Girl On: Jenny Useldinger

Apr 24 2008 / Los Angeles, CA
Latest Update:  Check out this video from Roxy posted in April 2008 featuring Jenny in action...  Then read our interview from 2007 afterward.




Looking at Jenny Useldinger, you probably wouldn’t immediately guess that she charges massive waves. She’s not bulked up in muscle, nor does her face show the determined focus that one might think would be required to tow into Puerto Escondido or paddle into bombs at Mavericks. On the contrary, Jenny is a beautiful smiling girl who always seems happily carefree. Since her mom was a professional surfer in the 80s, Jenny traveled the world before other girls her age visited the neighborhood play ground. Now, just 21 years old, she is a confident spiritual woman, who despite a horrific wipeout in 2006 that tore her knee apart, lives to ride big waves.

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JU :My mom’s name is Anne Bayly. I was born in her bed in Santa Cruz in 1985 and I traveled with her, my dad, and older brother until I was about 12. We went to Barbados, Tobago, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, all over the US, Bora Bora, Mexico and Canada. We always came home in between trips, except for the time we spent one year living in New Zealand, Australia, and Indonesia. I feel very fortunate that my mom took up the challenge of home-schooling my brother and I so that we could travel. Although, her favorite line was, “the waves are good so we are going to have PE today!”

Lat34.com: Growing up around pro surfing and traveling, did you want to be a pro surfer yourself?
JU: Ya! I wanted to beat my mom’s rank on tour. She got pregnant right before the last event in Japan, so she never got her final rank. Hearing stories about her floating around in the top 5 spots, it made me want to get first because I believe she could have.

Lat34.com: When did you start competing?
JU: I was 11 years old and I entered a Christian Surfers competition in New Zealand. There was no girl’s division, so I went out with the groms and got 4th place!

Lat34.com: You haven’t taken the standard pro surfer path. You don’t really compete on the WQS tour. Why not?
JU: There are many reasons, but mostly I think God was calling me to do something else with my life. I’m not a religious person, but I am very spiritual. I was just tired of the energy around the contest scene. Although I would make it through some heats here and there, I was not a standout on the WQS, nor was I a lesbian. I just had faith in the higher power that surrounds us, and here I am following my soul and loving it!

Lat34.com: When did you start getting into riding big waves?
JU:I have never let the size of the surf stop me from going out. I don’t know why, but I just never did. I remember when I was around 14, there was a USSF contest at Pleasure Point near where I lived and the waves were huge! People were getting rescued a quarter mile down the road. I was out there trying to surf these huge stormy conditions with no one else around. It turns out that I was the only one in my heat to make it out the back. The rest of the girls ended up at second peak and scored a few smaller rides. I didn’t make it out of the heat but I didn’t care. I set a new bar for myself that day and I survived the biggest surf I had been in up to that point in my life.

Lat34.com: You dated your tow partner Jamie Sterling. What was it like to have a relationship like that?
JU: I can’t even think of words to describe the feeling. For us to understand each other on such an intense level of love for the ocean, each other, and also being aware of the consequences, made for a very passionate relationship. Make sure you know yourself and hold out girls, the good ones do come!

Lat34.com: Are you single now?
JU: Yes. As usual life is always weaving me around and I gotta stay true to the calling!

Lat34.com: Where is your home base these days?
JU: I still rent a room in Santa Cruz so that I can fly home for swells, but I spend most of my time in the Islands. It is ideal for training and I love the pace of Hawaiian-time cruising.

Lat34.com: You’ve done some television hosting, is that something you see yourself doing as a future career?
JU: I got to be part of a commercial for the first women’s Banzai Pipeline contest in 2005 and I thought that was a blast! I also hosted the second Pipe contest in 2006 and have recently been doing some interviews with other things. I don’t really mind it for side work, but it’s not something I want to focus on. It’s more fun being the athlete!

Lat34.com: What’s next on your list of goals?
JU: To live “my” life. Only I know myself and what calls me. I can’t expect other people to know what’s best for me. That is why I stay in tune with the higher power and have faith that I’m following my soul for a reason. Our bodies, or “costumes” as I like to think of them, will fade and die, but our souls are infinite. I’m here on a soul mission. Follow the calling!

Lat34.com: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
JU: Having peace of heart and peace of mind, with a lot more wisdom!

Lat34.com: What does your diet consist of? Eat everything, or super strict?
JU: I am very in tune with my body and I treat it like the temple it is. I listen to it and give it what it wants. It’s mostly healthy things and live foods, but everything in moderation.

Lat34.com: How do you train for big waves?
JU: I live my life, swimming, underwater rock running, running, walking in deep sand, etc. I work on lung expansion by singing and breathing. I also stretch and go to the gym. I eat well and love my body, letting it rest and then working it hard. Staying consistent is key. I also do lots of mental training and visualization, like looking over the edge and doing the jump rock at Waimea, which is about 30 feet high.  

Lat34.com: Can you tell us about your scariest wipeout?
JU: I was at Mavericks, sitting on what I thought was the left when a freak set came. I didn’t think it was going to break on the outside so I hesitated on paddling out. As I was scratching to get to the top, I realized the thing was starting to pitch over and I was only about half way up the wave. Was I going to bail my board or punch through the lip? I ended up punching through and actually made it to the other side. I got about a stroke and a half in, and saw the sun and the people on the other side. Then the wave grabbed me back and sucked me over the falls. When I realized I was going to go over I pushed my board away and ended up beating the lip to the surface water. I did a backwards swan dive and then the lip landed on my leg. My leg spun like a helicopter from the knee down so I knew it was shot, but I didn’t even care right then because I still had to survive the heaviest wipeout I could ever have imagined. Thank God I had heard all about wipeouts from all the boys. I was able to talk myself through what was going on underwater to keep myself calm. When I came up I was floating down the back of the second wave and thanking God to be alive. I thought I broke my leg but just ended up with a snapped ACL and a torn Meniscus. My epoxy Stretch 4-fin 9’0” gun was broken as well.  

It has been a long recovery process. It has taken a lot of mental preparation to get back into larger surf again. It is in me and something that I will never stop doing. I have learned a lot from that injury such as patience and a lot of humility. I got to paddle at Phantoms on Christmas Eve and got a taste of the big ones again, thank God!!!

Lat34.com: Who supports you?
JU: Roxy, Ocean & Earth, Future Fins, Mendo Mate, Terry Romine at Try-Star Medical in Newport Beach, CTI knee braces, and Stretch Surfboards