May 22, 2025 • 35 mins
What does it take to perform at the highest level—and still enjoy surfing for yourself? Lakey Peterson has competed on the world stage for over a decade, but the journey hasn’t always been smooth—especially when expectations are high and results don’t go your way.
In this episode of Confessions of a Surf Lady: The First Women’s Surfing Podcast™, Lakey opens up about what it’s really like to chase progression, navigate fear, and still stay connected to joy in the water. We talk about the pressure of competition, the mental tools that keep her grounded, and why her relationship to surfing is evolving.
Whether you're pushing your own progression or simply trying to find more fun in your sessions, this conversation will remind you that surfing gets to be yours—no matter where you are in your journey.
Main Themes
- Staying Grounded Through Competitive Pressure
“Sometimes I just need to surf without a goal. That’s what keeps it fun.” – Lakey Peterson - Not Growing Up in Surf Culture—And Still Making It
“I didn’t have a surfy upbringing. I had to ask a lot of questions and figure it out.” – Lakey Peterson - Representation & Progression in Women’s Surfing
“When I started, it was about who looked good in a bikini. Now it’s about how hard you charge.” – Lakey Peterson
Resources:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lakey Peterson (00:00):
Every time I go surfing, whether I'm competing
or free surfing or no matterwhat, you stand up on that wave,
and just everything goes awayand blacks out. And I just think
that feeling is so beautiful andimportant to have in life, like
that true present moment. And sofor me, I would say that's my
(00:21):
favorite thing about surfing,and probably what's brought me a
lot of peace and saved me a lotof times when things have been
tricky or hard in my life, likejust being able to go somewhere
and yeah, just find that likejoy and peace and presence is
incredible.
Laura Day (00:38):
Hey, lady, welcome to Confessions of a surf lady, a
podcast by the surf society. Forso long, women have been
misrepresented by the surfindustry, only highlighting a
narrow and exclusive version ofa who a surf lady can be. But
you and I both know that thereis so much more to women surfing
than that. This, this podcastright here is a place to tell
(01:02):
our story how we want to tellit, at Confessions of a surf
lady, you'll meet everyday surfladies doing amazing things in
their local communities, as wellas pros, World Champs, big wave
riders and bad ass, livinglegends From women's surf
history, all sharing their stokeon this blossoming Global
(01:24):
Women's surf culture. What'seven more special, though, is
that you Yes, you will get achance to participate in the
conversation by leaving me yourconfessions. I'm your host,
Laura Day. Think of me as yournew favorite surf sister,
connecting you to your beautifulGlobal Women's surf community,
helping you boost yourconfidence before you head out
(01:44):
for your next surf, and evendropping a few surf tips from
the surf society along the way.
If you want to stay connectedwith me, find me on Instagram
that's at Confessions of a surflady. Kind of use that like my
personal account, and then goahead and follow at surf
society. That's s, u, r, F, S,O, C, i, e, t, e, there you'll
find a handful of free resourcesto help you through your surfing
(02:07):
journey. All right. Lady, thanksagain for joining me here at
Confessions of a surf lady,where we're cultivating a global
women's surf culture throughthoughtful conversation. Let's
get to our episode. Yeah,
Lakey Pete (02:23):
hello, morning. Good morning. How are you good? How
are you doing? Lakey, I'm good.
Thanks for making this work. Iknow. Thanks you too. Things are
a little last minute, but Yeah,glad we can make it happen. I'm
good. It came
Laura Day (02:37):
together. Yeah, I just learned that your name is
also Laura? Yes, it is. Yeah, Irarely, I don't know about you,
but I rarely ever meet someoneelse who's named Laura called
Laura.
Lakey Pet (02:49):
Yeah, yeah. I guess I have one good friend named
Laura, like she's a surfer,actually, as well. Yeah, it's
not as common these days. Yeah,you think it would be right?
Yeah, because it my mom. It wasmy grandma's name and my mom's
name and then my name. So it's alittle bit of a family name for
us, but yeah, that's actuallytrue. It's a good point. That's
Laura Day (03:08):
beautiful. That's cool. Well, welcome to
Confessions of a surf lady.
We're super stoked to have youhere. If you couldn't guess by
the title, it's calledConfessions of a surf lady,
because we like to ask ourlisteners confessions like more
about their experiences being awoman in the water. So I'll have
some of those for you. Those foryou. But just to start off,
really stoked to have you andlike, Thank you for the
contributions you're reallymaking to women surfing. Simply
just you're like, pushingyourself and showing what women
(03:30):
can do in the water. I thinkit's really beautiful. Thank
you. I appreciate that. So we'llstart with some easy
confessions, like, we'll startsimple, and then we'll go from
there. What is your favoritepost surf snack?
Lakey Pet (03:45):
My favorite poster of snack is probably a smoothie. I
will get back and a lot of timeright after surfing. I'm not
super hungry. It hits me like anhour later. So snack right
after, yeah, I'll come back andI'll make a huge smoothie,
blueberries, bananas, proteinpowders, cacao, all the good
stuff. So, yeah, that's what Igo to
Laura Day (04:05):
perfect. Do you have a particular like habit or
ritual that nobody knows about,that you do either anytime
you're free surfing or goinginto competition?
Lakey Pete (04:15):
Less free surfing? I mean, I have, like, a little
warm up in that, but I thinkcompetition, I'm a little bit I
have a bit more of a ritual, forsure. It's like, a little bit
more scheduled my hour beforeI'm gonna compete or start the
heat. Yeah, I definitely have aritual as, like, exactly when I
kind of warm up what I'mlistening to. But I would say
more specifically, like, rightbefore I hit the water to surf
(04:39):
the heat. Usually you'll see meon the beach like legs cross,
and I do a little breathing sothat I try and do every time
before, before I surf a heat atleast. So it's a little
visualization thing I do.
Laura Day (04:50):
Yeah, that's great.
Okay, tell us some of yourfavorite like, pump you up surf
songs, because people loveadding stuff to their people
Lakey Pe (04:57):
love this one. Yeah, I wish people could just plug it.
All the competitors and see whateveryone's listening to. Like so
different for everyone, I listento a lot of rock and roll, so
like, AC DC, that sort of thing,and then also rap. So Eminem,
like, lose yourself is always areally good one. Cinderella
(05:17):
man's always a really good one.
Yeah, it's either like rock orrap, depending on my mood, but
it's one of those. Usually, haveyou added do chi
Laura Day (05:25):
to your playlist yet?
No, I haven't. Okay, yeah, I'llsend Yeah, you have to add do
she because so good. Okay, yeah.
And then Flo Millie, it'sanother girl, another female
rapper that I'm like, in lovewith her right now. So you can
add those and, okay,
Lakey Peter (05:39):
I actually will. We have El Salvador this week? So
it's perfect timing. I'll be preheat listening to the girls.
Yeah, nice.
Laura Day (05:45):
Yeah. Tell us about a moment recently in the water
that just like brought you joy.
That's
Lakey Pet (05:51):
a great question. The first thing that comes to mind,
we were just in Portugalcompeting recently, and I always
go for really early morning freesurf before the contest day, and
it was just the most stunningsunrise. It was like full moon
setting. The sun was rising, theclouds were all pink. The whole
tour was out there. And the wasreally fun. It was just a moment
(06:11):
everyone was there. Was like arainbow. So, yeah, that was a
moment recently that was reallystunning. It never gets old, but
that gets old. Yeah, the light,moon set to sunrise. It was
really beautiful. So that wasone,
Laura Day (06:25):
oh, that's special, yeah, I'm curious, because
you're so competitive, andyou're, like, in this
competitive scene and, like,really on a world stage, I feel
like surfing is such a personalrelationship, and how do you
preserve that still being apersonal relationship for you,
while having to, like, performand compete and be on stage in,
(06:45):
you know, in front of the worldsurfing,
Lakey Pe (06:47):
it's a great question, because surfing is so unique in
the way that I feel as aprofessional surfer. It's my job
to go compete professionally andand surf these events. But also
the thing I want to do when I'mnot competing is go surfing for
fun at home, which is reallyunique. I think most people
don't want to do their day jobwhen they get time off, by the
way, but I think for all of ussurfers, we just love surfing
(07:11):
and and fell in love withsurfing originally, for the fun
of it. So I just think it'simportant sometimes at events,
you can get really caught up,obviously, in results, and
frustrated if you're not surfinggreat or not clicking with the
wave or whatever, yeah, thingsjust aren't happening the way
you want them to. It can bereally frustrating. So I think
(07:31):
it's just important to always gofor free surfs where you are
just enjoying surfing with noexpectation, with no nothing
that you're specifically workingon in that surf or practicing,
like, just go and have fun withmy husband or friends or
whatever, and taking away thatexpectation from time to time.
