Professional Surfing Background

Prue Jeffries Surfing Career Biography


Prue Jeffries (b. 1972) A pioneer and visionary of women’s surfing, she spent two decades traveling the world on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour, now known as the WSL (World Surf League). Her competitive and athletic career spanned from the late 1980s through to the mid-2000s. She was also a published writer, editorial consultant, founder of a women’s clothing company, brand ambassador, event co-producer, and filmmaker.

 

Prue grew up surfing at the iconic Bondi Beach, Australia. Initially, Bondi Beach was a working-class suburb that welcomed numerous immigrant families. The eclectic influences of multicultural Sydney shaped Prue's childhood. From a young age she had a love of creativity, water, nature, and the metaphysical. Prue initially took up skateboarding, bodysurfing, surf mat riding, and bodyboarding before transitioning to surfboards around 12 years old. 

 

Shaped by an education that supported children from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, she thrived in an intellectually and socially expansive environment. It shaped her openness and desire to explore and exchange with cultures and life around the world, as well as her opinion of the importance of women's surfing (and surfing in general) to be inclusive and grow the length, breadth, and diversity of narratives and opportunities for women.

 

From 1990 to 2006, Prue spent 16 years competing on the ASP WCT and WQS Tours. She contributed to the growth of women’s surfing in multiple ways, as an advocate for women in boardsports. She is a WCT-level surfer willing to work in areas of writing, editorial consulting, clothing company development, surfboard design, and filmmaking. 


She has felt that good surfing was genderless, transcended surfboard choice, and was a reflection of a surfer's relationship with the water and waves. A waterwoman at heart, Prue is known for her soulful, quieter nature, graceful, smooth, flowing style, and keen interest in surfboard design.

In 1990, 17 years old, fresh from high school and deferring university, she traveled to the Bells Beach Easter Classic. With minimal surfing exposure outside of Bondi and little amateur experience or coaching, she continued on the ASP World Tour, supported by sole sponsor Peter Daniel Surfboards. She achieved a world ranking of #13 in 1990 at the age of 17-18 years old. It was considered the best raw rookie performance at the time. She followed up in 1991 with another #13 finish.

Between 1992 and 1996, Prue competed part-time and pursued a passion for outrigger canoe paddling. She paddled many distance races, including in 1993 the 41-mile Na Wahine O Ke Kai Molokai to Oahu Canoe Race in Hawaii and in 1995 the Hamilton Island Canoe Races in Australia. Prue honed her water skills, paddling, and surfing abilities training in Hawaii. Feeling a close kinship and respect for Hawaiian culture, Prue was bestowed the name by a friend from a Kahuna of “Alohiwaipuhia,” meaning “bright wind-swept water” or “waterfall blown back up to heaven.” Later, she relocated from Bondi to Narrabeen, where she continued to refine her surf style while working as one of the first women in construction for the Australian telecommunications company Telstra. Despite her young age, she received rapid promotions to administer and supervise minor works projects.

In 1997, Prue returned to full-time competition with improved financial support from her job, greater confidence and fitness from canoeing, received coaching support, and used a combination of holistic and somatic training methods as her foundation. She qualified for the ASP Women’s Top 11 WCT Tour, earning the ASP Most Improved Award. Her surfing abilities caught the eye of legend Midget Farrelly, along with Simon Anderson, for whom she started to ride surfboards and received his support. That year, she won the Senior Division of the Roxy Wahine Classic at San Onofre, a groundbreaking event where she met Linda Benson, Marg Oberg, Candice Woodward, and many other USA surfing legends who inspired her.

By 1998, Prue had finished World No. 6. She won the Quit Women’s Pro at Margaret River after being a finalist in 1997. She defeated Pam Burridge, Lisa Andersen, and Rochelle Ballard on her way to the finals with Layne Beachley at the Bells Beach Easter Classic. She is a two-time finalist at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach and a finalist at the Rip Curl Pro in Hossegor, France. She has won several events, including the Boundi Pro in Portugal, the Gallaz Pro in Oceanside, the SG Queen of the Creek in Salt Creek, and several Professional Surf Tour of America events. She is a dual silver medalist from the 2002 ISA World Surfing Games in Durban. 


