our story
The story of Drift
Nearly 3 years ago, Emma Danzo, the founder of DRIFT, started working for Avasol, a small sustainable surf brand, as the sole marketer of the brand.
She quickly realized that Avasol was very well known, but not taking advantage of its expansive community.
So, she grew the brand through the power of people & partnership…
She capitalized on Avasol’s pre-existing network to build out a web of ambassadors, creators, nonprofits, and adjacent brands that wanted to lend themselves credibility through Avasol's strong brand equity.
And those partners, in turn, noticed the work she was doing, saw it was working, and soon after, recruited her to do the same for them.
And so on, and so forth, DRIFT was born (originally as Digital Drifter).
In Emma’s Words:
“I resonate a lot with this quote. If I listened to what people and society told me, I’d never be living freely like I am today - traveling and living in surf spots around the world, managing my own clients, doing work that aligns my passions and my purpose, planning my days around the sun and surf, connecting with the communities and causes that inspire me… It took a leap of courage and a lot of inner work to abandon the conditioned ways of thinking that had been ingrained in me for so long. But once I started to trust my intuition telling me that I was destined for something more, it all came together and seemed to flow naturally.
By visualizing the life I wanted to live, writing it down, and believing it with every fiber of my being, I attracted the opportunities to make my dreams a reality.
I created DRIFT with the intention to pass this perspective forward. To inspire a shift in our patterned ways of thinking, and trust that sometimes the road less traveled leads to the greatest light.”
Emma was only a junior in college at UC Santa Barbara when she began her career in digital marketing. By the time graduation rolled around, Emma had already worked with the brands you see here.
She was able to graduate with a full plate of clients lined up,
So that she didn’t have to subject herself to the traditional 9-5,
And instead went on to live a life of freedom, traveling & surfing around the world, “drifting” one might say, as she continued to build her business.
All by the ripe age of 22!
BALI BORN, BYRON BRED
The concept behind DRIFT (originally called Digital Drifter) was born at a coffee shop in Uluwatu, Bali in June 2023. A friend lent “Ikigai” to Emma, a book which explores the Japanese concept for living with purpose. Emma drew out her Ikigai chart in her journal, honing in on the intersection between what she was good at, what she could get paid for, where there was a need, and what she loved to do. This intersection became the foundation of her business. She now teaches a Masterclass on Ikigai in e-courses and her surf retreats.
Emma’s founding message:
“The network I’ve built through my work has enriched my travels and aligned me with my community of surfers, nomads and ocean advocates across the globe. It was only natural to keep growing and expanding this network through my own venture.
Cheers to Bali for pushing me to Create, and for connecting me with the people and purpose to make my ideas come to life. Thank you to all those who inspired and supported me along the way - you know who you are.
To human connection, inspiration, and crafting an awareness of nature as us and not the other. Here’s to using communication as a tool to recognize and honor our divine interconnectedness.”
After a few months living and traveling in Indonesia, Emma ventured on from Bali, following her heart to Byron Bay - a hub for creatives and surfers alike from all around the world. She took the vessel she had created and brought it with her, setting roots down in Australia for both her personal and professional life. She continues to drift from Australia to Indonesia, spending a few months at a time in each location, but bases herself in Byron Bay, where she has established a vast network of clientele, and co-founded surf retreat (VAST Retreats). She has grown DRIFT in Australia and beyond, servicing even higher profile clients in the surf industry around the globe.
“When covid changed the way we work, I saw a unique opportunity.
Suddenly I could develop my career and myself simultaneously as I worked and traveled around the world - it wasn’t ‘choose one or the other’ anymore.
In choosing this path, it’s never been easy, but it has always paid off.
I’ve gotten to work with brands and founders that I could have only ever dreamed of.
I’ve gotten to meet and form meaningful relationships with my greatest inspirations in the world of surfing.
And I occupy a unique niche, as most of my clients are sustainable, wellness-focused, women-led surf brands and nonprofits.
Serving as a one woman marketing team, I combined my UCSB degree with real life, roll up your sleeves experience.
I realized I could intertwine my creative skills with my strategic mind and profound ability to connect humans in a way that fosters value, creating a novel offering & differentiating DRIFT from mainstream marketing agencies.
It’s never been a straight path to venture out on my own, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, always learning along the way. I’ve become resilient, adaptable, and confident in my potential. I’ve also learned to not be afraid to ask for help, as the support of my mentors and teachers has moulded the way I see the world, affirming that any vision I have can become reality- and so far, every single one has!”
RIGHT: Emma’s Bali Office
ABOVE: Emma incorporating her first business on an island off of Bali.
BELOW: Frames from a pivotal trip to Hawaii, creating a beach cleanup for Avasol with Surfrider, A New Earth Project, & Sunrise Shack, interviewing Avasol ambassadors, and meeting surf legends.
“Real courage is listening to your intuition, even when society and people in your life advise you against it. A lot of advice comes from fear, people wishing you stay with the herd and do the normal thing. Taking a calculated risk is not recklessness, its fearlessness ”
-Yung Pueblo
“Home is where your heart is. Follow it, and you’ll find where you belong.”
- Emma Danzo
ABOUT Emma
Emma Danzo is a free surfer, yogi, and creative strategist who has traveled to surf meccas around the world in pursuit of waves, cultures, and connection with waterpeople worldwide.
During her travels, she has helped a profile of widely-recognized brands, films, and nonprofits that sit at the intersection of surfing, wellness, and sustainability to increase their impact and exposure through engaging marketing, social media, and partnership strategies.
Emma grew up between the suburban outskirts of NYC and the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy. At 18, she moved to California to pursue a BA in Communications at UC Santa Barbara, where she graduated with high honors. During her time at UCSB, she picked up surfing, which propelled her life and career to new heights around the globe. Surfing set the course of her life, as she decided to dedicate her life’s work to the ocean, using marketing as a vessel to share this love and message to protect & appreciate our ocean with a global audience.
During and after Uni, Emma went on to live and work in over 7 different countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. Emma is trilingual; speaking fluent Italian and Spanish as well as English. She now resides in Byron Bay, Australia where she continues to create, bringing water people together through surf and yoga retreats and wellness experiences under her other business, VAST Retreats.
BELOW: Slides from Emma’s First Website