Because often, especially whenwe're in season, I feel like
(07:52):
every surf, you're just liketrying something new or filming
or with your coach. So it can bea little bit it's as fun as that
is, it can get a bit tiring, andyou lose the joy of it sometimes
in those moments. So yeah, Ithink just reminding myself to
go for fun free surfs with noexpectation, probably I love it,
because
Laura Day (08:10):
it's no different than just being an everyday surf
lady. I think a lot of women arelike, you know, we want to get
better. We want to do this. Wealways have, like, some kind of
goal, and it's important to,like, come back and balance it
and just be like, Well, why am Iactually, really here? And find
the joy in that? One
Lakey Peters (08:26):
thing I found that helps with that is, like, riding
a fun board sometimes, like,even if I just sometimes, like,
I'll go longboard, and it's somuch fun, and I never longboard,
but I'll just ride longboard fora day at, you know, one of the
easy spots around here. And it'slike, it's so refreshing and
joyful and fun. And so sometimesI think what can help with that
is just switching up yourequipment and and doing
(08:49):
something different in that
Laura Day (08:50):
regard, too. What is in your equipment right now? Oh,
geez,
Lakey Peter (08:53):
a lot of boards all right for Channel Islands. So
everything's Channel Islands,automatic surf boards, best
boards in the world. Shout out,and I ride a lot of CI pros,
which is one of their kind ofhigh performance short board
models. A lot of my step ups,like for bigger waves, are a CI
pro model. And then my regularshort boards, which are about
(09:15):
5859, I ride CI pros as well asthis too happy model that they
have. They've kind of likeredefined it recently, so I've
been using that a lot. So that'skind of what I've been rolling
with on tour this year.
Laura Day (09:29):
As you've grown as a surfer, have you seen any board
design change and be more fittowards women and more suited to
how you surf?
Lakey Pe (09:38):
Yeah, great questions.
It's crazy with surfboarddesign, I feel like the actual
design of boards has not changedfor so long in terms of the foam
that's used in the glassing andthe fins, like it's been just a
thruster and similar foamsimilar for a really long time.
Obviously, shapes changeslightly with shapers and, you
know, things are always gettingrefined, but the actual surf.
(10:02):
Board itself, I feel has verymuch stayed the same for so
long. There hasn't been some bigbreakthrough with equipment or
materials or things like that. Iguess recently, you know, Coco
ho did like a line of allboards, more specifically for
women that you can buy, which Ithought was really cool. I
haven't tried any of thoseboards, but I thought that was a
really neat idea. I think she'sgot a few different shapes
depending on what you're lookingfor in your level. And it's more
(10:27):
just for girls, for women, but,yeah, it's, I feel surfing is so
individual for males andfemales, like, depending on what
level you're at, what you'rewanting to achieve, you know. So
it's, I do feel like there's asurfboard for everyone out
there, across the board. It'sjust kind of finding it and
finding, you know, thedimensions that work best for
you and the shape that worksbest for you. But I don't feel
like I've seen huge breaks withthe actual equipment, you know,
(10:48):
in forever, in a really longtime. Yeah, do
Laura Day (10:54):
you feel like there could be a breakthrough, or
there's anything kind of on theverge of happening in terms of
equipment?
Lakey Pe (10:59):
I feel like, for sure, there could I do? I think it'll
be more like the material. Idon't know what that is,
obviously. You know, in recentyears, there's been a lot more,
at least in the performancespace, like playing with like
carbon in the foam dust, orwrapping the board in carbon so
it's stronger, which kind ofchanges the flex of the board as
(11:19):
well. So maybe something in thatrealm. I don't know exactly, but
I feel like whatever is, it willbe like equipment based. Maybe
it'll help the board lastlonger, maybe the thin
placement. But again, I don'tknow it's weird. It has been the
same for so long. But yeah, Ifeel like it'll be some form of
the actual physical foam orsomething that they they
(11:39):
discover. Yeah, discovers.
Laura Day (11:43):
Imagine this. What if you felt empowered to establish
your place in intimidatinglineups. What if you developed
the mental toughness to surf newlocations in challenging
conditions so you could surfmore often, catch more waves and
have more fun in every session?
What if you had the knowledgeand the physical skill to catch
and ride more waves so you couldpractice maneuvers like cross
(12:03):
stepping, nose, riding,trimming, carving, and
ultimately become a bettersurfer on the wave. Last but not
least, what if you had asisterhood of friendships with
women all over the world whosupport your growth in the
lineup, women who are passionateabout the sport and the
lifestyle and know how to havefun, but also bring quality
(12:25):
conversations to the table thathelp you push your surf skills
and celebrate your wins. All ofthis is a part of being a member
at the surf society, which is mywomen's online community that
was really inspired by thispodcast. So if you love this
podcast, you are going to lovethe surf society. Join us for
(12:45):
your first week free by hittingthe link at the top of the show
notes, because I would love tosee you there. What was the
moment for you, where you wentfrom just starting surfing as a
kid and then being like, I wantto compete and I want to take it
(13:07):
to this level, I
Lakey Peterson (13:07):
started surfing probably a little bit later than
most. Like, I didn't grow up ina family that surfed a ton, so
it wasn't like from the womb. Iwas like, getting pushed into
waves and gonna do contests. ButI started doing some local
events in California, in SantaBarbara, where I grew up, when I
was like 1112, like I was,obviously, that's very young,
but, you know, compared to otherkids, it was a little bit late
(13:28):
bloomer. And then fast forward alittle bit, I started really
loving that, doing more littleevents up and down the coast.
And I won the Nationals when Iwas 14, the NSSA Nationals at
trestles. And I feel like thatmoment for me as a Super Junior
was like a really bigbreakthrough, and I got some
spot really big sponsors fromthat, and it really felt like,
(13:49):
oh, I can maybe do this, youknow. And it kind of projected
me onto this path of going tojunior pro events, and we filmed
for this all women's movie atthat time with Nike, which was
this incredible opportunity thatI got to be a part of. So yeah,
I think, I think winning theNationals was really a big
moment for me, like realizing,wow, okay, maybe this is, you
(14:10):
know, what I can do. So, yeah,
Laura Day (14:12):
had you been already, already been a really
competitive person up untilthen,
Lakey Pet (14:16):
yeah, very definitely competitive by nature. Grew up
playing a ton of different typesof sports, and love sports
always have my whole life andcompeting. So yes, that was
already ingrained in me from dayone, for sure. I think
Laura Day (14:31):
something you said that's really relatable is that
you didn't grow up in surfing,but you've been able to take it
to such a such a like, elitelevel. And that's it's so
interesting, because I think fora lot of women who pick up
surfing a little bit later inlife, we feel like a disconnect
of why didn't grow up I don'tknow how to like learn the
things I need to learn. So foryou not having grown up in it,
(14:51):
where did you kind of find thoseresources and those touch points
to really dive yourself into thesport and the culture?
Lakey Peterson (14:57):
So I grew up in California. I grew up by the.
And like a beach kid, you know,that was normal for the family
to go to the beach or whatever.
But what really helped, and Ithink my parents did a really
good job of this, is surroundingmyself with, you know, I started
working with Mike Parsons, who'sa legendary BIG WAVE SURFER when
I was really young, like when Iwas about 15. I started working
(15:19):
with him, and he's been in theindustry for his whole life. Now
he manages and coaches and allthe rest. But, you know, they
signed me up to work with Mike.
