Surf Life: Women Who Live to Surf and Create

Surfing represents freedom, creative expression, and a connection to nature, and Surf Life captures that through the stories of twenty-eight powerful female surfers.

The women of Surf Life are strong, independent, and resilient―incredible surfers who live, work, and create on the coast. They are connected to their community and well-respected in their fields.

Surf Life interviews twenty-eight women, spanning from Tasmania to Noosa. It features famous surfers, including longboard champion and environmental activist Belinda Baggs; professional surfer Lucy Small, cocreator of the Equal Pay for Equal Play campaign; and popular surfing podcaster Lauren Hill. Here you’ll learn about their lives by the sea,their experiences learning to surf, how surfing influences their creative processes, advice to new surfers, and what they fear about surfing (no, it’s not just sharks). Surf Life also explores the relationship between motherhood and surfing: to surf or not surf while pregnant, the desire for your children to surf with you, the bonding that it can bring, and the long car rides.

With stunning photography and in-depth interviews, Surf Life showcases these women’s creativity and coastal lifestyle. It offers inspiration and escapism for those living in cities, dreaming of crashing waves and blue skies, and is perfect for those who have taken up surfing and love being in the water.

161 color illustrations

Gill Hutchison worked in the publishing industry for over ten years and when surfing took hold, she left the city to pursue a dream of life by the sea. In 2012, she bought a 1960s shack and after a short stint working in the surf industry landed her dream job in a bookshop. She lives on the Surf Coast with her son, Rex, and their dog, Betty.

Willem-Dirk du Toit’s father handed him a camera at the age of twelve, beginning a lifelong passion for photography. Growing up in South Africa, he spent his holidays as a teen hitchhiking to his favorite surf spots. His desire for travel took him to London in his early twenties, and from there to a round-the-world trip to Australia. Willem runs a successful architecture photography practice in Melbourne. He is constantly checking the surf forecast and will jump in his van any chance he can to find a wave. He lives in Melbourne with his young son, Etienne.