Surfing is Therapy to Foam Magazine's Sari Tuschman

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Foam Magazine's super stylish editor in chief Sari Tuschman credits her early fashion obsession to her parents, "My father went to work in a full suit," she said of her attorney dad. "And my mom has never been casual a day in her life." After high school, Tuschman headed to Boulder, Colorado for college and moved to Aspen after graduating to ski for a year. Before she realized it, that short break turned into eight years and a full-on career.

In Aspen, Tuschman worked for Aspen Daily News, Aspen Magazine, Plum TV and managed to moonlight as Hunter S. Thompson's assistant in the middle of it all. Through the success she still knew there would come a time when she would have to leave her beloved city, "I always say I never subscribe to magazines because I might not be at this address in a year," she laughed. But after a weekend trip to LA where she interviewed with E!'s Daily 10, Tuschman subscribed to a new location and moved west two weeks later.

Her job in production at E! was followed by a three-year stint as LA Confidential's editor in chief before her current position at Foam Magazine, a bimonthly publication based in Santa Monica, opened up. "I ran to the newsstands to get it," she told us of her preliminary love for Foam. Of course, she got the job that has her and her hands-on team working non-stop brainstorming, booking photo teams (they do 10-15 shoots an issue), developing original content and everything in between. "She loves to do cool travel, loves a band before it's everywhere on the radio and is fit," Tuschman describes the Foam girl, who reminds us of the cool chick chatting with us today. "She has a few aspirational items that are on trend but on a budget." Tuschman says her favorite part of the Foamy ride is to be able to cover things she is truly interested in without being reigned in.

We had a kiki with the editor in chief over a Dogtown Coffee smoothie where we got the scoop on her favorite westside spots, must-have accessories and why "foamy" might be her favorite word.

What are you drinking today?
"The Post Workout, it has peanut butter and banana and it's delicious."

Floral or Plaid?
"Plaid."

What is one book you've read that you would like to see turned into a movie?
"The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It's about a group of friends who go to a very small liberal arts school on the east coast and on the first page they kill one in their group and you spend the next 600 pages finding out why. It is the most beautifully written, well-researched, unbelievable book ever, I highly recommend that everyone read it."

Coats or Bikinis?
"Coats."

What is your best styling trick?
"Learning to dress for your body and not caving to trends."

What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
"Surf. I often go alone and you obviously can't have your Blackberry in the water so it's really like a therapy session. You're in the ocean by yourself and you can't really think about anything else. It's an hour or two just for me."

Abbot Kinney or Larchmont?
"Abbot Kinney."

What is the most overused word in your vocabulary?
"Foamy. We try to rate everything by if it is Foamy or not and think it is the highest compliment. You can imagine how many things we rate if they are foamy or not foamy when we are putting together the magazine. Our hashtag on social media is #Foamy."

What is one thing you cannot say 'No' to?
"Either a glass of wine with friends or a good trip."

What is your style mantra?
"I really like to be comfortable because I think if you are dressed in a way where you're not, it radiates. There's nothing more beautiful than confidence and that's so cliche but so true."

What is your karaoke song of choice?
"Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin."

What is your LA hidden restaurant gem?
"I love Zinque on Abbot Kinney in Venice, it's a coffee/wine bar. It's not a hidden gem, it's actually quite busy but I love that you can have coffee and good little bites but it's also a wine bar. I work there a lot on weekends. I also love, love, love Casa Ado on Washington by the Venice Pier. It is life changing good. It has a great happy hour with unbelievable food and these two seats at the indoor/outdoor bar that are an amazing place to catch the sunset at the beach. Another place is Malibu Beach Inn, there's an amazing blackberry mojito and the waves just crash underneath the deck."

Hannah Montana Miley or Twerking Miley?
"Twerking Miley."

Where do you like to go on vacation to unwind?
"I really love Mexico, my favorite part is Punta Mita which is about 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. It has amazing surf but it is also an authentic town with really good Mexican food and really kind people. It's more off the radar than Cabo but still easy to get to.

FOAM is an acronym for Fashion, Ocean/Outdoors, Art or Music, so which is it for you?
"Always outdoors."

Do you have any holiday traditions?
"I'm Jewish but I love Christmas, I bring up Christmas almost every day. I always go back to Aspen to ski and see my friends."

What is your must-have accessory?
"Jewelry, God forbid I leave the house without jewelry on I would feel naked. I also love a good bag."

What is your favorite song lyric?
"I have to refer to the great Fiona Apple, 'Be kind to me, or treat me mean. I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine'."
· Foam Magazine [Official Site]
· Harlyn's Maria Stanley Loves Fleetwood Mac and Jane Birkin [Racked]
· Simply Stylist's Sarah Boyd Loves Boxing, Hip-Hop & the Hustle [Racked]
· Jacqueline Rezak Prefers Ross Geller, Diet Coke and Venice [Racked]