And I think being with someonewho just, like, knew the ins and
outs of, hey, let's do thesecontests next, and then you kind
of and then you go to this, andyou go to that, because we
really had no idea. So I thinkjust surrounding myself with
people who could help, like,guide me, was really helpful,
(15:40):
but also that wasn't putting anypressure on me. It was more just
a helping hand, of like, this iskind of how it works, and this
is what we do. So I feel like,for anyone who maybe doesn't
have the knowledge or thebackground of how that works and
how to get involved and how tostart just asking questions,
whether you're hiring someone asa coach full time, or just
asking questions to people whodo have a little bit more
(16:01):
knowledge of you or somethingyou maybe met in the surf, of
like, where to start and whereto go, and then from there it'll
it'll naturally just snowball,and you learn. But yeah, I think
that was really helpful for me.
Yeah, I
Laura Day (16:11):
love that. It's really about like, showing up,
asking questions, being curious,and then like, letting the
process take you where you'remeant to go. Yeah, that's
beautiful. Okay, so we have somequestions of that we ask
confessions for on the show. Soone of them, the very first one
we started with back in 2020was, how do you feel about the
way women are represented in thesurf industry? And since there's
(16:33):
been some time since thisquestion was asked, I want to
kind of ask it in terms of,like, what how you've seen it
change over the years and whereit's going. Geez,
Lakey Pe (16:43):
it's been really cool.
I've been on tour a long timenow, and it's been cool to see
so much change in, I think, areally positive way, obviously,
with still growth and changethat needs to be done. But
certainly since my first year onthe championship tour, which is
(17:05):
2012 to now it's immenselychanged. Obviously, for us who
compete, the prize money has nowcaught up to what the guys make
it used to be. I remember, I wonmy first event in 2012 my rookie
year, and I was on the podiumwith like, the big they gave me,
like the big check, which wascool, and it was $15,000 and the
guy who won was holding a checkfor $100,000 the same event,
same everything. And so now thatthat has come, you know, all the
(17:33):
way to where we're getting paidthe same as the men, it's a
legitimate, you know, careerpath for women, I think that's
been an incredible step forward.
And thanks to WsL for steppingup and helping do that. And then
also, too, I just think thestigma around women and surfing
and what we can do. And it's notjust about us in bikinis looking
cute, you know? It is about uscompeting and surfing really,
(17:55):
really well. And I think thewhole world has way woken up to
that woman, surfing is rad andamazing, and these girls are
ripping. And it's not just we'regonna sponsor a girl surfer
because she looks good in thebikini. It's, it's more like
we're gonna sponsor her becauseshe's doing really well and an
amazing athlete. So obviouslythat's come really, really far
(18:16):
also, which is fantastic. And,yeah, I think something all of
us girls are really proud of soit's been really cool. You know,
more more to go still, but thoseare probably the two biggest
things I've seen change in mytime so far. Yeah,
Laura Day (18:30):
where would you say that it needs to go? I
Lakey Pe (18:34):
think, trending in the right direction, but
continually, still gettingbetter and bigger waves and
errors and progression like it'shappening, and it's gonna
continue to kind of take time.
We're still getting used tosurfing pipeline and Chopin, you
know, these waves, so it's goingto take time. But I think now
that we have the platform tosurf at those waves, and being
(18:54):
pushed to do it in a good way, Ithink naturally that progression
is going to continue, but I feellike I can't wait to see the day
when girls are doing like, fullrotations at every event and
getting already so many of thegirls are getting crazy barrels
at all these waves. But I thinkjust continually pushing that
progression in that side ofthings still has a little ways
(19:16):
to go, but I believe it totallywill and can and is getting
there, and so, yeah, probablythat's the first thing that
comes to mind. I could probablygo deeper with still having, you
know, a little bit, making it alittle bit more of, like a
legitimate career path. It's,it's really expensive to do what
we do and to travel the amountthat we do with a coach and a
team like, if you want to do itright, it's really hard. So, you
(19:39):
know, continually, I think stillgetting more support within the
industry would be really helpfuljust to be able to do it to the
best of our ability. And thatkind of goes for men and women,
but obviously sponsors for us,yeah, just continually getting a
little bit more support would goa long way.
(19:59):
I. Let's be real. Growing a surfbusiness can feel overwhelming,
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Laura Day (20:05):
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(20:28):
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I'll put that link in the shownotes for you. For women?
Because, like, there's differentthings, like wanting to have
children, wanting to have afamily. How do you feel like the
(20:50):
industry can support that forwomen athletes,
Lakey Peterso (20:55):
it's such a great question. Obviously, there's a
few girls that I grew up surfingwith that are having babies,
joins pregnant, which isamazing, Chris, I just had her
first so it's, it's sort ofstarting to happen. And I feel
like, in the past, a few girlshad kids and came back, which
was so rad, but the the supportand the eyes on women surfing
(21:15):
wasn't as big back then, and Iwasn't on to so I don't know how
they felt. You know, I didn'tknow how they did it or how it
was received, but I do thinkright now, currently, you know,
with like Chris having a kid,and I don't know if she'll come
back to surfing or not, that'sobviously her decision, but if
she did, or if Joanne wants tocome back, I do feel like
(21:35):
there's been a lot of support,mostly just from the the league,
From the WsL, to do that, if wewant to sponsors and things like
that, you know, I don't know.
We'll kind of, we'll kind ofsee. But I think it is a huge
thing for women that want tohave kids and want to have a
family. It's, it's a bigdecision, because obviously it
is going to change your careerimmensely. Whether you come back
(22:00):
or don't come back, things willbe different. And so I think
just having the support from theW cell to have the option to do
that when or if, you know wewant to number one is just huge.
Knowing, like, hey, there ismaybe a wild card spot allotted
to specifically that, or youknow, so you know you're just
not going to completely loseyour job, like you can come
back. So I think just havingthose opportunities is really
important, and they've done areally good job with that, so
(22:23):
I'm thankful. Yeah,
Laura Day (22:26):
yeah. Okay, so another question that we asked
on our podcast is tell us abouta time that you've been really
scared in the surf, or maybethought you were almost gonna
drown. Oh,
Lakey P (22:37):
geez, I'm scared often, a lot, especially with pipeline
and to put being on ourschedule. But one time, I really
was like, Oh my gosh, you know,usually you're scared, but
you're like, I got it, butyou're scared, but you know
you're gonna be cakes. But therewas one time this was, I think,
2022 I want to say we I was inHawaii, and I went for a surf at
(23:02):
Sunset Beach. And it was reallygood, actually. It was like
pumping sunset, but big, solid.
And it for anyone who servessunset to get good waves out
there, especially on like,smaller board, you kind of have
to go deeper and in, which ishow you get waves, but also how
you can get severely pounded,because if a set comes, you're
just gonna be right on the apexof it. So anyways, I was having
(23:23):
a super fun surf, but it wasdefinitely big. And I was like,
slowly inching over further,kind of getting ones on the
side. And then finally, I waslike, Okay, I'm doing it. I'm
going over. So I went over andin and paddled for a wave, but I
missed it, and I turned aroundand there was this, the biggest
set ever on my head. And so Ibailed my leash snaps on the
(23:45):
first wave, so my board wasgone, which was okay, but
annoying, because I was like,wanting something to float on.
And then, if it's hard toexplain, for someone who hasn't
sore sunset, but if you getpounded really deep on the
point, it'll continue to pushyou kind of deeper into this
shallower section of the wave,which is actually really scary,
(24:07):
especially when it's big and itit just kept pushing me over
there. And I was getting waveson the head, getting waves on
the head, getting waves on thehead. And I didn't have my
board, so I was trying to swim,but I wasn't going very fast,
and I was like, three waves ingetting pushed into this shallow
bit of the reef where it wasjust apexing. And I was like,
that was the last time I canremember being really, really,
(24:29):
genuinely terrified. Like, geez,I don't, I don't even know where
to swim right now. Like, I don'teven know where to go, and it
was just holding me there. Andeventually I made it push me in,
and then I swim all the way in,but I was legitimately scared,
like out of breath in betweenwaves getting smoked. So, yeah,
that was me for the day. I wentin and went home and rested and
(24:52):
regrouped, but I was reallygenuinely freaked out by that
one.
