Layne Beachley (1972–)

Layne Beachley

Quick Facts

Name: Layne Beachley
Born: Manly, NSW, 24 May 1972

Called Gidget
Won the World Championship for six years in a row
Won 28 World Championships Tour events
Australian Female Athlete of the Year 2003
Established the Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars Foundation

Biography

Layne Beachley is one of the greatest female surfers in the history of the sport. Soon after her birth, she was adopted by Neil and Valerie Beachley, who lived near Manly, a famous Sydney beachside suburb.  Her adoptive name proved very apt.

At school, Layne was talented at sport and loved tennis, soccer and surfing. When Layne was in her teens, surfing was considered a male sport. At 16 Layne knew she wanted to devote her life to professional surfing and entered professional events all around Australia. She worked at four jobs to fund her trips to international surfing competitions.  By the time Layne was 20 she was ranked sixth in the world. In 1996 she suffered bouts of chronic fatigue and thought her surfing career might be over. Layne recovered and in 1998 won her first Women’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title. She won the title again in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, making her the most successful female professional surfer ever.

Having experienced financial hardship to achieve her goals Layne established The Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars Foundation to help women achieve their goals whether they be academic, sporting or community based. Layne says ‘a little bit of finance or just the knowledge someone believes in (them) may be all it takes for a female to achieve greatness’.

Layne appeared in Billabong Odyssey, Step into Liquid and Live in the Fast Layne,  movies showcasing her skills surfing the big waves. Layne has surfed waves over 15-metres high. She is often asked how she has the courage to do this. Her response is ‘Life is a challenge, you attract what you fear, so play fair and have fun’.

Media

Books

Audio Links

Video Links

• Andrew Denton's  interview with Layne Beachley
• Trailers of Billabong Odyssey and Step into Liquid (New York Times)

Links 

Layne Beachley, Aim for the Stars Foundation

More about Layne Beachley, WorldSurfers.Com