Photo Credit: Alexandra Uzik
Jordyn Romero
“I grew up landlocked in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was a total poser in high school. My room was plastered with surf posters and I threw shakas more than I like to admit. I’m not sure what first sparked my fascination with the ocean living so far away from it, but I really connected with what surf culture represented and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Though I didn’t have an ocean to play in, I had desert roads and snowy mountains in the Winter. Skateboarding and snowboarding gave me the craving to surf and I figured I would pick up surfing right away – which was an ABSOLUTE misconception. As I’m sure everyone has learned on their own: surfing is not snowboarding. Surfing is not skating. It is its own beast. But it became my beast, and now we get along quite well.”
Katie LeLicata
“I had a gnarly accident in June 2018 that resulted in a major knee and wrist surgery and as a result I was out of the water for over 10 months. It’s been a long, patient road of humility, surrender and acceptance back to healing and being able to do the thing I love most. So it’s just a blessing to be back in the water again, and dancing with the waves. =) It makes me feel extra grateful for the healing powers of magic mama ocean.”
Avery Schuyler Nunn
“Particularly in more recent years it feels as though women are truly making an effort to support, lift and inspire each other no matter the age — and are finally being recognized for all that we can do. I love that surfing is (the most) fun way to bring women together, whether it’s cheering from the beach or paddling through a crazy current getting pummeled together. Empowered women empower women!”
Vilassini Sundar
“In India there aren’t great numbers of girls surfing, but the sport is gradually growing, girls here are much concerned and worried about getting tanned in the sun. But 10 years from now this Indian girl surfers and the next generation will definitely break the barriers and inequality faced in the society. I’m also currently working and supporting the other girls to take up surfing.”
Lucia Vasani
“I had my first surf lesson in Bundoran, Ireland (of all places to start!). I was living in Dublin at the time, and a girl friend and I just took off on a surf weekend in the Irish west coast. We didn’t expect anything of it, but when we both came out of the water we couldn’t stop smiling despite the freezing cold wind. What was this new thing we just discovered – and why hadn’t we done it before? Fast forward a year later, I now live in Sydney, Australia and go out for a surf every chance I get!”
Gloria Lenore
“INCLUSIVE! BLACK, BROWN, AND ADAPTIVE! And damn cheerful! The media coming up in women’s surfing is so exciting to me. Representation matters so much. I grew up on surf movies that predominantly featured men, I guess we all did. A weird competitive seed was planted between women in the water where I live on the Jersey Shore, and I’m looking forward to that changing. I have starting making it a point to greet female surfers happily whenever I see them.”
Chrissana Wilmot
“I surf because it just feels so damn good! Because salt water is good for my soul. I wish I had a more profound answer to that question but the truth is, I don’t know why I surf. It’s like asking why are we attracted to something or someone and we don’t know why…you just are and it is what it is. What I do know is that I’ll continue to surf for as long as I can because it’s literally changed my life! I’ve forged the most genuine and lifelong relationships because of this sport. I’ve had experiences of a lifetime presented to me through surfing and I know there will many more as long as I continue to ride that wave (cheesy pun intended :P)”
Hayley Rueger
“My best friend from high school was the only female surfer I knew, and I remember thinking that was so cool. She taught me how to surf when I was 17 and we spent an entire summer waking up to surf at dawn, grabbing breakfast at a local cafe, heading home to nap, then coming back in the afternoon to surf til sunset. We’d play guitar out of the back of my truck at sunset. It was awesome, probably the best summer of my life.”
Emilie Uttrup
“As much as we can’t control what happens to us in life, we can control how we choose to deal with things. One day I realized I had been given this second chance and that it was up to me to make the best of it, even if that didn’t involve horses anymore. I didn’t want to be afraid or sad or angry anymore. And while the path I’d imagined for myself since I was a little girl was gone, I wanted to be strong again.”
Sophie Heller
“I’d like to think surfing will have a much wider and more diverse and inclusive community. Often all we see in the media of women’s surfing are people who fit into this cultural beauty ideal, we’ve ended up with a bit of a monoculture. Change is happening and I can’t wait to see new role models emerging. The great thing with the internet is if you look hard enough you’ll find it, and I hope I can start to use my platforms to give a voice to women you who don’t necessarily fit into the little box the mainstream media promote.”
Surf Sister Mary
“The one abiding rule for me is that the ocean doesn’t care. It doesn’t care about race or whether you’re rich or poor, male or female, gay or straight. It treats us all the same and is to be respected by all who dare to enjoy its magic. The ocean is the great equalizer in many ways.”
Kage Gozun
“We were at this reef break, one of those deals where a boat takes you out then sets anchor just off the break. I was using a 6’0 fat fish and I was adequate on it. Not great, but I knew how to use it. A friend of mine was shooting in the water and asked me to hang on to his board for him. So there I am, sitting so far off the shoulder, it was practically the elbow of the wave, on my board, with his board strapped to my arm. And then it happened. Rogue set. Coming straight for me. I paddle, dragging a board behind me, and barely make it over the first wave. But of course, there’s one right behind it. My friend is yelling “Ditch my board!” and so I do. But it’s too late.”
Letícia Araújo
“O surf pra mim é estado de espírito, ele te faz acreditar na força que você que é capaz de caracterizar seu potencial. Surf é minha alma. É acordar e sorrir sabendo que você simplesmente vai pegar a prancha e vai pro mar entrar em contato com a natureza e isso é incrível. Surf me proporciona estado de espírito indescritível. Me faz querer evoluir a cada dia. Me faz ser melhor tanto psicologicamente quanto fisicamente.”
Zoë Zadouroff
“The surf culture is progressing for the women, I’m happy to see it… I’m thinking about Stephanie Gilmore who manages her career with an amazing surf and a lot style… We also can talk about Justine Dupont, she’s for one of the most complete athletes in Europe and I have a big respect for what she chooses to do in this industry. And what a big progress with the equal price money on the world tour!!! We are on good road, I hope it’ll continue and be realized to the maximum during the Olympics Games.”
Corina Rose Barnick
“It actually kind of gets me a little emotional, thinking about all the incredible ladies out there, and how they’re making surfing their own in the most beautiful, fun, feminine and expressive ways. I don’t really think about it in terms of women surfers vs. surf culture as a whole, because it’s all tied together. Whatever negativity may exist out there with regard to women in the water probably comes from a place of fear or inauthenticity and I think those things are transparent and will fade away over time. I think there’s a really bright and beautiful future for women in general, but especially in women’s surfing.”
Tatum Ambrose
“The initial thrill of feeling the wave catch and carry me while lying prone was the first hook, until I got to my feet and felt the exhilaration of being moved along while standing on my board, the water moving swiftly beneath my feet, the wind in my hair……. I can still feel the smile on my face as I rode that wave straight to shore, somehow over the reformed pounding shore break to free fall and land fins first, planted into the sand.”