love you always and forever. I love you more! xo

Today I turned 28, oy vey I am getting old, but I feel amazing today, seriously I do! I realized that I am so behind in blogging, it's been over a month since my last post. I've been super busy, for once. HA! So what a better way to begin a new year, with a new blog =) I will rewind back a month and start from there...

One of my best friends made a surprise visit to the California coast. Jamie lives in Arizona, so we don't see each other often. But she is one of my dearest friends who I treasure very much in my life. We have been friends since the first grade and I love her to pieces. She camped out in Malibu with her friend Joe, so I went down to visit them for the night. We spent the afternoon with our feet in the sand, talking and catching up. Then later in the evening we roasted marshmallows, Jamie played some guitar and we sang some tunes.

My cousin Rochelle announced that she is pregnant with a boy! Congrats to Rochelle and Tim. I can't wait to be an Auntie!

In the beginning of April, my cousin Andy and my brothers Brian and Daniel cruised to the opening day Dodger Vs. Angels baseball game! Fun times were had in the $2 seats!

Throughout February, March and April I bugged my friends on Facebook daily, to vote for this beautiful photo of Adam standing nude on the Bow River. I want to thank ALL of my friends who voted for this photo everyday. It's because of your support that we WON the contest. I'm now $1,000 richer and super stoked to have won the Samesun Backpackers Photo Contest. CHEERS for your support!

Last Friday my brother Brian, his girlfriend Brandice and I took a road trip to the Bay Area. We stayed at my best friend Christine's apartment in San Jose. I went to San Jose State University, so I often miss the NorCal lifestlye. Friday night we walked around downtown and started drinking early in the evening. Then, we met up with my friend Eric for sushi dinner in Japan Town in downtown San Jose, then went on a pub crawl in Campbell and somehow ended back in San Jose.

Saturday we all headed up to Hayward, to make a surprise visit to my cousins house. We planned to meet there for lunch, where we met up with my Grandparents, brother Daniel and my Mom. My cousins had no idea we were coming up, so when they opened the door they were pretty excited to say the least! We enjoyed a delicious lunch, thanks Lisa! We cruised around Castro Valley, and had an amazing dinner at this Thai food joint. We got 3 tofu dishes and they were all amazing. So delicious, the tofu just melted in my mouth. Later that night we met up with the family at a theater, where my cousins were performing at the Hayward Idol. They are both singers and both had great performance! *Pictures will be up soon. * Afterward, we all went out for dessert to the largest ice cream parlor i've ever been to. But since I'm not eating dairy right now, I got the best sweet potato fries, with marshmellow topping, soooooooo good! You gotta try it.

Sunday we went to the Farmers Market in Campbell, it's by far the best market i've been to yet. After walking around we went to a vegan restaurant in downtown San Jose called Good Karma. It's one of my new favorite restaurants in San Jose and I will be a regular customer when I go back to visit. After lunch before heading back to SoCal, we went back to Christine's and my good friend Tito stopped by to say hello. It was great seeing him, he always puts a smile on my face. He was wearing custom Nike shoes and they read NEVER GIVE UP on them, so I was stoked to see that.

Thanks to Christine and Dave for hosting us this weekend. Hope to be back in the Bay Area soon! xo

Today was beautiful outside when I woke up. No rain, clear blue skies and crisp California air. It was a perfect day to spend in Malibu. I went hiking with my friend Gaby and we checked out the water falls in Malibu. I didn't bring my camera, but I did bring my mobile phone, so I took some pics along the way for your viewing pleasure....

My younger cousin Sophia Silver is 12. Her voice is beautiful and I wanted to share it with you. She has a YouTube presence and I am currently making her a MySpace page.

If you haven't heard this album yet, prepare to dream! It's so good!

I have been day dreaming a lot lately. I want to be in Australia, NOW! I'm frothing on the beaches and the waves. I want to take epic photos and California isn't cutting it right now. HaHa. 71 Mag is the closest I'll come to OZ for awhile. Since I can't be there till at least the end of this year, I am enjoying the videos I find on Vimeo. I've come across this sick vid a few times, so check it out....Yeeew!

For the past week I have been watching my cousins, while their parents have been in Costa Rica. It's been a fun week in Ventura and i've had a good time with the girls.

Hope you all had a great week! Mine has been pretty hectic. I am kid sitting/house sitting for my cousins, who are having an amazing paid vacation at The Four Seasons in Costa Rica.  Yah I'm a bit jealous, but I am spending quality time with their 2 girls Bailey and Dayle. The house is in Ventura, so it's near the beach and it's pretty sweet. Yesterday after Bailey's dance class we went to Ventura Harbor and played arcade games. I used to go there when I was her age, she is 11. Such fun times!

