Conversations with Kaitlin Kerby

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin Kerby.

Hi Kaitlin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi there, my name is Kaitlin Kerby. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of living by the ocean. I was always fascinated by the sea and knew I wanted my life to somehow revolve around it. Like many people, I was told to take your passion and turn it into a career, so for a long time, I had my heart set on becoming a marine biologist.

Growing up in the middle of the desert, that dream sometimes felt a little out of reach. But even then, I always had this gut feeling that somehow, things would work out the way they were supposed to.

After high school, I attended Arizona State University as a Biological Sciences major—the closest path I could find toward becoming a marine biologist. After my freshman year, I applied for a summer internship on Kauai. That spring, COVID hit, and I wasn’t sure if the internship would even happen. Somehow, I got accepted as a waitlisted candidate, and even more miraculously, the program still ran despite the pandemic.

That summer of 2020, I spent my days on the island of Kauai, essentially living out the ocean girl dreams I had carried with me since I was little. When summer came to an end, I wasn’t ready to leave. Since school was going to be online that fall, I thought, “What if I just stayed?”

So I did.

I stayed on Kauai until December, but even then, I still wasn’t ready to go back to the desert. At 19 years old, I took a huge leap of faith and moved my entire life to Oahu. The University of Hawaii at Manoa gave me the opportunity to continue my education while finally living in the place I had dreamed about for so long. In 2021, I officially moved to Oahu and never looked back.

At that point, I was living in Hawaii and studying science with the goal of becoming a marine biologist. But as I continued through college, I started to realize that being a scientist might not actually be the path for me. I’ve always been a very creative person. Writing and communication came naturally to me, while math and science never quite did.

I was at a point in college where I knew I needed to make a change, so after one tough conversation with my counselor, I decided to switch directions. I realized that I could still dedicate my life to protecting our oceans and inspiring others without becoming a scientist. I changed my major to Communicology, where I studied how people communicate and how effective communication can be used to create meaningful change.

At the same time, social media had become my creative outlet. I was making fun videos with friends, filming little summer vlogs, and documenting pieces of my life just because I loved creating. Then I came across an internship for a social media manager at a marine conservation nonprofit, and I remember thinking, “This is it. This is exactly what I want to be doing.”

That experience taught me so much and ultimately solidified my goal of pursuing social media and content creation as a career.

After graduating, I spent months applying for jobs without much luck. Eventually, I decided that instead of waiting for someone to give me an opportunity, I would create one for myself. I started my own marketing agency, Aloha Avenue, with a friend, where we worked with small businesses around Oahu to create social media content and help them tell their stories online.

Starting my own business taught me so much—not only about marketing and content creation, but about taking a chance on yourself. I was able to build relationships with incredible business owners, expand my skill set, and learn what it really takes to create something from the ground up.

It was also around this time that surfing became a huge part of my life. When I moved to Hawaii, I picked up surfing, and it quickly became my favorite thing in the world. I had always dreamed of living by the ocean, but surfing gave me an entirely new relationship with it. It became my way of disconnecting from the outside world, grounding myself, and being fully present. When I’m in the water, nothing else really matters. It’s just me, the ocean, and the next wave.

As I became more passionate about surfing, I naturally started sharing more of that journey online. What started as something I did simply because I loved it became a way for me to document my progress, connect with other people, and hopefully inspire others to get outside, try something new, and create a life that feels meaningful to them.

One of the strategies I used to grow my business was to grow my own social media presence as well. I was already posting for fun, so I thought, “Why not take it a little more seriously and see where it could take me?” Slowly, my platforms started to grow, I began working with brands, and my personal page started becoming a business of its own.

Today, my marketing work focuses on creating fun, playful content for businesses around Oahu, while my personal brand is centered around surfing, intentional living, health and wellness, travel, and finding joy in everyday life. Those things all feel very natural to me, which is what makes sharing them so fulfilling. I get to document my own journey while hopefully inspiring other people to pursue the things that make them feel alive.

There is something about the way it all came together that still blows my mind. The ocean has quite literally created a career for me. It creates the waves, I get to ride them, I film them, and then I get to share them with the world. The little girl from the desert who dreamed of living by the sea somehow grew up to build a career around the very thing she always felt drawn to. I don’t take that for granted.

Tomorrow actually marks the three-year anniversary of Aloha Avenue. Three years ago, I started this journey of creating something out of nothing and simply seeing where it would take me, one day at a time. My first year was very focused on building the agency, and over the past two years, my focus has shifted more toward my personal brand and content creation.

I love helping other businesses capture their stories, but there is something especially meaningful about sharing my own life online. My platform has become a way to document the things I’m proud of, the challenges I’ve faced, my surfing journey, my health and wellness journey, and, most importantly, my love for the ocean.

