Canada’s surf prodigy Erin Brooks scored a silver medal at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador. Dive deep into Brooks' journey to this moment in this feature by NancySMacdonald
Erin Brooks looks out from Velzyland Beach on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. Born in Texas, she aims to compete for Canada at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.island of Oahu from Honolulu can feel like a bit like journeying back through time. Far from Waikiki’s towering hotels, manicured beaches and Chanel outlets, the freeway suddenly ends, giving way to the sand-dusted Kamehameha Highway. The Kam wends along Oahu’s North Shore, a lush, laid-back place locals call “the country.
At Pipe that December morning, long before the blaze of sunrise, a couple dozen surfers were already bobbing in the water. Many of themThere went Italian great Leo Fioravanti, shaking the water from his brown hair as he stepped ashore with a board shattered by a wave. Nearby, Hawaii’s Carissa Moore – arguably the best female surfer in history – was playing with her two small dogs in the sand. Soul surfer Mikey February was munching on a pastry from Ted’s Bakery.
Erin is seen as a transformative figure in the sport, both for her propensity to huck giant airs, and to surf waves that have traditionally been the preserve of men. After taking fourth place in the final round, Erin won the inaugural women’s competition, cementing her place as one of the world’s best barrel riders.
where he was nursing a back injury. “I think she could take women’s surfing to a totally different place, and spearhead a new and exciting chapter in the sport.” Erin looked tiny as she sat on her board that morning at Pipe, rising on the aquamarine swells like a rider on a horse. She’s tiny up close as well – 43 kilograms, she swears – and could pass for even younger than she is, especially when carrying the blue Stitch stuffy she never travels without.
This was a school day, but Erin and Jackson Dorian, who was surfing alongside her, are the luckiest of kids. They do school online in the evenings so they can surf all day, allowing them practically to live in the sea. Erin still doesn’t own a cell phone, has never played video games, doesn’t watch TV. The only clothes she owns were mailed to her by Rip Curl. Their contract doesn’t allow her to wear anything else, even when relaxing at home.Erin and Jackson Dorian at Ehukai Beach.
Carissa Moore, 30, also a Paris favourite, who surfs for Hurley, says “Erin is doing airs I can’t even wrap my head around.” Every generation keeps raising the bar, she adds. “Erin is taking the baton and running with it. I’m a huge fan of hers.” At RK Training Hawaii, Erin polishes her airs on a trampoline; at a fitness class, she works on her breathing and foundation with Kahea Hart, who has trained her since she was 9.
“I’ve never seen the Canadian win a heat at a surfing contest before!!!!!!,” one wrote, attaching a screenshot of Erin wrapped in a Canadian flag. The family moved to Hawaii six years ago, when she and Brooks sold the construction business they built after a back injury put an early end to Brooks’s policing career.
In her travels, Erin has won acclaim from many of the world’s surfing pros. A note of congratulations from pro surfer John John Florence hangs beside her board collection at the family garage. Shortly after, Domic mailed giant boxes of Team Canada gear to Erin’s grandparents and great-grandparents. “It was so smart,” Brooks says. Erin got these teary Facetimes – with them wearing their Canada jackets. It meant a lot.”
Rip Curl has offered to send her on a two-year global surf trip, to film eye-popping content while she deepens the power and creativity of her surfing. They would launch her on the tour at 18 or 19, when she could come on like a firestorm.
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