She SUPs Barbie Paddle [Recap]

Every Halloween we like to be ‘unique’ in our dress-up theme. In 2021 it was ‘Disco Ain’t Dead’, in 2022 it was ‘Creatures of the DEAD Sea’ and in 2023 it was… BARBIE.

The Barbie movie took the world by storm this year and I knew we had to honour its iconic presence with a Barbie themed paddle at some point in the year, and so Halloween felt like the perfect fit.

Our community of paddlers are a creative bunch and always seem to come up with the most incredible costumes… and this year, once again, they did not disappoint.

I knew there would be a lot of pink, but I had no idea we’d have historical references to Barbies from the 60’s, Barbie in a box, Barbies with unique accessories, a Ken, and OF COURSE, a choreographed dance routine for all of our Barbies!!!! (I made this up in my bedroom the night before as a spur of a moment thing, and it went down SO WELL - kudos to the group for following my lead and trusting in my madness haha!)

A highlight was definitely paddling along and shouting ‘Hi Ken’ in unison as a male kayaker or guy driving a boat slowly drifted past, looking at us in awe! We also loved meeting ‘Grandad Ken’ (named by us) who came running from his house to take a photo of us to send to his grandkids. He told us we made his day, and his enthusiasm and love for our costumes made ours!!

Here’s a little selection of photos which hopefully capture some of the magic of this paddle:

1960s Sleepover Barbie that came with scales and a weight loss book saying DON’T EAT?! How insane? Thank you so much Suzy for dressing as 1960s Sleepover Barbie and educating us on Barbie history!!

The attention to detail!???! WOW. Di’s Barbie in a box was not just any Barbie but a She SUPs Barbie that comes with her own iSUP! This is a close up of just some of the detail Di put into her costume - this was on the box!!

Bev rocking an incredible ‘weird Barbie’ look, straight from the Barbie movie!! I love it!!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who attended this paddle. We raised $165 for Cancer Research, shared A LOT of laughs and entertained the local neighbourhood! What a successful day! ;)

Also I just wanted to make a special mention to those who joined this paddle having never been on a She SUPs paddle before!!! You met me in a wig (so hopefully that didn’t put you off) but huge congrats to you for giving paddling with She SUPs a go, and stepping outside of your comfort zone… dressed head to toe in pink!! When speaking to a lot of you, I know you loved this first introduction to She SUPs, so I can’t wait to see you back on the water again very soon!!

Next stop, Santa SUP for Christmas… and another very special dress up paddle in the New Year… stay tuned ;)

Happy paddling!

Vikki x
Founder of She SUPs