Aloha
Welcome to the 6th episode of our podcast!
Today with us, from Hawaii, is 1978 and 1979 World Champion Lynne Boyer!
Let’s discover more about her, those competitive years, art and much more!
You can find the episode in all major podcast platforms or read the transcribed version here on our website
Mahalo
TTOS : Aloha! Welcome to the show. When are you today?
I'm in Oahu, Hawaii.
TTOS : Today we are gonna talk about many things, of course, your amazing career, but also we are gonna talk about art and painting because I'm very interested….first question that I have for you is, in your opinion, what is the most important thing in surfing?
Oh, to have fun…to have a good time.
To find calm, to find a stress release, to be with nature, the ocean is the best place for that and riding waves makes it even better.
TTOS : It's therapeutic, right?
Yes. It's a natural high. It's a therapeutic for sure.
TTOS : in this first part of the interview, we're gonna talk to about you as a surfer. What was your first proper surfboard, I mean the one that you bought for yourself or was given to you do you remember it and/or do you still have it?
No, I don't have any of my own boards, unfortunately… I sold them cause I was poor, you know, as a pro athlete back then we didn't get paid much. So after I stopped competing, I sold my surfboards for like at like $90. I had no boards left those days, but I can remember my first favorite board was given to me by my parents, they bought my sister and myself a used surfboard from a surf shop somewhere on this island. I can't remember, my sister got this board…. it was like a seven, six something, a pretty wide seven, six. And then I chose a board that was more like maybe the same size, but more narrow, it had the beautiful colors on the bottom. I chose it more for the colors because I was young, I didn't know much about board performance or anything like that. I remember riding that board, I felt so pretty and artsy looking. It was stiff, I didn't like it so I hopped on my sister's board and oh my God, that board just worked like a gem out at Makaha. That's where I learned to surf basically. I'll always remember because I was happy and my sister didn't like surfing
TTOS : If you had to look at your career, what would you say was its defining moment?
Gosh, there's so many of them. I think the biggest contest, one, the winning the surfing competitions at sunset beach was one of the best feelings and one of the contests was called the Lancer world cup. I can't remember if it was 78 or 79, but the surf was like 8/12 foot Hawaiian, it was a west swell and it was so really glassy clean conditions, it was like the west peak was breaking. Since there were only six women out Margo and myself were the only ones that were really in shape and very competitive enough that we went in behind the peak and push each other further and further behind the peak taking off on the west peak. I won that contest, I remember those rides forever because they're some of the best rides I ever had and I never would've gotten those kind of waves out there on a regular day. It was crowded, you know, all the guys, they caught all the waves, so the only way I learned to surf sunset beach was by being in the contest.
TTOS : looking at today's competitive surfing, you know, from your eyes, the eyes of a twice word champion, what, in your opinion stayed the same and what, in your opinion, changed?
I don't know if anything has stayed the same, everything has changed so much. You know, the women are getting equal pay and the women now rip…. they're doing what I never knew women could do on waves. Back then, there was only a handful of women that surfed and most of them weren't as dedicated as myself and Margo (Olberg) and a couple others…. they were probably all very dedicated, but they were, we didn't have role models to look up to. I always looked up to the male surfers to try to emulate their style, nowadays the women can look up to the top women surfers, the young girls can look up and have female role models to follow and back then we didn't really have that. I didn't anyway, I emulated Larry Bertleman's style. I used to love how he surfed, I tried to do watch him on waves and try to do the same kind of stuff he did.
Everything's so much changed because the women are being paid equal and there's so many more women surfing and there's so much of it now, it's a professional sport, but, back then, I don't know,it wasn't anything really…..you were lucky if your parents supported it because it was like a party time, just a fun thing to do, go surfing and escape life.
The whole thing changed from except riding waves and the idea of trying to do your best on a wave that stayed the same and having a good time out there. All of that is similar. The feeling you get from it, you have one of those days where you're doing a round-the-clock session, you're going in, you never stop, you're surfing four or five, six hours and you just catch, wave after wave and you're on, you know, those are the best days…..
I love being the pioneer.
TTOS : it's such an important role as well, right?
Yeah, it feels good… to be recognized…. my biggest fear lately has been that the history has being swallowed up of our generation. Lately we've been trying to figure out ways to make the history stay alive and well, you know, our generation is getting lost. Like the young people don't even know who I am or Margo, or Margo's more known than I am actually. But like even the shapers from my era, my shaper, Harold Iggy, people don't even know who he was. He was just as good as Ben Aipa back in those days, all that stuff is important to remember!.
Today I go surfing one to two foot waves on my eight, four fun board. I have just as much fun as I had on my shortboard back in the day. That's great. When you get older, you can't last as long and you start hurting and you gotta take care of your body too. The stoke is still in there when I go for a surf, even just two hours and catch it enough waves just being in the ocean, you know,I don't have as many expectations still just feels the same, just as good….
TTOS : In your opinion, what is still next to be achieved in women surfing?
I think they're working towards it with having the women's surf at Pipe, you know, that the that's a milestone to have that happen and to get the women can actually be able to train there to get good enough to show their stuff at pipe. It's hard there it's so darn crowded.
There's probably still more things to achieve. You know, the women can get there…. more room for them to grow. You know, the older generation isn't doing quite as much aerials and all that stuff, I don't see the women doing those, but I'm not saying that that's something they need to do anyway….
Let’s take as example women's gymnastics versus men's gymnastics, they're totally two different things.
TTOS : in your life you met a lot of surfers. Was there a meeting with one of them that was particularly meaningful for you?
Not really…..
Maybe Larry Bertlemann…. As we are of the same generation…. That time, when we were on tour it was just like all these young people going on, certain trip, the south Brazil, Australia, a group of surfers…. I knew all of them, but nobody really stands out except him, he inspired me. I went in tour with the best surfers in the world, I had this fire, I knew I could surf outer everyone, that was my goal.
I've had some good friends on surfing, you know, my tour buddy, Sandra Billy, We still friends today.
TTOS : What is your best memory of that competitive time that you have to carry with you?
One of the best destinations, Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa, it was eight to 10 feet the first day and then the whole week…. we stayed in like a hostel or something with shared bath, it was all country side, there were no houses there, but now there are houses all over place. It was 1977, I think, and that the waves were so epic. I remember my legs getting tired on that wave, like halfway through, I'd have to my legs and then start pumping again, know down the line. It was really epic. I always remember that spot. That's the best spot besides Hawaii that I ever surfed.
TTOS : Fantastic, let's talk about art when did you start?
I took a course at summer session, University of Hawaii….early nineties.
TTOS : do you want to discover more about Lynne’s art, listen to the episode in our Spotify channel!
TTOS : we gotta finish our interview with short Q/A session, please answer the first thing that comes up to your mind….
TTOS : The best surfboard that you ever ridden
It was my Iggy’s, probably around double wings, swallow tail for big surf like Haliewa
TTOS : Your favorite shaper of all time.
Iggy
TTOS : Personal question. Your favorite song?
I don't have a favorite song or favorite music, but I would say New Age, Vangelis
TTOS : Your favorite surf spot?
I don't have one, it changes over time… now is a secret
In the past, it was called “The Rights”
TTOS : Your favorite woman surfer…
Carissa Moore….
TTOS : The last question it's a little bit unusual, I want to know your best relationship, advice.
Communication.
