MAKING WAVES
Stephanie Gilmore is one of the most inspiring woman win Australian sport, having won seven world titles to become the equal best female surfer in history. In conversation with Sophie Tedmanson, she talks pay equity, the healing nature of the ocean and why girls should feel empowered by picking up a board. Styled by Philippa Moroney. Photographed by Jake Terrey.
Stephanie Gilmore is sitting on the steps at Sydney’s Maroubra beach just after sunrise on a stunning spring morning, looking out towards the ocean, where a group of surfers are riding a set of small waves. “Going into the ocean or riding a wave, the power of that action … there is nothing else you are thinking of because you have to be completely present,” she muses as the water laps hypnotically against the shore. “Even the timing – you are reading where the waves are coming, just feeling the salt water, the temperature change on your skin, little things like that make you feel right where you should be. It’s meditative; it’s a rejuvenating feeling, and pure joy, really. When I look at the surf, it makes me smile.”
Gilmore smiles a lot. She seems eternally happy. And happiest most when in or near the water.
A young redheaded boy with wet hair and freckles shyly appears carrying a surfboard as tall as him, accompanied by his father, who stammers: “Can we get a photo please, Steph? You’re our idol!”
Gilmore – barefoot and dressed in an off-duty surfer casual outfit of white T-shirt and jeans – enthusiastically obliges, and the young grommet walks away shaking his head with a huge grin and a great story to tell his mates at school about how he met a multiple world champion before breakfast.
The sight of the modern surfing legend, who is one of the most successful women in Australian sport, draws many more admirers from the beach throughout the morning, and deservedly so. Since winning the first of her world titles as a rookie in 2007 (followed by three consecutive crowns), Gilmore has dominated the Women’s Surfing League (WSL). And last November she was officially crowned equal best female surfer in history when she won her seventh world title at the Beachwater Maui Pro, putting her on a par with surf legend Layne Beachley. After celebrating with champagne, she said: “It’s an honour to sit alongside you, Layne. Thanks for setting the standard. Surfing means everything to me … I have so much joy when I do it … I went home this morning to chill out and get ready for a battle. I can’t believe it. It’s so cool.”
The history-making win marked an extraordinary comeback for Gilmore, who in 2010 suffered a severe setback when she was attacked by a man wielding a metal bar, leaving her with stitches in her scalp and a broken wrist. “It was a pretty traumatic experience,” she recently told worldsurfleague.com. “That was the toughest moment to come back from, and I think it took me about a year and a half to regain my confidence and to feel like I could be world champion again.”
And that she did. Tall, lithe, tanned, with sun-bleached blonde, salttousled hair and that stunning smile, Gilmore is the picture-perfect surfer girl. Her sunny disposition and looks have helped her international popularity and sponsorships – she has been an ambassador for Roxy surf brand for the past six years, recently signed with Audi and partnered with Breitling. But Gilmore is not just an easygoing, chilled-out, pretty face; she has the brains, bravery and competitive chutzpah to match.
While Gilmore believes the desire to surf is “innate in most Australians”, she was literally born for it. The youngest of three sisters, Gilmore was nine years old when she rode her first wave – on a boogie board – after being towed out by her father at Coolangatta beach on the Gold Coast, near their home in northern New South Wales.
“The water was so crystal clear and sparkly and hugging the headland and the sun was bright and I remember trying to get up and impress the people who were swimming around me,” she recalls. “It is probably the first time I realised how much I loved entertaining and performing and I had that competitive feeling. I realised I wanted to be the best and I wanted people to see that.
“Plus, seeing my dad be so passionate about it, that is what really ingrained in me how special surfing is, and that is what made me fall in love with it.’’
She adds: “To be honest, it is my first true love. It is the first thing I remember being completely consumed by – the last thing you think of when you go to sleep, the first thing you think of when you wake up.”
The Gilmores shared idyllic – and typically Australian – family holidays driving down the east coast in a Kombi van to Byron Bay. “We’d pull up at the caravan park and pitch the tent, and mum and dad would just hang out while we’d all go surfing at the Pass. They were the best school holidays ever.” There’s that enormous grin again.
By 15, Gilmore would head to the beach straight after school to sit on the sand and watch the surf competitions, itching to get out there and join the line-up waiting for the next set.
“I remember sitting there watching the events, watching these girls surf and I having this really strong feeling of: ‘Just give me a shot, I can do that, I know I can win that,’” she says. “I never forgot that feeling, and then I got the chance a couple of years later. I guess I had manifested that chance.”
In 2005, at the age of 17, Gilmore received a wildcard entry to the Roxy Pro Gold Coast and took a couple of days off school to compete: “I was sitting with my friends at recess saying: ‘Imagine if I could win the whole comp?’ They were like:
‘Yeah, ha-ha, that’s really funny.’ And then I ended up winning the whole thing, and that was the start of my whole career.”
