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She was raised on “Stoked”, built on reef cuts—and now, Ashlee’s got a front yard break

She was raised on “Stoked”, built on reef cuts—and now, Ashlee’s got a front yard break

👋 Hi, I’m Ash.

I’m 23, based in the Gold Coast Australia. I live in the beautiful Palm Beach and am so lucky to have the beach as my front yard. I first learned right down the road from my house at Currumbin Alley, although at the time I lived on the other side of the GC—but in a full circle moment this is now my local break and where I got my coaching credentials.

📺 How it all started

My surf journey has been a long one. I grew up watching the ABC 3 show Stoked and was so hooked on the idea of surfing. My family were from Melbourne and weren’t into the beach at all, but I still had the spark there. I begged my parents to let me have a lesson when I was older—I was immediately hooked.

I started going out with my friend from school and her die-hard surfer dad. They taught me the basics but mostly just took me to Snapper in any and all conditions, where I was mostly on my own. There was a lot of trial and error as I had only had one official lesson and the rest was pure intuition.

As I got older and could finally drive myself, I started going as much as I could. I would drive 40 minutes to get down to the south GC points so I could surf the best waves the east coast had to offer.

🌺 Finding community

Eventually things started clicking and fast forward to now—my partner and I were lucky enough to move beachfront and surf nearly every day. Everything from shortboards to longboards, point breaks to beachies.

Often I am a solitary surfer as I love using the time to unwind and practice mindfulness. But in 2022 I joined the Groove Girls, an all-women’s surf community. Then I started hosting their group surfs and the energy at these events is unmatched.

🧠 Mindset challenges

For me, the biggest challenge was always my mindset. I always felt fear. I knew I had to keep challenging myself as I progressed, but many times my anxiety would stop me from paddling out or into waves.

This hindered me a lot, as I knew I could surf the waves but I was always so unsure about everything else. Eventually I decided that if I ever wanted to keep pushing for more, I had to let my fears go. I would try to practice mindfulness in the water to drown out my worries and put myself back in the driver’s seat.

I found that eventually this turned the fears into passion—to challenge more, push further, and paddle into bigger, gnarlier waves.

🌴 The Mentawai moment

I found this so important when I went to the Mentawais for the first time. I was pushing myself every day for steeper, hollower waves over sharp reef. I found myself on the inside of a pretty big set. I duck dived under the first, thinking “yes, I have set the momentum to make it through the rest.”

I was so wrong. Each wave pushed me over the reef further and further until I had waves breaking over me in shin-high water. My back was all cut up, and so were my feet from having to walk over the reef back to the channel. I was shaking and scared but still determined to keep going—I gathered myself and paddled back out.

🌀 Board philosophy

I am a big believer in board diversity and how complimentary mixing styles of surfing can be for your overall development.

I started on shortboards, but soon found a love for longboarding, which I do the most at the moment. For the last two years, I’ve made it my mission to learn the art of hanging 10—and now that I’ve accomplished that, I’m addicted and have 3 boards (9’2–9’6) to show for it.

Because I have a beach break out the front of my house, I do surf shortboards still and enjoy it. I feel like we go through phases and all are equally important. I recently got a 6’10 single fin and that’s my next challenge.

❤️ Home break love

Undoubtedly, Currumbin Alley will always be my favourite and holds a special place in my heart. Being able to be amongst all the longboarders and noseride down the perfect point is something I hope I will be doing for the rest of my life.

That being said, I would love to travel more and eventually surf in West Coast, Torquay in Victoria, and the Maldives at some point.

✨ Life through surfing

Surfing has been the best thing I’ve ever done with my life. I’ve met some amazing people, grown as a person, and created a lifestyle I am obsessed with.

It’s something that grounds me and teaches me constantly, and I will do it until I physically can’t anymore. I love being able to coach and give back, especially to groms—being able to share the passion and watch that grow for others is something rewarding.