Lisa Anderson Biography

To completely wrap your head around Lisa Anderson’s competitive legacy, you have to start with the cold facts: 4 straight world titles from 1994-1997; ASP Women’s Rookie of the Year in 1987; 24 total contest victories; ranked #76 among Sports Illustrated for Women’s “Greatest Sportswomen of the Century”; 6 time winner of Surfer magazine’s Readers Poll;  chosen as one of Surfer Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century;” named “1998 Female Athlete of the Year by  Condé Nast Sports for Women magazine.

That said, there is no argument that Lisa Anderson is one of the surfing’s greatest athletes, but her true impact would transcend mere numbers. Blending equal parts feminine beauty and animal aggression, Anderson shattered the surfer-chick mold and reached iconic status by single-handedly changing our perception of women who ride waves.

While she waitressed and couch surfed in SoCal, she also trained daily, amassing free-surf time and competitive experience. She took first at the U.S. Championships and then placed third in the World Amateur Championships.  Going pro in 1997, Anderson won the ASP Rookie of the Year award and soldiered the tour for the next six years, placing in the top 10 each season. She was inspired professionally by 4-time world champ and fellow Floridian Frieda Zamba, but her surfing more closely resembled the stylistic power of Tom Curren. This was no mistake on her part as she is famously quoted as saying, “I want to surf like a guy.” This aggressive approach to surfing would define Anderson’s career and drive her on to four consecutive world titles.

Leading up to her record run on the world tour, Lisa gained practical guidance in an early relationship with pro surfer, shaper, and soulful scribe Dave Parmenter. She later found internal focus through the birth of her daughter Erica in August, 1993 with then husband and ASP head judge Renato Hickel.  Lisa gave birth, won her first world title and divorced Hickel in quick succession.

Making competitive history as a single mom wasn’t enough as Anderson’s persona soon waxed iconic, essentially transforming women’s surfing more than any surfer before her. She knocked the bikini beach bunny image curbside and edged out the butch stereotype often plaguing female athletics. What made Anderson unique was that she remained feminine and graceful while brimming with an aggressive energy that would set new standards for female surfers. Lisa didn’t simply change how women surf but rather how they are perceived. This was the direct result of her position on Roxy’s board riding team, which chronicled her world surfing exploits alongside healthy, smiling female waveriders like Megan Abubo and Dayze Shayne. She led droves of young girls to the sport and played a major role in the development of the quintessential women’s boardshort design. Seemingly simple, these female baggies eliminated the difficulties of female bikini bottoms relative to the rigors of surfing and lent a hardcore cool to women’s beach fashion.

After long battling a nagging back injury and giving birth to a second child, Mason, Anderson attacked the WCT one last time before retiring in 2001 and transitioning into a managerial role with Roxy. By 2007, she was living in California and was the subject of Nick Carroll’s biography Fearlessness.

While women surfers still trail behind men in terms of pay and coverage, there is no doubt that female surfing would have missed a crucial burst of progress without the style and performance juggernaut of Lisa Anderson.