Women's History Wednesday Profile: Layne Beachley

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Layne Beachley is the winningest women’s surfer in the world. She has won seven total World Championships, six of them consecutively. No other male or female surfer has won that many consecutive titles. Her drive to be the best came from her feeling unwanted and unloved. She was on a mission to prove that she was indeed, somebody special.

Born in Manley, Australia, the future 7-time champion started skateboarding at 4 years old. She took her talents to the water the very next year. In 1980, the year she turned eight, Layne was told that she was adopted. Just two years before, her adoptive mother died, “I felt abandoned, I felt rejected, I felt that I didn’t belong anywhere, I felt unworthy of love,” recalls Layne. Yet, she did not want to be suppressed by the shock and sense of pain she felt by this discovery. When Beachley’s adoptive father, Neil, shared the news, she was determined to prove her worth by being the best. The best at what, she did not know, but she was determined to be the best at something.

She would grow up and become more aware of the difference between herself and her family; her height, her hair color, and grew more curious to learn of her birth mother. She also grew determined to prove her worth, “Now I look back and it kind of indicates for me, where I get a lot of my drive from, and feeling, if you’re not worthy of your mother’s love, you’re not worthy of love at all.”

Beachley played all kinds of sport growing up. From tennis to hockey; basketball to soccer, Layne was determined to shine. She started competitive surfing at fourteen, and placed last in her first ever competition. However, she never wavered from wanting to be the best. Her first regional win in 1988 is when Beachley felt she had finally found her calling. Surfing was always a constant in her life, always there as she dabbled in other activities. However, Beachley soon became focused solely on surfing.

“I wasn’t born a World Champion, I worked really hard to become one”

Above: In 2009, Layne was the first woman to surf Sydney's notorious Botany Bay surf break. Photo: Tim Bonython/Coastalwatch.com

Layne got her taste of victory in 1992 at the Diet Coke Women’s Classic at Narrabeen beach (part of the Association of Professional Surfing (ASP) World Championship Tour), but would lose 5 straight competitions upon becoming a pro surfer at the age of 16. On her way to becoming a champion, Beachley worked four jobs, clocking 60 hours per week. She needed to work to fund her pro career. However, her work schedule wouldn’t allow her to train more than an hour per week.

In this time, Layne also battled mental and physical challenges in the form of chronic fatigue syndrome, “Physically you can't see anything wrong with you and it is difficult for people to empathise,” recalls Beachley, “I went into a spiral of depression and it got to the point of suicidal tendencies and it was all because I wasn't able to do what I loved, which was surf, train and live the life I so craved.”

It was also during this time that one of Beachley’s “empathetic employers”, provided the young, aspiring surfer with a $3,000 check, “That gave me the confidence to pursue my dream of becoming a world champion.” Three years after receiving the blessing from her employer, and after dealing with chronic fatigue for two years, Beachley won her first world championship.

That would be her first of six consecutive titles (1998-2003). The 6th title is the one Beachley claims as her most memorable. On the one hand, her sixth title made her the first surfer to ever win 6 consecutive titles, female or male. However, the battles she endured out of the water, that she overcame to be mentally tough enough to compete again, are what make her 2003 title so special. “I went into 2003 feeling really confident and I won the first event. Halfway through the season I started to lose my confidence,” recalls Beachley in an interview with the Herald Sun Melbourne, “I questioned my motivation and lost the inspiration to compete and achieve.”

With the help of caring and honest friends, Beachley was able to overcome her feelings of indifference and self-doubt, “I had to turn myself around to achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a six-time world champion. I allowed my senses to inspire me. I allowed myself to draw inspiration from the most simple things in life.” She read Conversations with God (now one of her favorite books) for the first time before that 6th title. She learned the power of two words, “I am”, and she learned to seize her opportunity to make history. And, she became inspired by the Eminem song, “Lose Yourself”. The day of her final heat for her 6th historic title, as she was slipping back into her feelings of doubt, she heard a familiar tune, “Suddenly Lose Yourself comes over the loudspeaker and I draw inspiration from that. I think I am good enough, I do deserve to win this, I am going to get that next wave and I am going to win.” The rest is history.

