Girl On: Serena Brooke

Mar 06 2008 / Los Angeles, CA

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March Update: The 2008 ASP Women's World Tour is underway and the first stop at Australia's Gold Coast was a great start for the season. Serena Brooke was part of the action at the Roxy Pro, reaching round three where she was knocked out by seven-time world champion Layne Beachley.

Watch for Brooke at the Rip Curl Pro, the next stop on the tour starting March 19. Until then, you can check out her previous interview with Lat34 along with her photo gallery.


Serena Brooke is no slouch when it comes to surfing. Raised in a family of six girls from Queensland, Australia, Serena learned how to surf from her older sister Christine at the age of 14. Shortly thereafter she began her competition career in 1990, and took off like a rocket.

Right off the bat, Serena dominated the amateur circuit. The same year she began competing, Brooke conquered both the Queensland and Australian national amateur titles. After graduating high school in 1995, Serena entered the pro rankings and was named the 1995 Women's Rookie of the Year.

Serena has been a dominant force in the WCT.  Brooke has twice finished the season ranked number two in the world, and even held the top spot for a brief time in 2001 before being overcome by Layne Beachley.

PHOTO GALLERY    Check out photos of Serena Brooke View Gallery>

Then came the injuries.  For two years Serena battled numerous ailments that forced her off the WCT.  Her triumphant return came last season, as a solid 2005 WQS season earned her a spot on the 2006 World Championship Tour.

Serena dropped off the tour for 2007 but is currently competing in the WQS, recently finishing third at the five-star Roxy Pro in Phillips Island, Australia and reaching the quarter-finals at the five-star Midori Pro in Merewether, Newcastle, Australia.

And despite being one of the most marketable women on the tour (her smokin’ hot looks don’t hurt), Serena finds time to be philanthropic: She established the Serena Brooke Charity Foundation, which helps raise money for organizations such as the  Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center, CSP Youth Centers, Breast Cancer Research, and the Surfrider Foundation. She also hosts the Serena Brooke Charity Day, held annually in Huntington Beach and introduces females of all ages to experience the ocean, beach and surfing.

And when she has some spare time, Serena loves to shred it snowboarding, frequenting Lake Tahoe whenever she has the time.  Brooke also enjoys skydiving, mountain biking, skateboarding, and swinging the racket playing tennis.  The chick is all over the place!

I caught up with the surfing beauty to see what Serena Brooke’s life is like off the surfboard.

Lat34: You hail from the land down under.  What have you been up to?

Serena: Surfing, having fun.  Just doing the usual, traveling around, doing photos and surfing.

Lat34: Surfing is obviously part of your training.  What else do you do for training?

Serena: I've been doing what's apparently an American thing: Windsor Pilates!

Lat34: I've tried that myself a few times.  Works the core tremendously.

Serena: Exactly!  It's really good for your core.  It's hard!  I've been hating the instructor though.  I'm sick of her.  I'm like, “Shut up!”  She's like, “Oh, this is great, it's going to work your butt!”  Meanwhile I'm dying.

Lat34: Where's your favorite place to surf?  And no, Australia doesn't count.

Serena: (Laughing) Alright, you got me there.  I was going to say Australia.  I really like South Africa, like Jeffrey's Bay.  It's awesome.  It has such beautiful scenery.  And then all the Polynesian islands like Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa.  I have to confess though that I get bored sometimes traveling to these places.  I spend so much time at airports waiting for airplanes.  It's not all just sitting at nice, tropical places.

Lat34: Why is the word “sauce” always affiliated with your name?

Serena: It's a nickname.  I got it about 15 years ago from putting tomato sauce, you guys call it ketchup, but I put it on everything I ate.  I would eat it by itself with bread, nothing else.  I would put it on everything.  I was addicted to it.

Lat34: You can't surf forever, and you're certainly not over the hill.  When you do decide to completely stop surfing professionally, what are the plans after that?

Serena: I don't know.  I'm kind of one of those people where I'll go tomorrow, and figure it out when I get there.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.  I know there'll be some opportunities and I'll go with it then, but right now I'm just kind of having fun doing what I'm doing.