The next wave

Although 2024 sees Steph Gilmore taking time away from competition, the eight-time world champion surfer is never far away from the waves and is also acutely aware that her title as the world’s most successful female surfer comes with a considerable responsibility.

“I don’t mind this kind of responsibility because it makes me think twice about the decisions I make, the companies I align with, the messages I am sending and how I want my brand to be perceived,” Stephanie says.

“At the end of the day, I find that being authentic and genuine is most important to me and I hope that shines through. To have a public platform is a privilege, so I put it to good use and help encourage people to get the best out of themselves.”

Certainly Gilmore has used her profile to foster positive change within the sport she loves so much as well as to encourage the next generation of professional surfers. She was instrumental in the introduction of equal prize money for female surfers which she cites as a pivotal moment not only in surfing but a milestone for sport right across the board.

“This was a moment that really elevated professional surfing and the World Surf League (WSL) in an industry that has been so male dominated for so long, it was awesome to see surfing become a game changer like this,” she says of the WSL’s decision to introduce equal prize money for the women’s competition from 2019.

“I’m proud to be a part of a sport that celebrates the women equally and there have been many other factors the WSL has worked on that have been just as important to the growth of the sport and the prize money, but this one speaks volumes.”

Just as importantly for Gilmore, she is focused on seeing that the inspiration she derived from her role models as she came up in the sport is likewise passed on to the legion of fans who follow her every move now. Her longstanding work with the Rising Tides program is a perfect case in point, giving young women and girls the opportunity to meet and even surf with their heroes at WSL events all over the world.

“I was a young surfer with big dreams too, and I can vividly remember the effect that meeting my heroes had on me and getting to chat to them, ask them questions, watch them perform all helped shape my dreams into realities.”

The fact that many of these programs take place in countries like South Africa and El Salvador where women are not encouraged to participate in sport makes such initiatives all the more important, the significance of which is certainly not lost on Gilmore.

“I know how important it is to share my time with these young surfers too and hopefully help them achieve wonderful things in their lives,” she says. 

And while being a role model to countless young surfers all over the world, she is herself inspired by others, both in surfing and in other fields.

“I’ve always admired the female tennis players like Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters for the way in which they became bigger than their sport,” she enthuses. 

“Also Ash Barty for the way she carried herself so humbly through her grand slam success but the way in which all these women have grown their brands around their sport and beyond their competitive careers is impressive. They all helped to grow women’s tennis on a global scale too.”

“Kelly Slater is an athlete who is still in his early 50s competing at the top level, with an unwavering love for the sport and I just love how he seems to be getting younger and does not let his age defy him.”

With the year away from competition Gilmore is expending her seemingly boundless energies in wealth of different ways, using her significant profile and platform to promote causes close to her heart and working on other projects that simply weren’t possible given the relentless regimen of the professional circuit.

“I just joined Ripcurl and we are heading out on The Search. It’s a surf adventure concept that they created in the ’90s and are bringing it back. We just spent three weeks chasing waves in Indonesia and have some other trips coming up later, but for this year off I just wanted the freedom to just surf and film without a jersey on, potentially surf some new waves and see some new places. So my dream job just got even better!” 

Gilmore is also passionate about using her profile to send a positive message on sustainability, having seen first hand the devastating effects of plastics and packaging in even remote waterways around the world. 

“Having travelled to many beautiful beaches around the world, some that are incredibly remote, yet are completely covered in plastic and trash. It’s so disappointing to see and encourages me to make better decisions in my own everyday consuming,” she laments.

“Learning about how we got to this point and how on earth we could force change and encouraging these conversations with people as much as possible. There are some incredible initiatives out there of ocean clean-ups and new materials used for packaging that are super impressive and people really working on finding circular solutions for the life of their products.”

A global Audi ambassador since 2018, Gilmore has also embraced e-mobility, driving first an Audi e-tron S and now the face of the Audi Q4 e-tron ahead of its Australian release this year.

Although always mindful that her job requires her to travel in order to work, Gilmore is conscious that every decision can have an impact and attempts to make every effort she can in her day-to-day life to make it a positive difference.

“Sustainability is something that’s close to my heart and it’s something that should be close to everyone’s heart. It’s an important move for the future of the world,” she said on joining with Audi.

Likewise in the surfing industry, she’s pleased to see that the traditional way of doing things with regards manufacturing is slowly changing to embrace more environmentally-friendly ways of operating, which can only be a positive for the long term.

“There are some really rad surfboard designs in production that are using sustainable veneers and cork materials instead of toxic resins and I think it’s an exciting time because we are being forced to innovate for the health of the earth.”

Already halfway through the year, 2025 will see Gilmore head back to the WSL tour, although she says that the pressure will not be as great with the eighth title in the bag.

“I think that pressure was permanently lessened after winning the eighth title but I have high expectations of myself and so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of pressure when I make it back to the tour.” 

“I’m not stressed to keep ‘up to speed’ to be honest. That’s why I’m taking the year off. As long as I’m surfing as much as possible then I’m sure my confidence in the water will be fine.”

“I understand things change and our own desires evolve over time so I’m just taking this time to see how I feel, but watching the events from afar reminds me how fast the young women are progressing, and if I want to keep up, I have to continue to put in the work!”

For now though it’s recharge and and recalibrate time, but soon enough, those other athletes on the tour will need to be ready when Gilmore sets her sights on competition once again. Having already rewritten the history books, this is now unchartered territory with the next challenge yet to be faced, but then Stephanie Gilmore has never shied away from the next challenge.

In case you missed it, read more about Steph Gilmore in Part 1 – In the zone.