On the record with Layne Beachley

Occupation: pro surfer

Victoria Young

Mon 21 May 2007

How did you achieve your success?

Attitude. Obviously it's imperative to have a good and positive attitude to achieve success. It doesn't matter whether it's in sport, in business, in relationships, in life. I think it's a good question to ask yourself what attitude you've got when you wake up in the morning. There've been times I've had a very good attitude and times I've had a very bad attitude. And I've been reminded of that by those people that are very dear to me in my life. I was born with a fighting attitude; a fighting spirit. I was born premature ... I had to fight for my life.

How did you get into surfing?

Manly Beach is divided by two stormwater pipes and I grew up at the southern end. I started riding a skateboard when I was three and surfing when I was four. By the time I was five I was paddling out the back on my own and surfing in front of Manly Surf Club. My dad was a surfer. He introduced me to surfing. My brother was a surfer also.

What was it like growing up as a female surfer in Manly?

It was a tough, challenging, threatening and intimidating environment. You've really got to stand up for yourself and that comes down to a good attitude. My attitude of being so committed to becoming a good surfer allowed me to encroach on the northern end of Manly Beach and I wasn't very welcome there. Guys used to threaten me and intimidate me and try and kick me out of the water and say: 'you're a girl, you shouldn't be out here'. I'd say: 'well, what are you doing out here then?' Experience has taught me to stand up and fight for everything that I love.

In 2005 you were diagnosed with a herniated disk in your neck, severing 80 per cent of your spinal cord, caused by a spill in 2001. What other wipe-outs have you had?

Teahupoo's [Tahiti] a big nasty barrelling left-hand reef break that breaks on very shallow reef. There's very little room for error with a wave like that. I paddled out ready to take this wave on, feeling very positive, even though it scared the living daylights out of me. I took off on a wave really late. As I took off I free-fell out of the lip and the lip of the wave landed on the back of my surfboard and kicked the board out from underneath me. Then the wave broke straight on my chest [laughs], kicking all the air out of me and pushed me into the sharp reef. First I had no air, second I had holes taken out of my side and third my board was pulling on my leg.

A lifeguard, who was a good friend, came to rescue me. He was panicking because he could see I was injured, it was in the middle of a heat and the clock was ticking. So he floored the jet ski in and ran over my head. I surfed the rest of the heat, won it, and then went into shock [laughs].

You've surfed 50-foot waves. What other challenges has life thrown at you?

Back in 2003, when I was going for my sixth world title, I went into a state of depression. I think I was just looking for an excuse. I was exhausted, I'd had enough of surfing for a living, God knows why. Luke Egan [Men's Performance Surfer of the Year], my friends and family helped me out of it.

Did you ever think about quitting?

Unfortunately back in 1997 I wanted to quit professional surfing because I was second in the world but my income was $10,000 a year. I was working 60 hours a week but I was so dedicated to winning . I just wanted to win a world title to prove my worth to the world. When you told you're adopted you tend to believe you're not worthy of love. If you're not worthy of your own mother's love and affection then you're not worthy of it at all. I decided when I was eight years old: "I'm going to be the best in the world at something then I'll have to be loved and supported." Now my driving force comes from the desire to improve.

How committed do you have to be?

I'm obviously a very committed surfer. I love the fact that the ocean's my office and sunscreen's my make up and a bikini's my uniform. When I decided at the age of 15 or 16 I wanted to be a world champion surfer I just committed myself to that. It took me eight years to win a world title. I didn't place any limitation on it; I didn't place a time line on it. Even though I did want to quit back in 1997 and then in '98 I won the world title. Ultimately it came down to my commitment; to my belief in myself.

Do you have a financial planner?

No, but I have very good accountants. They advised me to invest in property, so I'm a bit of a property magnate.