Sally Fitzgibbons On Idols, Rivals & Steph Gilmore

Steph Gilmore is one of the most inspirational surfers of our generation, and I’ve had so many good surfs with her over the years. She made a huge impact on women’s surfing winning the World Title in her first year on tour and she’s changed the game in terms of technique.

Women used to ride way out on the face, and I think Steph really brought women’s surfing back into the pocket. The turns became more critical, holding more line and more rail. I feel like she bridged the performance gap between the men and women in a big way. Now women’s surfing is going hard at it, attacking bigger sections and there is a heap more variety in the moves the girls are busting out. Steph played a big part in all of it.

Steph was on tour two years prior to me, but it was cool to surf against her in my junior days… my grommie days. When she catapulted onto tour it gave us all the belief we could do it too. It was a transitional period and a generational shift. For her to come on tour as a rookie and win that World Title was unbelievable. You can see how inspired Steph was by Layne’s power surfing, but what set Steph apart was the different lines she was drawing and it’s that shift in style that’s a standout moment that changed the game in my eyes. It made me think, “Ok wow, that’s the level I need to attain to make it.” Watching her surf that first year on tour was just wild.

Steph’s lines are so individual. I wanted that effortlessness in my surfing, to transition turns in the pocket top to bottom, but I had to formulate it in my own way because I don’t think her style could ever be replicated. Growing up on the Goldy obviously shaped a lot of her approach and any time she’s in the barrel frontside you’re going to see some amazing speed weaves. She owns it. Then somehow, at the same time, she’s also a very mellow person, even in competition. Going into heats, a lot of surfers get super wired, pumped on adrenaline. Some people can harness that and make it work. But with Steph even if there’s a title on the line, she takes it in her stride like it’s any other day. She just surfs the way she wants to surf, and that’s always been a competitive approach I’ve admired.

She’s really smart in the lineup too, but not in a tenacious way. She’s not aggressive, and doesn’t really hassle. It seems like she goes into a little steely zone and creates space for herself. There’s no extreme warmup or routine or anything. There’s nothing but flow and before you know it she’s in the finals. That sort of momentum was really unstoppable for her first four titles. And I was in the title race for a few of those and had a front row seat to it all. I was still learning and still developing my surfing. These were the early stages for me. I was more of an aggressive competitor. A bit more of an Aussie battler, I guess.

I think her surfing at Honolua that first World Title year was some of the best I’ve ever seen. She stood out with that combination of graceful power surfing and tuberiding. I was caddy for Rosie Hodge that year, so I was in the lineup for much of the contest, and then I was in and around the event, taking in the buzz and watching all the surfers in contention. I remember being up in the grandstand, and Steph was actually right there next to us, and it was pending on a result in the water. Everyone was hanging on the edge of their seat to see what went down. It was such a buzz to feel all that energy of someone so young winning their first World Title. When the scores dropped the whole stand just erupted, it was full on. I just remember looking out over Honolua bay thinking, ‘I wanna be in that position, I want to win a world title.’

Every time I match up against Steph I definitely get excited because I’m constantly trying to elevate my performance. She’s a great rival on tour and it’s always special when we surf heats. Her surfing paints the whole picture. Power, speed, flow, and everything you’re looking for in a contest, but also everything that makes you want to go surf.

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