Layne Beachley: the story of the Australian surfing legend
Layne Beachley is the most successful competitive Australian surfer of all time. Her list of achievements and accolades is impressive.
The charismatic, cheerful, and uber-talented wave-riding champion from Dee Why was also the first surfer - male or female - to win six back-to-back world titles.
Beachley is often regarded as one the greatest female big wave riders in the sport's history and was once considered the most influential woman in surfing.
She once even admitted she was a "competitive beast."
Today, the seven-time world champion is an active motivational keynote speaker, philanthropist, and mentor.
Layne Beachley overcame a traumatic childhood and found the inner strength to climb the ladder of elite surfing until becoming a national treasure.
The NSW-born blonde spent 19 years traveling the world and competing at the highest level.
Here's everything you need to know about one of the first women to battle sexism in her sport and inspire millions of surfer girls around the world.
1. Layne Collette Beachley was born Tania Maris Gardner on May 24, 1972, in Manly, New South Wales, Australia;
2. She was conceived during a date rape. Her mother, who was only 17, gave Tania up for adoption. She was brought up by Neil and Valerie Beachley;
3. Valerie died after a postoperative intracerebral hemorrhage, so Layne and her brother were raised by Neil, a surfer and member of the Manly Life Saving Club;
4. Layne started surfing at the age of four in Manly Beach;
5. Beachley attended primary school at Balgowlah Heights and high school at Mackellar Girls Campus;
6. She actively participated in many sports, including basketball, soccer, tennis, cricket, and skateboarding;
7. Layne Beachley only met her biological mother in 1999 at the age of 27;
8. By the time she was 15, Layne was already surfing against male athletes, which only fueled her competitive drive;
9. Beachley became a professional surfer when she was 16;
10 The young gun conquered her first ASP World Tour event in 1993 (Diet Coke Women's Classic) and the last contest in 2006 (Billabong Girls Pro);
11. In 1999, surf journalist Nick Carroll described the Australian as someone who "trains, focuses, paddles out with a pleasant smile and fillets the opposition with roughly the compassion of a shark. And the best thing about her is that she'd laugh her guts out at this description and then cheerfully agree with it";
12. In 2004, the Australian surfing powerhouse earned a wildcard into the Energy Australia Open in Newcastle Beach and became one of the first surfers to compete at a men's event;
13. She is a fan of Sydney's Manly Warringah Sea Eagles rugby club and a supporter of the Sydney Swans football team;
14. Layne Beachley won seven ASP Women's World Tour titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2006);
15. She says her first world trophy was "a memorable achievement," but the seventh title tasted special and "an absolute joy";
16. On December 22, 1997, Layne Beachley was towed by Ken Bradshaw into a handful of 20-foot waves at Phantoms on the North Shore of Oahu;
17. Later, she took on a couple of 50-foot waves at Outer Log Cabins and became the first woman to tame the death-defying slab barrels of Ours at Cape Solander near Sydney;
18. Beachley won the Women's Triple Crown of Surfing in 1997 and 1998;
19. In the 1998 season, the Australian was mentored and coached by her then-Hawaiian boyfriend, Ken Bradshaw, who was 19 years her senior. And it paid off - Beachley won five of 11 contests en route to her maiden world title;
20. The Aussie legend announced she was retiring from the professional surfing scene on October 10, 2008, at the age of 36;
21. Beachley is 5'5'' (1.65 meters);
22. The seven-time world champion is actively involved in several community groups and charities in New South Wales;
23. In 2000, Layne was awarded the Australian Sports Medal;
24. In 2004, Beachley received the Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year;
25. The Australian surfing champion was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, California, and the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 2006;
26. In 2011, Beachley entered the Sport Australia Hall of Fame;
27. In the same year, the power surfer won the gold medal at the ISA World Masters Surf Championship in the Azores;
28. The Australian surfer was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community at the 2015 Australia Day Honours;
30. Layne Beachley starred in the movies "7 Girls" (2001), "Blue Crush" (2002), "Billabong Odyssey" (2003), "Step into Liquid" (2003), "BlueGreen" (2010);
31. In the biographical book "Layne Beachley: Beneath the Waves," the Australian surfing legend reveals the dramatic details of her childhood and how she overcame depression, injuries, and chronic fatigue;
32. "Brave Beachley" is an uplifting children's book that reveals the story of the young Layne and how the Australian chased her dream to become a surfing world champion;
33. The regular-footer married Kirk Pengilly, musician and member of the Australian rock band INXS, in October 2010. He met her husband in 2002;
34. The couple lives in Manly on Sydney's Northern Beaches;
35. The blue-eyed surfer's most famous nickname is "The Beast";
36. She is the founder of Awake Academy, an online mental health service and course that provides self-empowerment and helps people detach from fear, take control and design a life they love;
37. Beachley loves to drink rosé wine and eat hot chips;
38. Her favorite surf break is Freshwater Beach, and her favorite beach is Manly Beach;
39. Beachley also founded the Aim for the Stars Foundation. This organization helps girls and women overcome the adversities and financial hardships the surfer encountered to become a world champion surfer;
40. Layne Beachley's net worth is estimated at $2 million;
41. She has been Chair of Surfing Australia since 2015;
42. The Australian icon claimed three Guinness World Records throughout her career - highest career earnings for a female surfer (female), most world titles won by a female surfer (alongside Stephanie Gilmore), and fastest speed achieved on a surfboard while towed by a car;
43. Layne Beachley is on Facebook (@laynebeachleyofficial), Twitter (@laynecbeachley), and Instagram (@laynebeachley);
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com