Girl On: Anastasia Ashley

 

Being a pro surfer girl is a pretty sweet life. You spend your days globetrotting from Hawaii to Fiji to South Africa, surfing, hanging out with friends and maybe doing some shopping in some exotic market in Indo or Mexico. Of course you don’t really “need” anything because if you’re a ripping surfer every part of your body is sponsored by a company like Oakley, Billabong, Roxy or some other cool action sports brand. As a surfer life is good—most of the time. There is that odd time when these girls admit to finding themselves in over their heads though. “There was this one time in Hawaii when this 10-foot wave just came roaring in and I wasn’t ready for it at all,” says 19-year-old Anastasia Ashley,” It slammed me on the reef and even though it hurt I kept surfing. When I got out my back was covered in blood and everyone was like whoa, what happened. That’s just part of surfing though.”

 

Anastasia fell in love with the ocean when she was five years old. It started with boogey boarding on the beaches of California and Hawaii. By the time she was a pre-teen she was competing regularly and living in Hawaii—loving every minute of it. When she started she competed mainly against guys and the occasional girl. These days however, the contest circuit is filled with girls and she’s no longer guaranteed a podium spot when she enters events. This last year she took a little breather from the WQS circuit, but realized she missed the crazy globetrotting adventures. “I only did a few contests this last year and I got second in Virginia Beach. That got me excited to compete more. I took off contests for about a year and I kind of just realized after doing well in one event I am ready to get back into it. That second place gave me some confidence.”

 

In the next year you can expect to see her pushing hard in both events and travel for photoshoots. And when not competing look for her pushing PETA causes (like Pamela Anderson she is a spokeperson for the animal rights org) and making presentations at various Oakley events in Hollywood. She says she’s not a partier, but then again when Lat34 did a search for her we found a Paris Hilton-like arsenal of red carpet pics. “I have a lot of friends in the business so I guess I just end up getting my picture taken a bit,” she says. Lat34 caught up with the So Cal mermaid to find out more about her life as a pro surfer.

 

AA: Malibu. There’s great surf there and I like being close to the ocean.

 

AA: Pretty much just getting my schedule ready for next year. I am concentrating on where I am going to go and what contests I am going to do. Next year I want to do the whole tour. I have never done it before so this is the first year on the WQS.

 

AA: It’s nice to go somewhere and not have to wear a wetsuit and surf in a bathing suit and surf warm weather. That’s a plus.

 

AA: I haven’t had any recently. In Hawaii a few years ago I got dragged across the reef at Sunset and my whole back got torn up and I was bleeding all over the place and was under water a while so that was scary. I am more gun shy at Sunset now. I definitely make sure I don’t get caught in the impact zone there. I sit on the shoulder there for sure.

 

AA: Yeah on the North Shore

 

AA: It’s where I learned how to surf and got experience surfing big waves and got to see a lot of pros growing up and was able to surf with them and learn from them. I feel really lucky in that way.

 

AA: I always look up to Kelly Slater.  I think he’s an amazing athlete and really humble. He lives a good life and I like that. Also Lisa Anderson because she was the innovator for women’s surfing and the first woman to be compared to a guy, which I think is impressive.

 

AA: Layne Beachley. She has one of the best girl style Also Claire Bevilacqua. She will go out and surf with the guys when it’s really big.

 

AA: It’s fun. A lot of people respect it and it’s an extreme sport. I think it’s super cool and fun and really if you think about it for a second there’s nothing to dislike about girl surfers. They are cute and in bikinis and out there smiling, even when they grab your wave.

 

AA: Probably France. I went there a few years ago with Holly Beck and and it was my first big trip away from home. The waves were fun, the culture was so cool to experience. We were in Hossegor and Biarritz. I am dying to go back. I took four years of French in high school and so I was able to speak the language so that was the best part. I felt like I was in a second home there.

 

AA: Totally. I always lived in a beach town from San Clemente to Hawaii. I just wanted to be like everyone else and get in the water so it just sort of happened even though my parents weren’t surfers. They just liked the beach culture.

 

AA: Yeah, I am an official spokesperson for them. I really believe in what they promote. I am really into helping animals and sticking up for their rights and so that’s how I got involved with them. I am also a vegetarian.

 

AA: There are a lot of girls out there these days. When I was a kid I was often the only girl. When I used to enter contests as a kid there were never any girls in it so I would enter with the guys. Now when I go and watch the contests there are four or five heats of girls and that was unheard of when I was a kid. I like that there is more competition.

 

AA: I don’t know what that’s about. I live a normal conservative life and don’t go out that much but I live in LA and I have a lot of friends in the entertainment industry and I seem to get a lot of photos. I am not a partier. I don’t even drink or do drugs or anything like that.

 

AA: It’s a good way to make extra money and to promote yourself. I get asked so much do you model? I say no because my focus is my surfing. Most of the modeling I do is to promote myself as a surfer. I just take opportunities that are fun. Most of it is really to promote myself as a surfer in the end though.

 

AA: I love it. It’s the funnest thing besides surfing. I love getting my hair and makeup done and have people primp. I am a total girly tomboy. I like to put make up on but I am not afraid to get out there and wrestle guys.

 

Sponsors: Oakley, Kicker audio, AmazingTaste.com, Powerbar and Infinity Surfboards

 

Check out more shots of Anastasia on her website AnastasiaA.com