Bethany Meilani Hamilton is an American professional surfer and writer. In 2003, she survived a shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off; ultimately, she returned to professional surfing and wrote about her experiences in the 2004 autobiography, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. The book was adapted into the 2011 feature film, Soul Surfer. Hamilton attributes her strength to her Christian faith.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Pauline Menczer is an Australian surfer. She was Women's World Champion for Professional Surfing in 1993.
Peʻahi is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws.
Michael Eugene Fanning is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark attack by what is suspected to be a great white shark during the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay.
John "John John" Alexander Florence is an American professional surfer. He is considered one of the most dominant pipe surfers of his era and won back-to-back world titles on the 2016 World Surf League and 2017 World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. He is the first Hawaii-born surfer to win back-to-back world titles since the late Andy Irons. Florence qualified to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in surfing's debut, as well as qualified for the Paris Olympic Games.
Joel Parkinson is an Australian surfer who used to compete on the WSL. After twelve years competing at the elite level on the ASP World Championship Tour, a stretch that saw him win eleven elite ASP World Title Events, plus nine additional ASP tour events, and achieve runner-up second place to the ASP World Title four times, Parkinson won the ASP World Championship Tour Surfing Title on 14 December 2012 in Hawaii at the Banzai Pipeline during the ASP World Tours' final event for 2012–the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Parkinson hung on in a back and forth battle with eleven-time ASP World Title holder, Kelly Slater, to get his first World Title, as well as go on to win the Pipeline Masters, only after Slater lost his semi-final heat to Josh Kerr, of Queensland, Australia. Parkinson beat Kerr in the finals of the event, which was his seventh top-five placing for the year, and his first event title win for 2012. Parkinson left the World Tour and left a legacy of a beautiful and powerful surfing.
Alana Rene Blanchard is an American professional surfer and model. Blanchard has surfed on the ASP World Tour.
Jeff Rowley is a professional big wave surfer from Torquay, Victoria, Australia. He grew up at Bells Beach, a popular surf location in regional Victoria.
Cowaramup Bombora is a big wave open-ocean surf break found on the south-west coast of Western Australia. It is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) offshore west of Gracetown which is near the town of Margaret River, world-renowned for its surf, and is 265 kilometres (165 mi) south of the capital city Perth.
Julian Wilson is an Australian professional surfer who competes on the World Surf League Men's World Tour.
Laura Enever is an Australian professional surfer. Enever was the ASP Women's World Junior Champion in 2009. She made her professional debut in 2011.
Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer. He won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. In two appearances at the Olympic surfing tournament, Medina won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Ellie-Jean Coffey is an Australian model, softcore actress and professional surfer.
Tiarah Lue Blanco is an American professional surfer from San Clemente, California who won the first place gold medal at the International Surfing Association (ISA) Open Women's World Surfing Championship in 2015 and 2016.
Teresa Bonvalot is a Portuguese professional surfer. At club level she represents Sporting CP. She represented Portugal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's shortboard event. In 2022, Teresa missed the WCT qualification by one spot but still managed to compete in the 2023 Tour as a wildcard. She qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Warrick Palmateer is an Australian studio potter and art teacher. He is most well known for his collaboration with ceramic artist Pippin Drysdale since 1992. Palmateer is the creator of the vessels — both open and closed forms — that Drysdale uses as canvasses. Palmateer also specializes in creating large wheel thrown and coiled vessels. He is widely regarded by his peers as the finest thrower of porcelain in Australia.
Australian Survivor: Brains v. Brawn is the eighth season of Australian Survivor, which aired on Network 10. This season features contestants divided into two tribes: "Brains" and "Brawn".
Rusty is an Australian surfboard and surfwear brand formed in 1985 by Rusty Preisendorfer. It also operates in the US under the name Rusty Surfboards.