Laura Day (24:58):
Yeah, it's like, so.
Sure reminder of how in chargethe ocean is. Yes, very much
vulnerable we are. Yeah, yeah,it's crazy. I have had, like, an
experience where I was surfingin the Philippines, so Filipino
and I went back. I was surfingin the Philippines, and we were
in, you know, it's Islandsurfing, so it's completely
different than here inCalifornia. And we went off
surfing at a wreath, and justset after set was coming. And
(25:22):
one of the times I got pusheddown, and when I came up, like,
I just was like, I saw anotherset, and in my brain was just
like, I don't know what happens.
I don't know what happened forme. Totally, yeah, it was so
weird. I was like, I guess Ijust hold my breath and go under
and like, cross my fingers.
Yeah,
Lakey Pe (25:41):
you're at the mercy at that point. You got to just
relax. But it's really hard.
It's really scary, crazy,
Laura Day (25:47):
yeah? And like, in that experience for me, I was
like, I guess, like, I made it.
So does that mean I was like,lucky, or I can handle it? I
know.
Lakey P (25:53):
Yeah, it's a fine line.
It can be you're, you'redefinitely at the mercy of the
power of the ocean.
Laura Day (25:59):
How do you push that?
You know when you're approachingbigger waves, more critical
waves,
Lakey Pet (26:04):
it's a good question.
It's like this fine line of,like, this razor's edge, of
being super scared, but you cando it and then maybe to a point
where it's like, that's a littletoo much right now for you and
everyone's got, like, adifferent razor edge, but you
kind of have to live along thetop of that edge and like,
teeter with it to push yourself,but in a calculated and smart
(26:27):
way that's gonna scare you. ButI think I've always thought
about it like that, like Kate,go find wherever your edge is
that's different for you thaneverybody else out here. So
don't worry about what she'sdoing or he's doing, like,
you're on a different page fromthem. So find what your edge is
and, like, just push that andteeter on that. And I've always,
(26:51):
I don't know why that visualsalways helped me, but yeah, and
also, too, with bigger orscarier waves, I think a really
good way to go about it is nothaving any expectation, like,
the amount of times I've paddledout and not even caught a wave a
pipe, I mean, mostly because thecrowd. But still, there's always
kind of something to learn fromjust being out there and
floating around and seeing wherethe best people are taking off
(27:11):
and how they're doing it andwatching so there's also, like
ways to really build somecomfortability without even
riding a wave. I've done that alot, honestly, and it's helped
immensely. I feel like
Laura Day (27:27):
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for you when some of thesesituations are so heightened and
like, you're going out there,and sometimes day after day
after day, like, because Ialways feel like your nervous
system, like, is operating uphere, right? How do you take
(28:28):
care of your nervous system andkind of decompress that and
bring that all back down whenyou get out of the water? That's
Lakey Peters (28:34):
a good question. I think I'm still working on
figuring out how to relaxmyself, especially when I'm out
there and scared and nervous,and then when you come in and
you know, you can be super shakyand nervous, just full of
adrenaline. I think justbreathing exercises can really
help with that, like reallyslowing down your breathing
pattern. I do that a lot whenI'm in heat. It's actually just
(28:56):
super slow breaths. It's likebox breathing, they call it. So
I think that can help somemeditation, like just Yeah,
anything that feels slow, in myopinion, is what helps kind of
down regulate. So that's whatI'll do when, when I need it.
Perfect.
Laura Day (29:12):
Okay, so one of our other questions is, how has
surfing saved you? Oh,
Lakey Peterson (29:17):
geez, surfing is brought me so much, so much. Oh
my gosh. In my life, it saved memultiple times over. But I think
this isn't crazy specific, but Ithink what I maybe has saved me
over and over again with surfingis just how present it makes you
feel, and in the moment it makesyou feel. There's not that many
(29:40):
things that, at least in myopinion, I've come across that
bring me into the present momentlike that, especially in today's
world, it's so busy, there'sphones and computers and car
like it just feels like it's Go,go, go all the time. And I feel
like every time I go surfing,whether I'm competing or free
surfing or no matter. What youstand up on that wave, and just
(30:01):
everything goes away and blacksout. And I just think that
feeling is so beautiful andimportant to have in life, like
that true present moment. And sofor me, I would say that's my
favorite thing about surfing,and probably what's brought me a
lot of peace and save me a lotof times when things have been
(30:24):
tricky or hard in my life, likejust being able to go somewhere
and yeah, just find that likejoy and peace and presence is
incredible. So probably that Iwould say, which is a little bit
of a long winded, weird answer,but that's what makes sense to
me anyway.
Laura Day (30:39):
Yeah, that's beautiful. What are you excited
about right now?
Lakey Peter (30:44):
Well, right now I'm excited. I'm going to El
Salvador tonight for a contestwe had down there this week. And
then we go to Australia rightafter that for three events in
Australia, bells, beach at rocksin Margaret River. And I love
all these events coming up somuch so that's probably what I'm
excited about, is these next,kind of four events on the
(31:05):
horizon. It's been a really bigyear already with a lot of
travel. So I'm looking forwardkind of to getting to Australia
and being in one country for alittle while and just being
there and surfing and enjoyingit. But yeah, looking forward to
all these upcoming events at themoment,
Laura Day (31:21):
perfect. Okay, before we wrap up, is there anything
you want to ask
Lakey Pet (31:25):
me? Oh, that's a good question. What do you love most
about surfing? So
Laura Day (31:30):
I think everything that you said is like those slow
moments in between. And youknow, like, I'm not a pro surfer
like you are, so my waves areprobably not as long as yours,
but I think it's impressive whenyou have you go for a wave and
you're on it for 1015, 20seconds. And how does that make
your entire day, or your entirenext two or three days? And for
me, having had the podcast andbeing able to connect with so
(31:53):
many different people in justmoments like this, I think
that's been really special. It'sbrought something I could never
have asked for. Yeah,
Lakey Pe (31:59):
that's awesome. I love that it is, it's and it's so
cool with surfing. Like, doesn'tmatter your level, it's just as
fun. And that same feeling foreveryone, whether it's a big
wave surfer surfing like a 50foot wave, or someone
longboarding down at Doheny,like, it's that same feeling.
It's just different levels foreveryone, but I think everyone
enjoys that exact same type offeeling that surfing brings. So
(32:22):
that's really cool. Yeah.
Laura Day (32:24):
Well, thank you so much. I just want to say, you
know, watched your film makingwaves by 805, beer, and it's
really beautiful to see women onfilm. Surfing just amazing. And
I think there's still such alack of that kind of video and
representation out there, andkind of what you said, it's
like, women are like, upping theante, but it's because of now,
(32:47):
finally being able to get thesupport and the visibility. It's
not that women could never havedone it. It's that now there's
this platform, and I think it'sbeautiful that you're part of
that platform and a part of thatmovement.
Lakey Peters (32:59):
Thank you so much.
Thanks for checking out thefilm. And yeah, hopefully it can
stretch far and wide, and peoplewill enjoy it and inspire
somebody out there to see it outin the water and keep going. So
yeah, I appreciate it. Allright.
Laura Day (33:11):
Well, we wish you luck in your events coming up
and safe travels. And thanks somuch for making time to come and
join us, of course.
Lakey P (33:17):
Thank you so much. Have a great day. We'll we'll see you
soon, hopefully. All right. Bye,you guys.
Laura Day (33:27):
All right, lady, we've come to the end of our
episode, but not the end of theconversation after listening. I
hope that you feel represented,empowered and even better,
connected to your surf sistersin our beautiful surf lady
community, let's stay connectedbefore our next episode. Follow
me on Instagram at Confessionsof a surf lady and follow our
(33:50):
amazing women's surf community,where we get together to learn
more surf better and live happy.