Battling Back from Injury

Layne hoisting the cup after her 7th title. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz

After her record breaking 6th title, Layne was torn away from the sport that she loved due to injury. She suffered a herniated disk in her neck, removing her from the water for several months. The time away allowed Beachley to put things into perspective. Her health, and no longer winning, was the most important thing. Layne admitted that her first six titles were in pursuit of the promise she made as a child, to be the best. She was driven by fear, by feelings of abandonment. However, after her 6th title, and after time to reflect during her injury, Layne was ready to win in a different way.

Beachley did eventually return to competition, not for the fear of losing out on her number one ranking, but for the pure love of the sport. “I was so appreciative, first, to compete. Second, to surf without pain and third, I still believed I had the ability to win.” Layne returned to the ASP Tour and won her 7th title in 2006.

Women in Surfing

Layne retired from professional surfing with a record 7 titles, but her victories in the sport would continue beyond her competing days. Towards the end of her career, Layne was serving on the ASP Board of Directors. She would often inquire about raising the pot for female surfers, noting that as a 6 time champion, she made less than a 1st time champion on the men’s side. Additionally, the total prize money for 18 women was $30,000. Compared to the men’s side, where a winner would collect over $100,000, more than the entire women’s tour prize money.

In a bold move, Layne dropped all of her sponsor while still on tour, meaning she was only living and traveling off her winnings. Reflecting back on that decision for Mike Munro, Beachley stated, “Ok, now I’m doing the tour without any [additional] money, I know what’s required as a bare minimum … I need a prize purse of $100,000.”

She calculated that this minimum would allow women to be able to earn a livable wage, and travel to event around the world. The industry stated, to a 6-time champion, that that type of investment, which was still hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the men’s side, was not worth it. Additionally, the fear was that men would realize that the women’s tour, at that rate, would make more percentage-wise than the men’s tour and ask for more money. The industry was unwilling to pay either men or women more.

So, what did Layne do? She started her own event, The Beachley Classic. In its first year, The Beachley Classic had a prize purse of $100,000 dollars, making it the richest stand-alone women’s event in the world. Three years later, the industry matched Layne’s prize pot, so she raised her’s, ultimately to $140,000. The industry slowly rose theirs as well, to $110,000. Additionally, The Beachley Classic operated its historic prize purse with no industry sponsors. Instead local and regional banks and food sponsors helped raise the bar for female surfers.

Tyler Wright winning the 2008 Beachley Classic at 14. Photo Credit: ASP/Robertson

In its third year The Beachley Classic was won by 14-year old Tyler Wright. The wildcard entrant became the youngest to ever win an ASP Tour event. Beachley’s event sparked Wright’s career. She is currently ranked #1 in the world and has earned over $846,000 in her career. The Beachley Classic ran through 2012.

Aim for the Stars

Today, Layne tries to offer a road to success for girls and women in australia through her Aim for the Stars Foundation. Founded and directed by Beachley, this Foundation empowers and enables individuals to take control of their lives, to invest in their future to fulfil their potential and give back to communities that supported them along their journey. “We support girls and women with initiative and passion,” states Beachley via the website, “ that are committed to achieving a dream and courageous enough to ask for help along the way.”

Beachley speaking at an Aim for the Stars Leadership event in March. Credit: Scott Calvin/Manning River Times

“I’m still inspired by seeing people achieve success … because I know how hard it is, and how much courage it takes to set a goal and achieve a dream.” Much like she provided a platform for Tyler Wright through The Beachley Classic, Layne is now focused on offering the same support and opportunity to girls and women in all fields. Girls and women in Australia have receive $4,000 in scholarship money to pursue their passion in education, science and technology, music and more. The scholarship also offer coaching, leadership development and mentoring by Layne herself.

In 2012, Beachley served as a representative of the Australian Olympic Delegation as a Liaison Officer for the athletes. She was there to mentor and guide Team Australia in preparation for and during competition. Layne continued to make history in 2015, becoming the first former female athlete to be named Chair to Surfing Australia. Beachley is now set on seeing her sport in the Olympics. Last September, the 2020 Tokyo Games proposed surfing as one of six sports to be added, or reinstated. If anyone has the resume and the will to bring surfing to the next level, it is Layne Beachley.

Follow Erica Ayala on Twitter @elindsay08