Board Games Issue #40

Lifelong surfer Ashley Lloyd takes her passion out of the water to shape her own boards and inspire fellow women

By Jeanne Storck
Published: June 1st, 2009 | 9:35am

When surfer Ashley Lloyd looks back on her childhood, she remembers being out in the ocean, looking back at the land and wondering what people who didn't surf did. Today, she’s as passionate as ever about surfing, but she balances her wave time with time spent back on dry land teaching others to surf and creating her own green line of surfboards. This summer, she appears in the new surf movie Dear & Yonder along with a cast of other women doing equally amazing things out of and in the water. We caught up with Lloyd in her hometown, Santa Cruz.

How did you get into surfing?
My family loved the beach. My brother surfed, and I tagged around behind him. It was a natural progression from building sandcastles to swimming to surfing. When I turned 16 and got a car, surfing became my world.

What was it about surfing that attracted you?
It felt good to be in the water, figuring out what the waves were doing. Surfing is really good for the soul. You’re using a lot of endorphins and mentally it’s really rewarding.

Was it ever tough for you being a woman surfer?
When I started, there weren’t that many women in the water, and I was the only girl I knew who surfed. I never felt alienated, but if I saw another girl I’d notice it since it was unusual. Today, it seems about one third of surfers are women.

Can you talk about what it’s like to be a competitive surfer?
I have been competing for 13 years now. I find myself less interested in most contests these days. Surfing pro contests can be special, because there is a goal you’re leading up to other than just catching a wave. It’s an event where you see other driven athletes, and hopefully you get inspiration from them. But contests can also be a scene where you lose sight of the essence of why you began surfing in the first place – being in the ocean in the present moment.

You design and build your own line, Ashley Lloyd Surfboards, and also have a signature model surfboard with surfboard company BING. How did you get into shaping your own boards?
I’d always looked at shapers as magicians with a special craft. When I was surfing, I’d think, ‘Oh, that would be good for a board,’ but I never really thought beyond that. A friend asked me if I’d be interested in shaping a board. I really enjoyed it, and it turned into this thing that I love. It takes five or six hours to finish a board, and I spend a lot of mental energy just looking at the board, figuring out the shape.

You design your boards to be eco-friendly, right?
I wouldn't call surfboards eco-friendly, but I try to make them eco-friendlier. I have been experimenting with bio-foam, which is vegetable-based rather than petroleum-based foam.

Since you know boards so well, do you have any tips for beginning surfers looking for a board?
Make sure that your board floats you well enough that you can catch plenty of waves, but try not to get a board so big that it is too cumbersome to handle. Also, start out on very small days, learn surf etiquette, be safe, and have fun.

Is there any one moment out on the water that really stays with you?
I first spotted the love of my life in the ocean. I've ridden a wave with a bird sitting on the nose of my board. I almost killed my brother when the fin of my surfboard landed on his head. I've been yelled at. I've been encouraged. I've been held under long enough to think I might not be alive when I come up. I've had tears and laughter from nothing more than just being out there in the water.

You’re profiled in the new surfing film Dear & Yonder. How did you become involved in the project?
I knew the co-director, Tiffany Campbell, and her husband, Thomas Campbell, who’s a well-known surfer and filmmaker. They were stoked that I made my own surfboards and asked me to shape a board for the movie. I’ve been really inspired by watching the other women in the film, and I hope others will be, too. I’d like people to take away the idea that if you want to do something in your life, just do it.

For more information, visit ashleylloydmusic.com and dearandyonder.com.