It was serendipitous that she not only won her first competition in her own backyard, but one sponsored by
Roxy. The company signed Gilmore in 2012 and has been integral in supporting her career and allowing her to indulge in her passion for fashion by designing ranges of
Roxy swimwear, the latest of which launches in March.
“Roxy can tell the story so well of surfing, and girls just hanging, having so much fun … It’s such an iconic brand and still one of the only female surf brands that really sells that story of females kicking ass.”
Last October she also signed on as the global face of Audi, the German car brand with a commitment to sustainability that is aligned with Gilmore’s eco-conscious ethos. “I went to the launch of the E-Tron in San Fran, which was rad!” Gilmore says of Audi’s new electronic car.
“Obviously, a lot of the car brands are moving in that [sustainable] direction, but I loved that Audi were willing to wait until they got it just right. For me, it’s about being aligned with brands that value those same messages – sustainability and making a difference.
“I’m still learning about it, too. I’m not perfect – my carbon footprint travelling the world is horrible. But as surfers we’re ocean advocates, whether we like it or not, so it’s about creating awareness.”
Gilmore has long used her international profile to advocate for ocean conservation, and more recently used her voice to help empower women by campaigning for pay parity. In September Gilmore and men’s champion Kelly Slater released a joint statement in support of the WSL’s groundbreaking announcement of equal prize money for women and men on the professional circuit.
“In the last couple of years I became more vocal about it and began to really ask the questions and sit down with the WSL and say: ‘Why don’t we have equal pay?’ It seems like such an easy thing to fix,” she says. “We’re not taking anything away from the men, in fact, we’re equalling things. The WSL have done so much for the women in so many ways, and all the girls on tour were like: ‘We’re so thankful for everything they’ve done already’, and didn’t want to complain. It’s a female thing, it’s ingrained in us to be like: ‘Oh, that’s okay, we’re doing so good already’, instead of fighting for more.”
“But I think that’s the coolest thing about sport – our platform and our finances are basically public knowledge, because the prize money is public. So to have that standard it’s easier to show people right here, right now, let’s have the men and women standing on stage together with equal prize money. I always thought sport could have that power to set the standard and help change the mind-set of other industries.”
Gilmore hopes the pay parity and increased sponsorship support will help encourage more girls to take up surfing. She is encouraged by witnessing the recent increase in popularity among girls taking up surfing as a hobby or going on a surfing holiday with their friends.
“There’s a different energy out there when there are more girls on the line-up, it balances out the testosterone,” she says. “And I see how much joy girls get from surfing. They’re not necessarily out there to smash a wave, but to share that relationship with the ocean. I probably take it for granted because I do it every day – it’s my job and I love it – but to see that even for people who cannot switch off [in this digital age], and especially women with kids … to go out there and spend just 20 minutes in the ocean, where you can’t be contacted and it’s just you and the sea, it has to be the most wonderful experience for any human being.”
Out of the water, music and travel are Gilmore’s passions – she plays guitar, and regularly practises yoga. She enjoys the nomadic lifestyle and camaraderie of the surfing community, even at the elite level, and loves to take off on a whim – chasing waves, of course, most recently on a 48-hour whirlwind to the Great Barrier Reef with a couple of mates.
“There’s something about competitive surfing that I really love, but there’s also free surfing – that spirit of adventure that I love, travelling and seeing the world and going to new beaches, new waves and meeting new friends along the way,” she says. “I just love those trips where you see a swell, call your friend and you’re like: ‘Let’s jump on the plane and go! You pack two boards, a bikini and a T-shirt – that’s all you need. You show up, surf your brains out for two days, jump on the plane and go home. No-one has missed you, yet you just went and had the best trip of your life!”
Beyond her world titles, Gilmore, who turns 31 this month, has her sights set on the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, where surfing will make its debut. Plus, there’s always that elusive wave to catch.
“There are so many waves that I haven’t surfed yet,” she says, looking back out to the water. “Places like Pipelines [in Hawaii] and Teahupoo [in Tahiti] … there are so many waves around the world, and the coolest part is there are still more to be discovered.
“That’s a really special feeling, to know that there’s always set-ups, but without the right swells, direction and wind, it may not work for 10 years. But then maybe that one time in 10 years it might work. So it’s cool to see surfers paying attention to the elements. I feel like as human beings it’s nice because it keeps you connected to Earth in different ways and you’re paying attention. Every day you wake up and you’re like: ‘What’s the wind doing, what’s the tide doing? The swell’s up, it’s coming from this way.’ You’re always paying attention to something that keeps you grounded or keeps you energised. It keeps me happy.”
“It’s a female thing, it’s ingrained in us to be like: ‘Oh, that’s okay, we’re doing so good already’, instead of fighting for more”