That is at surf society, spelleds, O, C, i, e, t, e, last but
not least, join us in ourexclusive surf society platform.
Join us for your first week freeby clicking the link at the top
(34:12):
of the show notes. Thank you somuch for bringing your unique
and beautiful self to our lineupat Confessions of a surf lady,
I'll see you on our nextepisode, your host, Laura Day,
you.
Every time I go surfing, whether I'm competing
or free surfing or no matterwhat, you stand up on that wave,
and just everything goes awayand blacks out. And I just think
that feeling is so beautiful andimportant to have in life, like
that true present moment. And sofor me, I would say that's my
(00:21):
favorite thing about surfing,and probably what's brought me a
lot of peace and saved me a lotof times when things have been
tricky or hard in my life, likejust being able to go somewhere
and yeah, just find that likejoy and peace and presence is
incredible.
Laura Day (00:38):
Hey, lady, welcome to Confessions of a surf lady, a
podcast by the surf society. Forso long, women have been
misrepresented by the surfindustry, only highlighting a
narrow and exclusive version ofa who a surf lady can be. But
you and I both know that thereis so much more to women surfing
than that. This, this podcastright here is a place to tell
(01:02):
our story how we want to tellit, at Confessions of a surf
lady, you'll meet everyday surfladies doing amazing things in
their local communities, as wellas pros, World Champs, big wave
riders and bad ass, livinglegends From women's surf
history, all sharing their stokeon this blossoming Global
(01:24):
Women's surf culture. What'seven more special, though, is
that you Yes, you will get achance to participate in the
conversation by leaving me yourconfessions. I'm your host,
Laura Day. Think of me as yournew favorite surf sister,
connecting you to your beautifulGlobal Women's surf community,
helping you boost yourconfidence before you head out
(01:44):
for your next surf, and evendropping a few surf tips from
the surf society along the way.
If you want to stay connectedwith me, find me on Instagram
that's at Confessions of a surflady. Kind of use that like my
personal account, and then goahead and follow at surf
society. That's s, u, r, F, S,O, C, i, e, t, e, there you'll
find a handful of free resourcesto help you through your surfing
(02:07):
journey. All right. Lady, thanksagain for joining me here at
Confessions of a surf lady,where we're cultivating a global
women's surf culture throughthoughtful conversation. Let's
get to our episode. Yeah,
Lakey Pete (02:23):
hello, morning. Good morning. How are you good? How
are you doing? Lakey, I'm good.
Thanks for making this work. Iknow. Thanks you too. Things are
a little last minute, but Yeah,glad we can make it happen. I'm
good. It came
Laura Day (02:37):
together. Yeah, I just learned that your name is
also Laura? Yes, it is. Yeah, Irarely, I don't know about you,
but I rarely ever meet someoneelse who's named Laura called
Laura.
Lakey Pet (02:49):
Yeah, yeah. I guess I have one good friend named
Laura, like she's a surfer,actually, as well. Yeah, it's
not as common these days. Yeah,you think it would be right?
Yeah, because it my mom. It wasmy grandma's name and my mom's
name and then my name. So it's alittle bit of a family name for
us, but yeah, that's actuallytrue. It's a good point. That's
Laura Day (03:08):
beautiful. That's cool. Well, welcome to
Confessions of a surf lady.
We're super stoked to have youhere. If you couldn't guess by
the title, it's calledConfessions of a surf lady,
because we like to ask ourlisteners confessions like more
about their experiences being awoman in the water. So I'll have
some of those for you. Those foryou. But just to start off,
really stoked to have you andlike, Thank you for the
contributions you're reallymaking to women surfing. Simply
just you're like, pushingyourself and showing what women
(03:30):
can do in the water. I thinkit's really beautiful. Thank
you. I appreciate that. So we'llstart with some easy
confessions, like, we'll startsimple, and then we'll go from
there. What is your favoritepost surf snack?
Lakey Pet (03:45):
My favorite poster of snack is probably a smoothie. I
will get back and a lot of timeright after surfing. I'm not
super hungry. It hits me like anhour later. So snack right
after, yeah, I'll come back andI'll make a huge smoothie,
blueberries, bananas, proteinpowders, cacao, all the good
stuff. So, yeah, that's what Igo to
Laura Day (04:05):
perfect. Do you have a particular like habit or
ritual that nobody knows about,that you do either anytime
you're free surfing or goinginto competition?
Lakey Pete (04:15):
Less free surfing? I mean, I have, like, a little
warm up in that, but I thinkcompetition, I'm a little bit I
have a bit more of a ritual, forsure. It's like, a little bit
more scheduled my hour beforeI'm gonna compete or start the
heat. Yeah, I definitely have aritual as, like, exactly when I
kind of warm up what I'mlistening to. But I would say
more specifically, like, rightbefore I hit the water to surf
(04:39):
the heat. Usually you'll see meon the beach like legs cross,
and I do a little breathing sothat I try and do every time
before, before I surf a heat atleast. So it's a little
visualization thing I do.
Laura Day (04:50):
Yeah, that's great.
Okay, tell us some of yourfavorite like, pump you up surf
songs, because people loveadding stuff to their people
Lakey Pe (04:57):
love this one. Yeah, I wish people could just plug it.
All the competitors and see whateveryone's listening to. Like so
different for everyone, I listento a lot of rock and roll, so
like, AC DC, that sort of thing,and then also rap. So Eminem,
like, lose yourself is always areally good one. Cinderella
(05:17):
man's always a really good one.
Yeah, it's either like rock orrap, depending on my mood, but
it's one of those. Usually, haveyou added do chi
Laura Day (05:25):
to your playlist yet?
No, I haven't. Okay, yeah, I'llsend Yeah, you have to add do
she because so good. Okay, yeah.
And then Flo Millie, it'sanother girl, another female
rapper that I'm like, in lovewith her right now. So you can
add those and, okay,
Lakey Peter (05:39):
I actually will. We have El Salvador this week? So
it's perfect timing. I'll be preheat listening to the girls.
Yeah, nice.
Laura Day (05:45):
Yeah. Tell us about a moment recently in the water
that just like brought you joy.
That's
Lakey Pet (05:51):
a great question. The first thing that comes to mind,
we were just in Portugalcompeting recently, and I always
go for really early morning freesurf before the contest day, and
it was just the most stunningsunrise. It was like full moon
setting. The sun was rising, theclouds were all pink. The whole
tour was out there. And the wasreally fun. It was just a moment
(06:11):
everyone was there. Was like arainbow. So, yeah, that was a
moment recently that was reallystunning. It never gets old, but
that gets old. Yeah, the light,moon set to sunrise. It was
really beautiful. So that wasone,
Laura Day (06:25):
oh, that's special, yeah, I'm curious, because
you're so competitive, andyou're, like, in this
competitive scene and, like,really on a world stage, I feel
like surfing is such a personalrelationship, and how do you
preserve that still being apersonal relationship for you,
while having to, like, performand compete and be on stage in,
(06:45):
you know, in front of the worldsurfing,
Lakey Pe (06:47):
it's a great question, because surfing is so unique in
the way that I feel as aprofessional surfer. It's my job
to go compete professionally andand surf these events. But also
the thing I want to do when I'mnot competing is go surfing for
fun at home, which is reallyunique. I think most people
don't want to do their day jobwhen they get time off, by the
way, but I think for all of ussurfers, we just love surfing
(07:11):
and and fell in love withsurfing originally, for the fun
of it. So I just think it'simportant sometimes at events,
you can get really caught up,obviously, in results, and
frustrated if you're not surfinggreat or not clicking with the
wave or whatever, yeah, thingsjust aren't happening the way
you want them to. It can bereally frustrating. So I think
(07:31):
it's just important to always gofor free surfs where you are
just enjoying surfing with noexpectation, with no nothing
that you're specifically workingon in that surf or practicing,
like, just go and have fun withmy husband or friends or
whatever, and taking away thatexpectation from time to time.
