Last year slapped

and here's what I've been doing about it

I turned 45, perimenopause hit me in the face, US tariffs kicked in right as I’d tripled my inventory order (and spent all our cash reserves) and the cherry on top of the shitshow - my mum was diagnosed with lung cancer. Fun times.

Sinking deeper and deeper into a general sense of malaise that I just could not shake, I lost all desire to surf and really struggled to show up for my business and team.

After being forced to recognise the shitstorm I was in, and working my way through it, that clarity is actually a silver lining and here is what’s been happening since.

How last year felt

After a positive start to the year - we were riding our best sales period from the end of 2024: sales were up, the team was tight and we had a growth plan for 2025, a certain someone in the US changed the rules and the impact was brutal - even for our Australian microbusiness.

I’d just placed the biggest inventory order in Salt Gypsy’s history - literally - I’d tripled our usual volume, cash reserves gone, all of it riding on stock landing at the numbers we’d budgeted for. Delays in export shipments meant delays in getting our invoices paid and the ripple effect of all this we are still feeling today - halfway through 2026. WTF.

Overnight, the margin and cashflow I’d planned our whole year around was no longer there. That’s not a bad quarter. That’s the whole ground moving while you’re mid-stride and not knowing where the fuck you’re going to land.

At the same time, perimenopause went full noise on me after a slow build the previous couple of years. I’ve been a positive and friendly person my whole life but the rage that showed up - it’s been like an out of body experience. Throw in 2am wake ups that last a couple of hours, a brain fog that makes you feel like wading through wet mud, and zero tolerance for bullshit. It’s a real doozy.

And then Mum was diagnosed with lung cancer.

I’m not going to dress that one up. Fuck cancer. There is no framework for receiving that news.

And surfing - the thing that used to make me feel strong physically, emotionally and spiritually, the thing that helped me work through the grief of suddenly losing my dad to a drunk driver, the thing that I’d built my whole identity around as a young adult, and the thing I’ve built a business and brand around for over 13 years? Not interested. Not motivated. Simply don’t give AF.

2025 It was a lot.

So how have I been turning things around since?

I got help. Which is not something I’m historically very good at. I finally got in to see a specialist GP who only takes on menopause patients. I broke down in our first appointment (not uncommon apparently!) and had to wait weeks before I could start any HRT (c/o congenital heart arrhythmia getting thoroughly checked first but more on that in another post) but we’ve made it through and I’m finally on medication that has been helping significantly.

I booked in for a therapy session. Downloading to another professional helped.

I’m keeping up with weight training to help me feel strong. I’ve started golf lessons with my funny Irish neighbour-friend where we time lessons to finish at beer o’clock. Physical, emotional, spiritual feel-good vibes: check.

For my business: full redesign. Hitting pause on the constant pressure to produce NEW NEW NEW (while still producing for our wholesale export buyers). Trimming the fat, re-evaluating & re-designing our product offering, investing in coaching to help me turn the ship around, starting a Substack to come full circle and get back to blogging (and where it all began for me 14 years ago from a surf charter boat in the Indian Ocean) but in this modern, more grown-up format. Getting comfortable with putting my mug back in front of my brand (and all the B-roll lols) and putting my thoughts back out into the world. Watch this space.

For surfing - I have three decades of identity to untangle there. My confidence has shifted significantly, my body has changed, my surf-fitness is non-existent, and my time is consumed and constrained by mothering, work, and school hours. I’m still finding my way back to that one.

And mum? It was caught early, the mass was small, she’s had surgery to remove it and finished up months of chemo and radiation. She retires in a few weeks and she’s going to be ok. She’s alive and we’re so grateful.

So there you have it. More on actual numbers and what’s changing at Salt Gypsy soon. For now, if last year slapped you, too, tell me about it. I could use the company.

Keep charging,

Danny x