Just this week, I had a full-circle moment when I worked with a company in honor of World Cleanup Day to promote a platform dedicated to helping clean our oceans. It made me think about that little girl growing up in the desert who dreamed of living by the sea. I never could have imagined that one day, my career would involve spending time in the water, creating, telling stories, and inspiring others to care about the same place that has always meant so much to me.

If you had asked me five years ago what my five-year plan was, I wouldn’t have been able to give you an answer. And honestly, I still couldn’t.

I’ve learned that sometimes the best parts of life come from not having everything figured out. My story has been a series of taking chances, following that little gut feeling, and trusting that the next step will reveal itself when I’m ready for it.

I don’t know where I’ll be five years from now, and I’m okay with that. I’m getting one percent closer each day to the person I’m meant to become. As long as I keep listening to that inner voice, taking risks, creating things that matter to me, and choosing a life that feels true to who I am, I trust that it will all work out.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and I think some of the biggest challenges in my life have also been some of the moments that shaped me the most.
One of the first major challenges was realizing that the childhood dream I had spent years working toward, becoming a marine biologist, might not actually be the path I was meant to take. That was a really difficult decision because I had always believed I knew what my future was supposed to look like. Changing my major and moving toward communications, marketing, and social media felt like I was letting go of a version of myself I had spent years becoming.
But I had to learn to trust my gut. Change can be scary, especially when you’re stepping away from something that feels familiar and into something you can’t guarantee will work out. I think there is so much growth that happens when you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone and give yourself permission to change direction. Sometimes the path you planned for yourself isn’t the path that leads you to the person you’re meant to become.
Another huge challenge was starting my own business. There is something terrifying about putting yourself out there and essentially asking people to believe in you when you’re still learning to believe in yourself. When I first started Aloha Avenue, I would cold call businesses, walk into shops, and ask if they needed help with their social media. I remember telling myself over and over again, “The worst thing they can say is no.”
And they did say no. A lot.
But the more I put myself out there, the more comfortable I became with hearing no—and eventually, I started hearing yes a lot more. Every yes gave me a little more confidence, and every no taught me that rejection wasn’t the end of the world. I think that was one of the biggest lessons in building my business: sometimes confidence doesn’t come before you take the leap. Sometimes you have to take the leap first, and the confidence comes from proving to yourself that you can do hard things.
My most recent challenge has probably been the most personal one. Last fall, I had major knee surgery, which meant I had to step away from surfing for about nine months. If you’ve learned anything about me, you know that surfing isn’t just my passion, it’s a huge part of my identity and a big part of my work. My community had grown to love my surf content, and suddenly I found myself wondering, “Who am I without surfing? What does my platform look like if I can’t surf?”
That was a question I had to sit with for a long time. I had to dig deep both mentally and physically, not only in my personal life but professionally as well. I had to find other parts of myself and remind myself that I am more than one thing. I could still create, connect with my community, tell stories, and find joy even when I couldn’t do the thing that brought me the most joy.
Thankfully, as of this summer, my knee is almost back to 100%, and I’m back in the water surfing regularly. Coming back to surfing after so much time away has made me appreciate it in a completely different way. Something I once took for granted now feels like a privilege every time I paddle out.
Looking back, I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am today without any of those challenges. Each one forced me to trust myself a little more, get comfortable with uncertainty, and realize that I am capable of adapting when life doesn’t go according to plan.
And I absolutely couldn’t have done it alone. My friends, my family, and my community have supported me through every version of this journey. There were moments when I doubted myself, and having people around me who reminded me who I was made all the difference.
I think that’s something I’m learning more and more as I get older: the goal isn’t necessarily to create a life without challenges. It’s to build the resilience to move through them, trust that you’ll come out stronger, and keep going toward the life that feels true to you.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today, I’m a social media content creator and marketing professional based in Honolulu, Hawaii. My personal brand revolves around surfing, ocean life, intentional living, health and wellness, and ultimately inspiring people to be more positive and find more joy in their everyday lives. My motto is “joy over achievement,” and that philosophy really sits at the center of everything I create.
On the professional side, I work with brands and businesses to create social media content that feels authentic, engaging, and true to their story. I love the creative process of taking an idea and turning it into something visual that people actually want to watch and connect with. My marketing background also gives me a different perspective as a creator because I understand both sides of the industry, the strategy behind what makes content effective and the creative side of actually bringing it to life.
I’ve been on this career roller coaster for about four years now, and there have been so many moments where I’ve had to stop and think, “Wait, this is actually my job?” Some of my biggest “I made it” moments have been getting to work with brands that I used to dream about working with, but one of my most recent milestones was being invited on a two-week surf retreat in Australia to create content.
That was a huge full-circle moment for me. If you had told the college version of me that a few years later my career would involve traveling to Australia, surfing every day, filming it, and inspiring people around the world to learn how to surf, I probably would have thought you were crazy. It was one of those moments where I got to step outside of the day-to-day work and really appreciate how far I’ve come.