Because often, especially whenwe're in season, I feel like
(07:52):
every surf, you're just liketrying something new or filming
or with your coach. So it can bea little bit it's as fun as that
is, it can get a bit tiring, andyou lose the joy of it sometimes
in those moments. So yeah, Ithink just reminding myself to
go for fun free surfs with noexpectation, probably I love it,
because
Laura Day (08:10):
it's no different than just being an everyday surf
lady. I think a lot of women arelike, you know, we want to get
better. We want to do this. Wealways have, like, some kind of
goal, and it's important to,like, come back and balance it
and just be like, Well, why am Iactually, really here? And find
the joy in that? One
Lakey Peters (08:26):
thing I found that helps with that is, like, riding
a fun board sometimes, like,even if I just sometimes, like,
I'll go longboard, and it's somuch fun, and I never longboard,
but I'll just ride longboard fora day at, you know, one of the
easy spots around here. And it'slike, it's so refreshing and
joyful and fun. And so sometimesI think what can help with that
is just switching up yourequipment and and doing
(08:49):
something different in that
Laura Day (08:50):
regard, too. What is in your equipment right now? Oh,
geez,
Lakey Peter (08:53):
a lot of boards all right for Channel Islands. So
everything's Channel Islands,automatic surf boards, best
boards in the world. Shout out,and I ride a lot of CI pros,
which is one of their kind ofhigh performance short board
models. A lot of my step ups,like for bigger waves, are a CI
pro model. And then my regularshort boards, which are about
(09:15):
5859, I ride CI pros as well asthis too happy model that they
have. They've kind of likeredefined it recently, so I've
been using that a lot. So that'skind of what I've been rolling
with on tour this year.
Laura Day (09:29):
As you've grown as a surfer, have you seen any board
design change and be more fittowards women and more suited to
how you surf?
Lakey Pe (09:38):
Yeah, great questions.
It's crazy with surfboarddesign, I feel like the actual
design of boards has not changedfor so long in terms of the foam
that's used in the glassing andthe fins, like it's been just a
thruster and similar foamsimilar for a really long time.
Obviously, shapes changeslightly with shapers and, you
know, things are always gettingrefined, but the actual surf.
(10:02):
Board itself, I feel has verymuch stayed the same for so
long. There hasn't been some bigbreakthrough with equipment or
materials or things like that. Iguess recently, you know, Coco
ho did like a line of allboards, more specifically for
women that you can buy, which Ithought was really cool. I
haven't tried any of thoseboards, but I thought that was a
really neat idea. I think she'sgot a few different shapes
depending on what you're lookingfor in your level. And it's more
(10:27):
just for girls, for women, but,yeah, it's, I feel surfing is so
individual for males andfemales, like, depending on what
level you're at, what you'rewanting to achieve, you know. So
it's, I do feel like there's asurfboard for everyone out
there, across the board. It'sjust kind of finding it and
finding, you know, thedimensions that work best for
you and the shape that worksbest for you. But I don't feel
like I've seen huge breaks withthe actual equipment, you know,
(10:48):
in forever, in a really longtime. Yeah, do
Laura Day (10:54):
you feel like there could be a breakthrough, or
there's anything kind of on theverge of happening in terms of
equipment?
Lakey Pe (10:59):
I feel like, for sure, there could I do? I think it'll
be more like the material. Idon't know what that is,
obviously. You know, in recentyears, there's been a lot more,
at least in the performancespace, like playing with like
carbon in the foam dust, orwrapping the board in carbon so
it's stronger, which kind ofchanges the flex of the board as
(11:19):
well. So maybe something in thatrealm. I don't know exactly, but
I feel like whatever is, it willbe like equipment based. Maybe
it'll help the board lastlonger, maybe the thin
placement. But again, I don'tknow it's weird. It has been the
same for so long. But yeah, Ifeel like it'll be some form of
the actual physical foam orsomething that they they
(11:39):
discover. Yeah, discovers.
Laura Day (11:43):
Imagine this. What if you felt empowered to establish
your place in intimidatinglineups. What if you developed
the mental toughness to surf newlocations in challenging
conditions so you could surfmore often, catch more waves and
have more fun in every session?
What if you had the knowledgeand the physical skill to catch
and ride more waves so you couldpractice maneuvers like cross
(12:03):
stepping, nose, riding,trimming, carving, and
ultimately become a bettersurfer on the wave. Last but not
least, what if you had asisterhood of friendships with
women all over the world whosupport your growth in the
lineup, women who are passionateabout the sport and the
lifestyle and know how to havefun, but also bring quality
(12:25):
conversations to the table thathelp you push your surf skills
and celebrate your wins. All ofthis is a part of being a member
at the surf society, which is mywomen's online community that
was really inspired by thispodcast. So if you love this
podcast, you are going to lovethe surf society. Join us for
(12:45):
your first week free by hittingthe link at the top of the show
notes, because I would love tosee you there. What was the
moment for you, where you wentfrom just starting surfing as a
kid and then being like, I wantto compete and I want to take it
(13:07):
to this level, I
Lakey Peterson (13:07):
started surfing probably a little bit later than
most. Like, I didn't grow up ina family that surfed a ton, so
it wasn't like from the womb. Iwas like, getting pushed into
waves and gonna do contests. ButI started doing some local
events in California, in SantaBarbara, where I grew up, when I
was like 1112, like I was,obviously, that's very young,
but, you know, compared to otherkids, it was a little bit late
(13:28):
bloomer. And then fast forward alittle bit, I started really
loving that, doing more littleevents up and down the coast.
And I won the Nationals when Iwas 14, the NSSA Nationals at
trestles. And I feel like thatmoment for me as a Super Junior
was like a really bigbreakthrough, and I got some
spot really big sponsors fromthat, and it really felt like,
(13:49):
oh, I can maybe do this, youknow. And it kind of projected
me onto this path of going tojunior pro events, and we filmed
for this all women's movie atthat time with Nike, which was
this incredible opportunity thatI got to be a part of. So yeah,
I think, I think winning theNationals was really a big
moment for me, like realizing,wow, okay, maybe this is, you
(14:10):
know, what I can do. So, yeah,
Laura Day (14:12):
had you been already, already been a really
competitive person up untilthen,
Lakey Pet (14:16):
yeah, very definitely competitive by nature. Grew up
playing a ton of different typesof sports, and love sports
always have my whole life andcompeting. So yes, that was
already ingrained in me from dayone, for sure. I think
Laura Day (14:31):
something you said that's really relatable is that
you didn't grow up in surfing,but you've been able to take it
to such a such a like, elitelevel. And that's it's so
interesting, because I think fora lot of women who pick up
surfing a little bit later inlife, we feel like a disconnect
of why didn't grow up I don'tknow how to like learn the
things I need to learn. So foryou not having grown up in it,
(14:51):
where did you kind of find thoseresources and those touch points
to really dive yourself into thesport and the culture?
Lakey Peterson (14:57):
So I grew up in California. I grew up by the.
And like a beach kid, you know,that was normal for the family
to go to the beach or whatever.
But what really helped, and Ithink my parents did a really
good job of this, is surroundingmyself with, you know, I started
working with Mike Parsons, who'sa legendary BIG WAVE SURFER when
I was really young, like when Iwas about 15. I started working
(15:19):
with him, and he's been in theindustry for his whole life. Now
he manages and coaches and allthe rest. But, you know, they
signed me up to work with Mike.
And I think being with someonewho just, like, knew the ins and
outs of, hey, let's do thesecontests next, and then you kind
of and then you go to this, andyou go to that, because we
really had no idea. So I thinkjust surrounding myself with
people who could help, like,guide me, was really helpful,
(15:40):
but also that wasn't putting anypressure on me. It was more just
a helping hand, of like, this iskind of how it works, and this
is what we do. So I feel like,for anyone who maybe doesn't
have the knowledge or thebackground of how that works and
how to get involved and how tostart just asking questions,
whether you're hiring someone asa coach full time, or just
asking questions to people whodo have a little bit more
(16:01):
knowledge of you or somethingyou maybe met in the surf, of
like, where to start and whereto go, and then from there it'll
it'll naturally just snowball,and you learn. But yeah, I think
that was really helpful for me.