In 1999, Prue was one of the first WCT-level women, with her ranking at #6 in the world, competing on two world tours to play an instrumental working role in founding and developing a women’s clothing and lifestyle brand. Connected by Wahine Magazine publishers Marilyn Edwards and Elizabeth Glazner with Jackson Sports Management, she signed a sponsorship deal with the Bodywaves Group from Orange County, California, USA, led by Tim Su, for their B-Pro activewear line. Responding to what she felt was the objectification of women in the surf industry. Prue partnered with Tim to transform B-Pro into a core women’s line by strategizing and rebranding it as Elleven. 


Elleven emerged as a vessel to empower women from all backgrounds and stages in life seeking to showcase women surfers strength and appeal in expressing their natural talents. She felt women’s beauty and strength were inherent and expressed in many shapes, sizes, faces, and cultures. Representing this was the best way to role model for younger women. 

She oversaw the branding, marketing, and development of Elleven, finding, hiring, and working closely with Solodizine/Blue Door Creative Tiff Seale and Victor Sokolow, who were instrumental in the new branding, along with Art Brewer, Jim Russi, and Jim Pidgeon for photography. Prue worked with fashion designer Pamela Zoolalian, the first woman on ESPN, and who competed in the X-Games in street luge racing for the clothing development. She also worked on advertising placements, event sponsorship, editorial trips, and developing a team of women riders from diverse backgrounds. 

Onboarding Florida WQS surfer Falina Spires and Californian longboarder of Filipino heritage Mary Bagalso with an eye to growing more ambassadors in time. Elleven sponsored the 1999 Elleven Women’s US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, and in 2000 both the Women’s US Open of Surfing WCT and WQS events. The investment was significant—roughly $300K for women’s surfing at the time. One of the promotions of the events was a poster of Prue doing a powerful cutback on the face of a Puerto Escondido wave with the bold and perhaps prescient statement, “The future of surfing is in the hands of women.”


"The future of surfing is in the hands of women". - Elleven clothing campaign 1998

Bells Beach Easter Classic Finalist in 1998 with Layne Beachley

She has felt that good surfing was genderless, transcended surfboard choice, and was a reflection of a surfer's relationship with the water and waves. A waterwoman at heart, Prue is known for her soulful, quieter nature, graceful, smooth, flowing style, and keen interest in surfboard design.

During her career, Prue appeared in surf films, Surfers the Movie, Blue Crush, Peaches, 7 Girls, Our Turn, Burnt Toast, Aqua Dulce, Heart, Gone Mentawais (Fuel TV), Fashion, Dear, and Yonder. Prue participated in, collaborated on, or coordinated numerous editorial trips.

She was invited on a groundbreaking Surfer Magazine trip to Samoa with Rochelle Ballard, Layne Beachley, Megan Abubo, Serena Brooke, and Keala Kennelly. While there, Bill Ballard filmed some of the iconic original Blue Crush, whose name Prue helped create. With a professional female surfer's perspective and writing background, Prue consulted with the initial scriptwriters for the Hollywood adaptation of Blue Crush, contributing to storyline ideas.


As the world opened up to women athletes, the surf industry was also opening up to women surfers. As a writer and WCT-level surfer, Prue worked with magazines; she spearheaded unique editorial trips designed to broaden the narrative of women’s surfing. Prue was passionate about using her position to create opportunities for other women. Early in her life, around 14 years old, she entered a Tracks Magazine writing contest and was published. This launched her career as a writer, contributing to publications such as Surfer, Surfer Girl, Surf Girl, SG Skate and Snow, Waves, Surf Girl, Wahine, Chick, Jetty Girl, Wet, and numerous international publications over a span of 30 years.

