Sophie Hellyer is a talented surfer who admirably shunned the ‘glamorous lifestyle’ that is laid out in front of attractive females with a mean cutback and instead of taking healthy pay cheques from top surf brands to pose facing out to tropical waters in a bikini, spends her time chasing stormy swells in her new home Ireland, running a business and tending to her vegetable garden.
Sophie is an inspiration to all females, surfer or not and therefore I am stoked to have her as an ambassador on the Girls Only Sri Lanka Surf & Yoga Camp.
Here’s a few words with one of Devon’s finest exports:
Morning routine: 7am wake up, aloe Vera juice, tumeric, b vitamins and green tea. 7.30am sea swim in the toggs, or without depending where I am. 8am sauna yes please. 8.30am yoga and breakfast. 9am off to work at The Green Room Lahinch.
Guilty pleasure: Napping. I just love sleeping.
Pros and cons of being a girl surfer: Pro: It’s pretty easy to make friends when travelling, people often seem quite receptive to me as a female in the line up. Con: Limited to zero media coverage. No one wants to photograph women surfing in 5mm wetsuits as most mags would never run the shot.
Top travel hack: Yoga mat, blanket, eye mask, headphones & audio book = a comfy deep sleep anywhere. You’ll find me napping in the oddest of places.
Favourite wave EVER: I’d love to return to some of the waves I surfed when I was younger with the skills and confidence I have now, 10 or 15 years later. Would love to go back to Fiji the most. Right now it’s a left near my home in Clare, I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it.
Best thing about Ireland: The community here is amazing, I’m surrounded by the most non judgemental supportive men and women, and there’s a lot of people working on similar environmental and social projects, so my mind is always stimulated. And the lefts of course.
To join Sophie in Sri Lanka click here.