Yeah, I
Laura Day (16:11):
love that. It's really about like, showing up,
asking questions, being curious,and then like, letting the
process take you where you'remeant to go. Yeah, that's
beautiful. Okay, so we have somequestions of that we ask
confessions for on the show. Soone of them, the very first one
we started with back in 2020was, how do you feel about the
way women are represented in thesurf industry? And since there's
(16:33):
been some time since thisquestion was asked, I want to
kind of ask it in terms of,like, what how you've seen it
change over the years and whereit's going. Geez,
Lakey Pe (16:43):
it's been really cool.
I've been on tour a long timenow, and it's been cool to see
so much change in, I think, areally positive way, obviously,
with still growth and changethat needs to be done. But
certainly since my first year onthe championship tour, which is
(17:05):
2012 to now it's immenselychanged. Obviously, for us who
compete, the prize money has nowcaught up to what the guys make
it used to be. I remember, I wonmy first event in 2012 my rookie
year, and I was on the podiumwith like, the big they gave me,
like the big check, which wascool, and it was $15,000 and the
guy who won was holding a checkfor $100,000 the same event,
same everything. And so now thatthat has come, you know, all the
(17:33):
way to where we're getting paidthe same as the men, it's a
legitimate, you know, careerpath for women, I think that's
been an incredible step forward.
And thanks to WsL for steppingup and helping do that. And then
also, too, I just think thestigma around women and surfing
and what we can do. And it's notjust about us in bikinis looking
cute, you know? It is about uscompeting and surfing really,
(17:55):
really well. And I think thewhole world has way woken up to
that woman, surfing is rad andamazing, and these girls are
ripping. And it's not just we'regonna sponsor a girl surfer
because she looks good in thebikini. It's, it's more like
we're gonna sponsor her becauseshe's doing really well and an
amazing athlete. So obviouslythat's come really, really far
(18:16):
also, which is fantastic. And,yeah, I think something all of
us girls are really proud of soit's been really cool. You know,
more more to go still, but thoseare probably the two biggest
things I've seen change in mytime so far. Yeah,
Laura Day (18:30):
where would you say that it needs to go? I
Lakey Pe (18:34):
think, trending in the right direction, but
continually, still gettingbetter and bigger waves and
errors and progression like it'shappening, and it's gonna
continue to kind of take time.
We're still getting used tosurfing pipeline and Chopin, you
know, these waves, so it's goingto take time. But I think now
that we have the platform tosurf at those waves, and being
(18:54):
pushed to do it in a good way, Ithink naturally that progression
is going to continue, but I feellike I can't wait to see the day
when girls are doing like, fullrotations at every event and
getting already so many of thegirls are getting crazy barrels
at all these waves. But I thinkjust continually pushing that
progression in that side ofthings still has a little ways
(19:16):
to go, but I believe it totallywill and can and is getting
there, and so, yeah, probablythat's the first thing that
comes to mind. I could probablygo deeper with still having, you
know, a little bit, making it alittle bit more of, like a
legitimate career path. It's,it's really expensive to do what
we do and to travel the amountthat we do with a coach and a
team like, if you want to do itright, it's really hard. So, you
(19:39):
know, continually, I think stillgetting more support within the
industry would be really helpfuljust to be able to do it to the
best of our ability. And thatkind of goes for men and women,
but obviously sponsors for us,yeah, just continually getting a
little bit more support would goa long way.
(19:59):
I. Let's be real. Growing a surfbusiness can feel overwhelming,
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Laura Day (20:05):
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(20:28):
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converting more customers withmarketing that actually works.
I'll put that link in the shownotes for you. For women?
Because, like, there's differentthings, like wanting to have
children, wanting to have afamily. How do you feel like the
(20:50):
industry can support that forwomen athletes,
Lakey Peterso (20:55):
it's such a great question. Obviously, there's a
few girls that I grew up surfingwith that are having babies,
joins pregnant, which isamazing, Chris, I just had her
first so it's, it's sort ofstarting to happen. And I feel
like, in the past, a few girlshad kids and came back, which
was so rad, but the the supportand the eyes on women surfing
(21:15):
wasn't as big back then, and Iwasn't on to so I don't know how
they felt. You know, I didn'tknow how they did it or how it
was received, but I do thinkright now, currently, you know,
with like Chris having a kid,and I don't know if she'll come
back to surfing or not, that'sobviously her decision, but if
she did, or if Joanne wants tocome back, I do feel like
(21:35):
there's been a lot of support,mostly just from the the league,
From the WsL, to do that, if wewant to sponsors and things like
that, you know, I don't know.
We'll kind of, we'll kind ofsee. But I think it is a huge
thing for women that want tohave kids and want to have a
family. It's, it's a bigdecision, because obviously it
is going to change your careerimmensely. Whether you come back
(22:00):
or don't come back, things willbe different. And so I think
just having the support from theW cell to have the option to do
that when or if, you know wewant to number one is just huge.
Knowing, like, hey, there ismaybe a wild card spot allotted
to specifically that, or youknow, so you know you're just
not going to completely loseyour job, like you can come
back. So I think just havingthose opportunities is really
important, and they've done areally good job with that, so
(22:23):
I'm thankful. Yeah,
Laura Day (22:26):
yeah. Okay, so another question that we asked
on our podcast is tell us abouta time that you've been really
scared in the surf, or maybethought you were almost gonna
drown. Oh,
Lakey P (22:37):
geez, I'm scared often, a lot, especially with pipeline
and to put being on ourschedule. But one time, I really
was like, Oh my gosh, you know,usually you're scared, but
you're like, I got it, butyou're scared, but you know
you're gonna be cakes. But therewas one time this was, I think,
2022 I want to say we I was inHawaii, and I went for a surf at
(23:02):
Sunset Beach. And it was reallygood, actually. It was like
pumping sunset, but big, solid.
And it for anyone who servessunset to get good waves out
there, especially on like,smaller board, you kind of have
to go deeper and in, which ishow you get waves, but also how
you can get severely pounded,because if a set comes, you're
just gonna be right on the apexof it. So anyways, I was having
(23:23):
a super fun surf, but it wasdefinitely big. And I was like,
slowly inching over further,kind of getting ones on the
side. And then finally, I waslike, Okay, I'm doing it. I'm
going over. So I went over andin and paddled for a wave, but I
missed it, and I turned aroundand there was this, the biggest
set ever on my head. And so Ibailed my leash snaps on the
(23:45):
first wave, so my board wasgone, which was okay, but
annoying, because I was like,wanting something to float on.
And then, if it's hard toexplain, for someone who hasn't
sore sunset, but if you getpounded really deep on the
point, it'll continue to pushyou kind of deeper into this
shallower section of the wave,which is actually really scary,
(24:07):
especially when it's big and itit just kept pushing me over
there. And I was getting waveson the head, getting waves on
the head, getting waves on thehead. And I didn't have my
board, so I was trying to swim,but I wasn't going very fast,
and I was like, three waves ingetting pushed into this shallow
bit of the reef where it wasjust apexing. And I was like,
that was the last time I canremember being really, really,
(24:29):
genuinely terrified. Like, geez,I don't, I don't even know where
to swim right now. Like, I don'teven know where to go, and it
was just holding me there. Andeventually I made it push me in,
and then I swim all the way in,but I was legitimately scared,
like out of breath in betweenwaves getting smoked. So, yeah,
that was me for the day. I wentin and went home and rested and
(24:52):
regrouped, but I was reallygenuinely freaked out by that
one.
Laura Day (24:58):
Yeah, it's like, so.
