What It’s Like To Be A Female Surfer In A Man’s World

When my boss asked me if I wanted to go to Miami and take a paddleboard lesson with a professional surfer, I was both excited and terrified at the same time. I'm someone who has a) never surfed a day in my life, and b) will fall over even if I as much as think the ground is moving, so I knew it'd make for a good story to take back home. But when I began the lesson, Anastasia Ashley revealed to me a side to the surf world I'd never really thought about before. Sponsored by LYCRA® XTRA LIFE™ and in Miami to represent the material during Miami Swim Week, Anastasia is a bona fide athlete, with dozens of awards and almost a million Instagram followers. But it's not easy out there, even if you're on top of your game. I asked Anastasia what it was like to be a female surfer in a male-dominated sport, and what she had to say reminded me there's still a lot of work to do. And when I asked her how she uses her social-media following to her advantage, her answer was even more telling: "Surf magazines don't feature women, so we have to create our own space for younger girls who are interested in surfing to come to." Watch us talk about that (and see me totally eat it) in the video above.