But one of my favorite career moments actually had nothing to do with a big brand or an exciting trip.
I was in the Patagonia store here in Hawaii when one of the employees recognized me from Instagram. She told me that she had recently started surfing and that she loved watching my surf videos because they inspired her. I honestly almost cried.
I think about that moment a lot because that is literally the entire reason I do what I do. I share silly videos of myself learning to surf, wiping out, celebrating the little wins, and continuing to get back on my board because I love the journey. To hear that something as simple as me sharing my own experience encouraged someone else to keep pushing through her own surfing journey was incredibly meaningful.
It also made me realize how much of an impact we can have without even knowing it. I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome throughout my career, especially as someone who didn’t necessarily have a traditional path into what I’m doing now. So hearing that someone found inspiration in something that felt so ordinary to me was a really powerful reminder that what I’m creating has meaning beyond the numbers, brand deals, or views.
As far as what sets me apart, I think it comes down to authenticity and the perspective behind my content. I’m not trying to portray a perfect version of life in Hawaii. I want people to see the wipeouts along with the good waves, the hard days along with the beautiful ones, and the journey rather than just the destination. I’m still learning, still growing, and still figuring things out myself, and I think people connect with that.
I also think there is a lot of intention behind what I share. I want my content to leave people feeling a little lighter, happier, or more inspired than they were before they saw it. Whether that means inspiring someone to try surfing, spend more time outside, take better care of themselves, or simply notice the little joys in their own life, that is what success looks like to me.
At the end of the day, I’m not just trying to build a personal brand. I’m trying to build a life that I genuinely love living, and then invite people along for the journey. That’s what “joy over achievement” means to me.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve realized throughout my life that I’m actually a pretty big risk-taker, although I don’t always recognize it in the moment. Looking back, so many of the biggest turning points in my life came from making a decision without knowing exactly how it was going to work out.
One of my first major risks was moving to Hawaii at 19 years old. I had grown up in Phoenix and had dreamed about living by the ocean my entire life, but actually leaving everything I knew and moving across the ocean was a completely different thing. I didn’t have a five-year plan or some guarantee that everything was going to work out. I just knew that I had this feeling that I needed to try. I remember thinking that if I didn’t take the opportunity when it was right in front of me, I might always wonder what would have happened if I had.
Then, a few years later, I took another huge risk by walking away from my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist. I had already spent years working toward that path, so changing directions felt scary. But I had to ask myself whether I was staying on that path because it was truly what I wanted or because I was afraid to start over. Choosing communications and eventually building a career in marketing and social media was unfamiliar territory, but it felt much more aligned with who I was becoming.
Starting my own business was probably one of the biggest risks I’ve taken professionally. After graduating, I couldn’t find a traditional job, so instead of continuing to wait for someone to hire me, I decided to create my own opportunity. I started Aloha Avenue without knowing exactly where it would lead. I cold-called businesses, walked into shops, put myself out there, and heard plenty of “no’s.” But I kept reminding myself that the worst thing someone could do was say no. Every time I put myself out there, I became a little more comfortable with rejection and a little more confident in myself.
I think that’s how I view risk now. I don’t necessarily think risk means being fearless. I think it means being willing to be uncomfortable long enough to find out what’s on the other side. There have been so many times when I’ve been scared, but I’ve learned that fear and intuition can feel very similar, and sometimes you have to get quiet enough to figure out which one is speaking.
My biggest risks have also taught me that there is a difference between taking a risk and being reckless. I try to take leaps that feel aligned with the person I want to become, even if I don’t know exactly what the outcome will be.
My knee surgery was an interesting lesson in risk because it was a risk I didn’t choose. Being forced out of surfing for nine months made me question so much about my identity and career. I had built such a large part of my life around surfing, and suddenly I couldn’t do the thing that brought me the most joy or create the content my community had come to know me for. It taught me that sometimes life takes risks for you. You don’t always get to choose the plot twist, but you do get to choose how you respond to it.
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that staying comfortable is also a risk. You can choose the safe option and still end up wondering what could have happened if you had taken the chance.
I don’t know where my career or life will take me next, and honestly, that’s part of what I love about it. I’ve stopped feeling like I need to have everything figured out before I take the next step. I’d rather keep following that little gut feeling, take the opportunities that scare me a little, and trust that each leap will teach me something.
For me, risk is really about choosing possibility over certainty. You might not know exactly where you’re going to land, but sometimes you have to jump to find out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitlinkerby/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlinkerby/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaitlinkerby4

Image Credits
whale ocean photo and cactus photo: credit IG @kelseywilliamson
Surfer photo with green one-piece: IG @beninthewater
Photo of me smiling with the camera in hand, and pic of me with orange/yellow floral swimsuit with jean jacket off the shoulders IG @emilydekoster
1st image of me surfing in blue long sleeve suit with white board: IG @whitesellphoto