Sure reminder of how in chargethe ocean is. Yes, very much
vulnerable we are. Yeah, yeah,it's crazy. I have had, like, an
experience where I was surfingin the Philippines, so Filipino
and I went back. I was surfingin the Philippines, and we were
in, you know, it's Islandsurfing, so it's completely
different than here inCalifornia. And we went off
surfing at a wreath, and justset after set was coming. And
(25:22):
one of the times I got pusheddown, and when I came up, like,
I just was like, I saw anotherset, and in my brain was just
like, I don't know what happens.
I don't know what happened forme. Totally, yeah, it was so
weird. I was like, I guess Ijust hold my breath and go under
and like, cross my fingers.
Yeah,
Lakey Pe (25:41):
you're at the mercy at that point. You got to just
relax. But it's really hard.
It's really scary, crazy,
Laura Day (25:47):
yeah? And like, in that experience for me, I was
like, I guess, like, I made it.
So does that mean I was like,lucky, or I can handle it? I
know.
Lakey P (25:53):
Yeah, it's a fine line.
It can be you're, you'redefinitely at the mercy of the
power of the ocean.
Laura Day (25:59):
How do you push that?
You know when you're approachingbigger waves, more critical
waves,
Lakey Pet (26:04):
it's a good question.
It's like this fine line of,like, this razor's edge, of
being super scared, but you cando it and then maybe to a point
where it's like, that's a littletoo much right now for you and
everyone's got, like, adifferent razor edge, but you
kind of have to live along thetop of that edge and like,
teeter with it to push yourself,but in a calculated and smart
(26:27):
way that's gonna scare you. ButI think I've always thought
about it like that, like Kate,go find wherever your edge is
that's different for you thaneverybody else out here. So
don't worry about what she'sdoing or he's doing, like,
you're on a different page fromthem. So find what your edge is
and, like, just push that andteeter on that. And I've always,
(26:51):
I don't know why that visualsalways helped me, but yeah, and
also, too, with bigger orscarier waves, I think a really
good way to go about it is nothaving any expectation, like,
the amount of times I've paddledout and not even caught a wave a
pipe, I mean, mostly because thecrowd. But still, there's always
kind of something to learn fromjust being out there and
floating around and seeing wherethe best people are taking off
(27:11):
and how they're doing it andwatching so there's also, like
ways to really build somecomfortability without even
riding a wave. I've done that alot, honestly, and it's helped
immensely. I feel like
Laura Day (27:27):
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(28:08):
from dip already.com. Use thecode Confessions of a surf lady
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for you when some of thesesituations are so heightened and
like, you're going out there,and sometimes day after day
after day, like, because Ialways feel like your nervous
system, like, is operating uphere, right? How do you take
(28:28):
care of your nervous system andkind of decompress that and
bring that all back down whenyou get out of the water? That's
Lakey Peters (28:34):
a good question. I think I'm still working on
figuring out how to relaxmyself, especially when I'm out
there and scared and nervous,and then when you come in and
you know, you can be super shakyand nervous, just full of
adrenaline. I think justbreathing exercises can really
help with that, like reallyslowing down your breathing
pattern. I do that a lot whenI'm in heat. It's actually just
(28:56):
super slow breaths. It's likebox breathing, they call it. So
I think that can help somemeditation, like just Yeah,
anything that feels slow, in myopinion, is what helps kind of
down regulate. So that's whatI'll do when, when I need it.
Perfect.
Laura Day (29:12):
Okay, so one of our other questions is, how has
surfing saved you? Oh,
Lakey Peterson (29:17):
geez, surfing is brought me so much, so much. Oh
my gosh. In my life, it saved memultiple times over. But I think
this isn't crazy specific, but Ithink what I maybe has saved me
over and over again with surfingis just how present it makes you
feel, and in the moment it makesyou feel. There's not that many
(29:40):
things that, at least in myopinion, I've come across that
bring me into the present momentlike that, especially in today's
world, it's so busy, there'sphones and computers and car
like it just feels like it's Go,go, go all the time. And I feel
like every time I go surfing,whether I'm competing or free
surfing or no matter. What youstand up on that wave, and just
(30:01):
everything goes away and blacksout. And I just think that
feeling is so beautiful andimportant to have in life, like
that true present moment. And sofor me, I would say that's my
favorite thing about surfing,and probably what's brought me a
lot of peace and save me a lotof times when things have been
(30:24):
tricky or hard in my life, likejust being able to go somewhere
and yeah, just find that likejoy and peace and presence is
incredible. So probably that Iwould say, which is a little bit
of a long winded, weird answer,but that's what makes sense to
me anyway.
Laura Day (30:39):
Yeah, that's beautiful. What are you excited
about right now?
Lakey Peter (30:44):
Well, right now I'm excited. I'm going to El
Salvador tonight for a contestwe had down there this week. And
then we go to Australia rightafter that for three events in
Australia, bells, beach at rocksin Margaret River. And I love
all these events coming up somuch so that's probably what I'm
excited about, is these next,kind of four events on the
(31:05):
horizon. It's been a really bigyear already with a lot of
travel. So I'm looking forwardkind of to getting to Australia
and being in one country for alittle while and just being
there and surfing and enjoyingit. But yeah, looking forward to
all these upcoming events at themoment,
Laura Day (31:21):
perfect. Okay, before we wrap up, is there anything
you want to ask
Lakey Pet (31:25):
me? Oh, that's a good question. What do you love most
about surfing? So
Laura Day (31:30):
I think everything that you said is like those slow
moments in between. And youknow, like, I'm not a pro surfer
like you are, so my waves areprobably not as long as yours,
but I think it's impressive whenyou have you go for a wave and
you're on it for 1015, 20seconds. And how does that make
your entire day, or your entirenext two or three days? And for
me, having had the podcast andbeing able to connect with so
(31:53):
many different people in justmoments like this, I think
that's been really special. It'sbrought something I could never
have asked for. Yeah,
Lakey Pe (31:59):
that's awesome. I love that it is, it's and it's so
cool with surfing. Like, doesn'tmatter your level, it's just as
fun. And that same feeling foreveryone, whether it's a big
wave surfer surfing like a 50foot wave, or someone
longboarding down at Doheny,like, it's that same feeling.
It's just different levels foreveryone, but I think everyone
enjoys that exact same type offeeling that surfing brings. So
(32:22):
that's really cool. Yeah.
Laura Day (32:24):
Well, thank you so much. I just want to say, you
know, watched your film makingwaves by 805, beer, and it's
really beautiful to see women onfilm. Surfing just amazing. And
I think there's still such alack of that kind of video and
representation out there, andkind of what you said, it's
like, women are like, upping theante, but it's because of now,
(32:47):
finally being able to get thesupport and the visibility. It's
not that women could never havedone it. It's that now there's
this platform, and I think it'sbeautiful that you're part of
that platform and a part of thatmovement.
Lakey Peters (32:59):
Thank you so much.
Thanks for checking out thefilm. And yeah, hopefully it can
stretch far and wide, and peoplewill enjoy it and inspire
somebody out there to see it outin the water and keep going. So
yeah, I appreciate it. Allright.
Laura Day (33:11):
Well, we wish you luck in your events coming up
and safe travels. And thanks somuch for making time to come and
join us, of course.
Lakey P (33:17):
Thank you so much. Have a great day. We'll we'll see you
soon, hopefully. All right. Bye,you guys.
Laura Day (33:27):
All right, lady, we've come to the end of our
episode, but not the end of theconversation after listening. I
hope that you feel represented,empowered and even better,
connected to your surf sistersin our beautiful surf lady
community, let's stay connectedbefore our next episode. Follow
me on Instagram at Confessionsof a surf lady and follow our
(33:50):
amazing women's surf community,where we get together to learn
more surf better and live happy.
That is at surf society, spelleds, O, C, i, e, t, e, last but
not least, join us in ourexclusive surf society platform.
Join us for your first week freeby clicking the link at the top
(34:12):
of the show notes. Thank you somuch for bringing your unique
and beautiful self to our lineupat Confessions of a surf lady,
I'll see you on our nextepisode, your host, Laura Day,
you.
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