MEET LAURA ENEVER
28 Feb 2017
As a one of the world’s most impressive big wave surfers, 25-year-old Laura Enever has made a name for herself as a bold, fearless talent.
Outside of the water, Laura uses her voice – and the global platform surfing has given her – to inspire young women across all areas of their lives. The way Laura celebrates her femininity and thrives in a traditionally male dominated sport is testament to her bright, strong nature and is one of the many reasons we invited her to be the MIMCO Ambassador for our latest Our Watch campaign.
On the set of our latest campaign (shot by Duncan Killick) we asked Laura to share her journey so far.
Tell us about yourself, Laura...
I’m a 25-year-old surfer girl who grew up in Sydney, Australia. I have been surfing since I was about 9 years old and I’m currently on my 7th year on the women’s world tour – and loving every minute of it! But deep down, I’m also just a crazy 25-year-old.
MIMCO and Our Watch are both advocates of female empowerment. How has being a strong, successful woman in a male dominated sport made you feel empowered?
I really feel like I can do anything in any area of my life. To be in the waves and see the amount of women out there now has really made me feel like there’s a sisterhood in surfing...and just a sisterhood in the world at the moment. It’s very empowering.
Our Watch's focus is on challenging gender inequality and restrictive gender stereotypes, especially in young people. What is your message to the young people you work with?
My message to the young women I work with and want to inspire is just to “be you.” I want them to follow their dreams and know that they can do absolutely anything they want to. I’ve almost had doubts about the things I was doing in my life...whether a wave was too big...that I wasn’t good enough to do the different things I wanted...but surrounding myself with good people made me feel strong and empowered and that I can achieve anything. It's what I want to tell and show other girls…as well as to have fun along the way.
At the end of the day, success isn’t the number of followers, it’s not money or wealth, it’s not a competition result, it’s whatever makes you feel happy, inspired and enthusiastic about life.
What do you love most about what you do?
Being in the ocean everyday. It’s the most humbling place to be. Mother Nature can make you feel any emotion from fear to empowerment to excitement or sadness. It’s my happy place and my escape. It’s made me who I am today.
Surfing has opened up so many doors for me and to now be able to give back and help inspire other young girls is a dream come true. It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Who are the women that have inspired, or continue to inspire you, in your life/work?
So many women constantly inspire me and I’m still learning of more and more inspirational women everyday. They're all doing so many incredible things, putting out such powerful messages and just being all about "Girl Power"! I love women who lift other women and make each other believe we can all achieve whatever we set our minds to. I have friends who are nurses, or mums, or who have started their own business, and they also inspire me daily to work hard in whatever I’m doing.
Our latest seasonal tagline is "Be Brave, Seek Adventure". How do you interpret that in your everyday life?
For me, personally this resonates really well. Being brave and seeking adventure is what I try to do every day of my life. I love throwing myself in the deep end and challenging myself, whether it’s surfing big waves, doing photo-shoots or learning or helping wherever I can. I want all girls to go out and do that in their own way.