Since OpenWater’s inception, Erin has been a steady force behind the scenes. She is a creative, an encourager, and the mom who ran everything smoothly at home so big dreams could take shape on the water.
Born and raised in Huntington Beach, Erin built a career rooted in creativity and surf culture. After graduating from Long Beach State with a degree in fashion merchandising and apparel design, she spent more than a decade at Huntington Surf & Sport, eventually helping open one of the first girls-specific surf shops on Main Street. Later, she launched Lately Lily, a children’s lifestyle brand that grew to include books, dolls, and a clothing line, even catching the attention of Amazon before the pandemic.
Even with immense accomplishments, her most impactful role has been closer to home.
As OpenWater took shape, Erin watched it evolve from an idea into a life-changing nonprofit. Before OpenWater, her husband Danny Nichols had spent a decade serving in the ocean-based nonprofit space, and Erin understood what the water meant to him.
“I was already like, okay, this is his passion,” she says. “He wants to give back, and he wants to do it in a really meaningful way that relates to the water.”
She hosted gatherings for participants and their families, often connecting with spouses and children who shared how much OpenWater had changed their loved ones’ lives.
“Danny meets the individual,” she says. “And I meet the family unit behind them.”
For years, she saw herself as the supporter, not the one stepping into the cold water and taking on the challenge. Until now.
This April, Erin will paddle 32 miles across the Catalina Channel to Newport Beach, California, as part of OpenWater’s Wild Buffalo Relay team. The channel crossing is no easy task. At first, Erin shares she wasn’t sure she belonged.
“I was resistant,” she admits, when she was asked to join the team. “Not because I didn’t believe in it. I just thought, ‘can I do this?’”
Erin jumped full steam ahead into practice and committed herself to the weekly trainings. During early training paddles, especially when learning to take on the demanding role of stroker at the front of the canoe, she pushed hard.
“I didn’t know what the stroker was. I didn’t know what rate meant,” she laughs. “I literally gassed myself. I was done for like two days.”
But what she found in those hard moments was exactly what OpenWater has always stood for: trust, teamwork, and growth.
Encouraged by teammates who reassured her and coached her stroke by stroke, Erin began to experience OpenWater in a new way.
“I get OpenWater on a different level now,” she says.
What stands out most to her isn’t just the physical challenge of the relay, it’s the unity of the team. The women showing up for one another. The willingness to step beyond comfort zones.
As race day approaches, Erin says she’s most looking forward to being fully present on the water with the ladies and the bond forged mile by mile across the open ocean.
But most importantly, she’s doing it for her daughters to show them they can reach for the stars and achieve anything they put their minds to.
“It’s not just dad that can do the hard things,” she says. “Mom can do them too.”
“Erin, you’re not going to regret it,” she told herself. “You’re going to be able to say, ‘I did that.’ And your kids will see you did that.”
