I Can Be... A Professional Surfer/Transcript

Stephanie Gilmore: My name is Stephanie Gilmore, I'm 21 years old, and I'm two-times the world surfing champion, and I'm from the gold coast of Australia.

As a young female and a professional surfer, I really, truly every day, have to pinch myself and... yeah, there's a lot of hard work involved, but I just- I'm so grateful to be able to live this lifestyle and to be able to travel the world and surf perfect waves all day and- and hang out with my good friends on tour.

There's something about going out to the ocean and knowing that it's gonna be different is just... that's what draws me back every time because it's a new challenge, a new experience... I mean, you never know; every single day you paddle out, you could catch the wave of your life.

I started surfing when I was 10, and, uh, I loved being in the ocean riding waves, and just being a part of something that my dad loved to do. He started my sisters surfing when they were young and I just kind of followed along. I just loved it. Riding a wave is one of the best sensations ever.

Announcer: Please welcome your two-time world champion - Stephanie Gilmore!

Gilmore: Winning world title for the second time in 2008 was an incredible experience for me. First round, I actually lost out, so I went into the second round and got a second chance. Um, it was actually a good little sign from the ocean; it kind of just gave me a little reminder that I've gotta be myself and have fun and not think about world titles.

Being a bit of the tomboy in the family, I definitely like to play with Ken a bit more than Barbie, but, you know, making them act together was really, really cool, and I had a pink Barbie jeep, so that was my most favorite toy in the whole house.

I have a couple of passions outside of surfing, and currently, at the moment, it's photography and guitars. I just love string instruments and playing the guitar is such a... an incredible feeling for me, and to sit there and just make up a tune... It's not any specific song and it probably sounds terrible but I just love it, and I can really escape from everything and just make up a song. Woo!

My advice to young girls who wanna be surfers is to have patience... don't be intimidated by the boys... with some hard work, set your mind to it, have fun with it, and you can be whatever you wish to be.