Prue, a soul of a surfer at heart, wanted to spend more time with the purity of the sport and free surfing, which Elleven supported and sought to cultivate as an avenue for women surfers beyond competition success. Many unique surf travel adventures ensued. In 1999, she collaborated with Surfing Girl magazine to organize the first women's editorial trip to the intense waves of Puerto Escondido. At a time when the surf industry was only interested in younger age groups for women's "marketing," the trip featured 14-year-old Hawaiian Kirsten Quizon, 17-year-old Californian Holly Beck, and East Coaster Falina Spires. It also included retired four-time World Surfing Champion and legend Frieda Zamba, 36 years old.

 

Early in 1999, Prue, as part of Elleven's marketing campaign, collaborated with Wahine Magazine's writing, editorial team, and photography legend Art Brewer to organize the first-ever, groundbreaking, multi-disciplined, multicultural women's board-sports trip to the Maldives. She invited skateboard and snowboard legends Cara Beth Burnside and Tara Dakides, who were also avid surfers. Additionally, she aimed to support, showcase, and elevate the profile of women longboard surfers by inviting Mary Bagalso, Kassia Meador, Belen Kimble, Alayna Scheibell, up-and-coming Australian surfer Jenny Boggis, and Elleven team rider Falina Spires. Prue returned to the Maldives again with Elleven in 2000 for a magalogue campaign known as The Moove and another editorial feature she wrote and organized for magazines.

Prue has thrived on unique trips throughout her career, including the first women's editorial trip to the West Australian heavy waves of Gnaraloo and Red Bluff. Camping in the desert for 2 weeks with Brazilian-Australian 4-time Women's Bodyboard World Champion and Pipeline pioneer Stephanie Peterson, 5-time Women's Australian Champion Bodyboarder Mandy Zerian, and 18-year-old Australian Junior Champion surfers Claire Bevalacqua and Stacey Holt. In 2001, she embarked on a women's surf trip through the Civil War-torn region of Sri Lanka, which garnered media attention in Australia, the USA, and France.

She also enjoyed trips to Lakey Peak, Indonesia, for an SG Magazine cover in 2001, and many road trips to Australian waves, bringing a mix of talented women wave riders to share the recognition with.

In 2006, Prue embarked on a Gone Mentawais boat trip for Fuel TV, accompanied by Jodie Nelson, Kate Skarratt, Veronica Kay, Karlee Mackie, Elle Northey, and Kassia Meador. They surfed on the Mangalui through the Mentawai Islands and journeyed in a dugout canoe through the jungles of Siberut Island, meeting Mentawai peoples and their medicine holders, the Sikerei, to discuss the effects of deforestation on their plant medicines. During the trip, Prue collaborated on the filming of a women's surf movie, Fashion, co-created with Roxy & Red Bull, showcasing a diverse range of women surfers from around the globe.

Significant career highlights included sponsorship by Turner Network and their show the Power Puff Girls, a first feature of Women Surfers in Sports Illustrated for Women in 2000, where she was photographed with three-time Olympic Gold medalist Misty May and her partner three-time Olympian Holly McPeak, “The Most Dangerous Women in the World” Professional Female Boxer Lucia Rijker from A Million Dollar Baby, World Boxing Champion and Hall of Famer “Sugar” Shaun Moseley, and Pipeline surfer Strider Wasileski. Outside Magazine featured her as a waterwoman, a canoe paddler and surfer, in ads for Hobie, alongside Buzzy Kerbox, Lefty Kray, and Gerry Lopez.


Prue made a significant contribution to the growth of surfing by founding IWS (International Women's Surfing) in 1999 alongside Layne Beachley, Rochelle Ballard, and Megan Abubo, with the aim of advocating for women's rights in pro-surfing, including equal pay. Donald Takayama requested that Prue support surfing legend Linda Benson as vice president for the Women's World Longboard Championships in Ocean Beach in 2006. On retiring from competitive surfing, Prue, who originally learned to surf on a single fin and trained on one throughout her career, indulged her love for surfboard design and experimenting with eggs, fishes, and bonzers. Always a soul surfer at heart, Prue continues to this day surfing and paddling and has worked for many years developing and mentoring young surfers.


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