As most of you know, I am the US News Writer for 71 Mag, an interactive bodyboarding mag based in AUS. Anyway we have been re-designing the website and I wanted to share with you the new design, yeeew! And also my photog profile is up, so check it out, you can link to it from the article on the homepage by clicking here! Spread the love. 

March 3rd is my Dad's birthday. Today would have been my Dad's 56th birthday. For those of you who don't know, my Dad passed away from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease in June 2004. I still can't believe he is gone physically. I know that his spirit will forever live, and I feel his presence often. I went to visit him today, I had lunch with him. Right when I got to his home on the hill, the sun came out behind the clouds. It was a beautiful lunch. 

My Dad was my hero, he was so strong, especially through his illness. On a happier note though he was amazing. His heart was so HUGE! He was always helping people. I was Daddy's Little Girl. I miss him every moment everyday. His spirit lives on inside of me. My Dad taught me so much, and he is still teaching me things. Today I want to honor my Dad for being the wonderful Father he was and is in spirit. I know my Dad is watching over me, his smile is always so big. I miss you Dad forever and always.                              Daddy, Happy Birthday! xxoo

PIPELINE PRO
Last week the Pipeline Pro was aired on a live webcast, thanks to Fluidzone! The riders all did very well. Congrats to Amaury Lavernhe for the epic performance at the Pipeline Pro!

CHILI
There was a crazy 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chili Friday, 2/26. It was one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. The photos and video coverage are so sad to see. My heart goes out to everyone in Chili. My prayers are with you all! 


TSUNAMI 
Following the tragic earthquake in Chili were many tsunami warnings, along every coast around the world pretty much. Hawaii had the biggest warning though, everything was shut down pretty much, beaches were empty, cruise ships were sent to sea, etc. It was insane. Fortunately Hawaii "dodged the bullet," and no one was hit by any tsunami. 

SECRET SPOTS
Today I met up with some mates at the beach. I got some pretty sweet photos, check em out HERE. 

OLYMPICS
The Olympics have been pretty exciting to watch. Tonights gold medal ice hockey game was intense to watch! Congrats to USA for playing a great game and for Canada winning the gold. The closing ceremonies were fun to watch too! 

71 Mag
The newly published 71 Mag is now live! The new design looks sick. Check it out here.

USBA SPONSORSHIP
As many of you know, I am the Marketing Manager of Women's Brands for the USBA. I am currently looking for companies for sponsorship opportunities for 2010. If you think your company is interested please contact me. Michelle.Rozzen@gmail.com 
For more information on the USBA, visit: www.usbatour.com


Have a good night! Cheerio.

I went to Banff Canada to visit Adam, and the memories made I will cherish forever. Banff is in Alberta,  it is a beautiful and fun little town! 

Clive picked us up from the hostel and we cruised to Sunshine Village to go snowboarding. Adam taught me how to ride the mountains, thanks for being a great snowboard instructor Ad! Fun times were had for sure!

It was a mini Mexico reunion at The Beaver one night. We met up with Clive and Adriana, yeeeew!

Adam, Gee and I went walking along the river one day, it was so beautiful! The scenic views in Banff are so amazing! 

We hiked up Tunnel Mountain, the views were so spectacular! So breath taking! 

There is a photo contest going on through Samesun Backpackers. The winner of the contest wins a round trip ticket from anywhere to anywhere in the world. It's worth $2000 CAD, so this is my ticket to Australia, a country I have wanted to visit forever!Adam and I had a photo shoot at the Bow River while I was in Banff. It was such a fun day in the snow! Here are some photos from the shoot, yeeeew! Help me win this contest by voting everyday until March 31st! Vote for the photo contest here!

Banff is simply beautiful! I can't wait to go back! Hope you enjoyed looking through my photos, more on my facebook, yeeeew! 

Todos Santos is known as a magical city and I can sure feel the spirits in the air here. I've been doing yoga at sunrise and sunset everyday. The first day I arrived we headed straight to the beach, went bodyboarding and had a delicious Mexican inspired dinner. The following day we woke up to yoga at sunrise, had the best breky ever, went kyaking at the Sea of Cortez, went hiking, yoga at sunset and another delicious dinner..... The rest of the trip was pretty amazing. I met some great gals and learned a lot, like how to run a yoga retreat and how I love having a portable job. I learned a lot about myself as well, which will soon create my future. If you are interested in going to Flora Del Mar, where the yoga retreat at was held, contact Marilyn here: http://floradelmar.net