She Surf x Lauren Hill

Interview by Glenn Sakamoto

Lauren Hill is a writer/surfer/podcaster living in Byron Bay, Australia. Lauren is best known as a stylish longboarder originally from the States and as an outspoken advocate for human rights and the environment. Her new book, She Surf, is a beautifully illustrated volume with stories and pictures that celebrate the history and diversity of today’s women surfers. We spoke with Lauren to learn more.

What was the inspiration to create She Surf?

I’ve spent the last 10 years or so travelling the world as a professional longboarder and writer, and I’ve had the privilege of sharing water time with so many amazing surfers. They are definitely the inspiration for this book. I wanted to celebrate the skill, diversity and wide-ranging impact of the global women’s surf community.  

 Also, because there isn’t really a centralized hub for housing women’s surf history/stories these days – and because endemic surf media is still quite light on its coverage – I wanted to include essays that speak to the ancient and abundant history of women surfers and pay homage to some of the pioneers who helped make surfing culture and performance what it is today.

With that said, you’ve always done an excellent job at being mindful of inclusivity with Liquid Salt. Thanks for that!

Why is it important to have a book like She Surf?

As a culture, we’ve been coming at women’s surfing with a comparative lens to men’s surfing. But they aren’t the same, and I hope they never will be. Men and women tend to have quite different physiologies, and so different capabilities in terms of range of movement and how those ranges articulate on waves. We tend to draw different lines, so, perhaps outside of the .01% of surfers who are pursuing competitive mastery with particular guidelines, why all the comparisons? 

If you’re having a tough time seeing how narrow surfing’s lens really is, think about the quite recent concept of “alternative crafts,” which basically means anything other than the modern thruster, right? It means longboards, fishes, mid-lengths, finless crafts, alaia. The boards that the vast majority of surfers in the world are actually riding. The word “alternative” sets up the assumption that it is the standard of surfing, from which one deviates, is the modern shortboard. But this has only been true for a teeny blip in surfing’s long history. 

I don’t think this is a conspiracy. Men essentially created the surf industry by and for other young, white men. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the surfing population is much more diverse than who the modern industry is still mostly catering to. 

The crux of the book is about reimagining how we see women’s surfing culture beyond the comparative lens – which is the very least interesting angle to take on a culture like women’s surfing that’s actually full of rich, funny, poignant stories and perspectives.

How did you go about selecting the many surfers for your book?

I wanted to highlight women for whom surfing has been a launchpad for making a meaningful life of purpose and engagement. 

One of the unifying elements of the many disparate manifestations of women’s surfing culture that I’ve noticed over the years was the way many women interpret their relationship with surfing as a call-to-action to get engaged with their local community and ecology. I wanted this theme of engagement/activism to be a strong element of the book, because I think it is true of the culture, as I’ve experienced it. 

Did you travel to speak with your subjects or was everything done remotely?

Most of the surfers in the book are women whom I have surfed with, travelled with and have respected for many years. So, while the handful of questions I sent out to most participants was done remotely, I was working with a lot of prior knowledge, conversation and experience with almost all of them. 

What were some of the challenges in making She Surf?

Definitely narrowing down what and who would be included. I started with 130 surfers’ profiles and we had to whittle that down to 26. There were whole other sections of the book that just got scrapped because we ended up way over page count. I felt, and still feel, a deep responsibility to get these projects right and to make them as inclusive as possible. 

In terms of personal logistics, I was still breastfeeding a young toddler as I was writing, so I had to learn how to be really efficient with time management and write during nap times and late into the night. And I had to get up in the middle of the night to write ideas down without waking everyone up. 

Did the execution of the book meet your expectations?

Most parts did. Overall, I think the stories are strong and inspiring and the imagery weaves a story of technical proficiency in many different ways. That was really important to me, to step away from the lifestylization of women’s surfing and focus on really skillful wave riding. 

There were still lots of things that I would have changed. Not having Africa properly represented in modernity was a major miss in my opinion. When you’re working with a publisher, unfortunately, the writer’s opinion is often only a portion of the equation. 

I’ve had a couple of people write to me and say things like “how could you have left this person out?” Even with a relatively narrow scope – which was to celebrate the women stretching the bounds of surfing culture right now – the depth and breath of really wonderful stories was immense. I’ve always wanted to be really clear that this book is in no way comprehensive. Many more volumes need to be written. I hope that this is just another starting point for other surf her/histories to emerge.

What has been the reaction to She Surf?

Surprisingly warm and positive.  

What is the one big takeaway you hope the readers of your book are left with? 

That surfing is for everyone.

What’s next for Lauren Hill?

Lots of waves with my family, another book or two, and making our Waterpeople Podcast, which is a place to hear from some of the most adept waterfolk on the planet – surfers, freedivers, fisherfolk – about the aquatic experiences that shape our lives. It’s a hub for our global ocean community to connect through raw and real storytelling and collaborate on social and environmental solutions.  

She Surf is available to purchase at your favorite bookseller. To find out more about Lauren Hill, follow on Instagram here. The Waterpeople Podcast is available wherever you download podcasts.