aka AnnTrophy, the 3 x Danish Surf Wms Champ. We caught her for a chat about believing in yourself, building confidence in the surf and how she combines her passion, studies and travel. The ins and outs of her daily routine, her mindset and the wisdom on what keeps her going.
Anne Sophie is already rippin’ the waves in El Salvador and you can follow her journey on @AnneSofieBorregaard
Hi Anne Sofie, what’s life like as a competitive surfer?
I guess if you are professional, you will most likely travel the world. You will be surfing great waves and getting paid for what you love the most. It’s the dream – right? Unfortunately, it isn’t my reality. I’m a three time danish champion, I’m on the danish national team, I surf as much as possible but I also go to school 37 hours a week, I save up money for traveling by working in a surf shop and during corona I haven’t been abroad in almost 15 months. But don’t feel sorry for me! I still love it. Competition has given me so many great experiences, great friends and great pics for my Instagram “lol”.
I wonder if there is a downside to surfing too?
Surf commercials are FAKE! Duck dives, hair in face, weird tan marks, red eyes, chipped pedicures, sand everywhere (literally E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E), brittle and breaking hair, cuts and bruises, the occasional tampon string hanging out of your… you know what! … Surfing mostly, well it’s not pretty! But who cares? A woman that surfs for real doesn’t give a shit! Because the only thing that matters is to catch “the wave”.
When it comes to competing, how are the vibe between you girls, good vibes only?
The vibe is in general quite good among us girls. Both when I’m surfing for fun but also in competition. It is common to cheer on each other. If I see one of my friends catching a great wave I’m stoked on their behalf – and I’m sure it goes both ways.
What’s it like to be a female surfer?
It isn’t too bad I would say. Surfing is a difficult sport, but it isn't impossible to learn - nor if you’re a woman ;). Surfing is an individual sport, but I experience time and time again a sense of community that I do not see in other sports. In addition, I find that people think it's cool that I surf - and who does not want to be considered cool :)
