Wendy Botha – Biography
Wendy Botha need only be referred to as an outstanding competitive surfer. She surfed with a stylish, confident approach that became the bane of even the best women (and some men) surfers of the era. She competed all over the world and even shut down Frieda Zamba’s seemingly unstoppable campaign to rule professional surfing. She went on to literally dominate the 1989 season with an insane 7 wins, and when all was said and done, had secured 4 world titles. That said, to quote Jerry Seinfeld, Botha “also possesses all the other qualities prized by the superficial male” which led to a nude photo spread in Australian Playboy, stirring up mixed emotions among surfers worldwide. For a girl described as having a “naturally nervous disposition,” Wendy Botha has carved a rather wide notch into the history of women’s surfing.
Wendy Botha was born 1965 in East London, South Africa. She didn’t start surfing until age 13 and even then had very few girls to surf with. So the logic goes that Botha grew up surfing with guys and thus emulated the aggressive style associated with men’s surfing. Success came quickly as she took 4 South African national titles before turning pro. She first competed on the ASP tour at age 17, surfing in Durban in the 1983 Gunston Pro. Unlike most young pros, her first full year on tour was a success, yielding a 7th place finish and recognition as Rookie of the Year.
Botha had begun spending more and more time in Australia following contests and enjoying the plethora of female surfers to compete against. In 1986, Frieda Zamba’s husband and coach Flea Shaw lodged a complaint that Botha might be getting preferential treatment from a judge who had “billeted Botha for the past three years” when she beat Zamba in a close heat. Nothing came of the accusations, but Australia was becoming a bigger and bigger part of her life. The following year, Botha applied for Australian citizenship to rescue her career, but she was afraid some fans in her home country felt slighted. Botha explained to Mervyn Rees, “I’m not running away. On a South African passport, I cannot travel as freely as I would like to enable me to enter competitions throughout the world.” In fact, due to her SA citizenship and the country’s longstanding apartheid laws, Botha was not allowed entry into a major contest in Japan. The loss of precious ratings points knocked her out of the top position on the ASP tour. She told Brett Thomas of the Sydney Morning Herald, “If I am refused, it’s virtually the end of my career.” During the time she waited for an answer, Botha traveled to New Zealand and competed in an all men’s event and took 5th.
Botha won her first world title in 1987 as South African under management of Greg Day who also worked with Aussie Damien Hardman (the world title winner that same year). She won the title again in 1989 with an astounding 7 tour victories. By this time, she was living in Avalon, Australia and was the country’s first female world champ. During the next few years, she would continue to spar with the likes of Pam Burridge, Kim Mearig and an up-and-coming Lisa Anderson; but her biggest rival was Florida’s Frieda Zamba with whom she traded world titles for several years. Botha would add 2 more titles to her legacy in 1991 and 1992.
During her career, Botha would garner many accolades including 3 Surfer Poll awards and induction into the Huntington Beach Walk of Fame, but it would seem her most enduring moment came in 1992 when she posed nude for the Australian edition of Playboy. This was uncharted territory for a woman surfer and a gamble for a reigning world champion. Chris Cote writes, “Attention to female surfers was waning when Wendy Botha took it upon herself to give women’s surfing a big shot in the arm-whether they wanted it or not.” Many female surfers were outraged, but the male population spoke loud and clear when that issue became the first ever edition to sell out completely. Lisa Anderson would later tell Trans World Surf Magazine, “I didn’t really mind it, but it would’ve been awkward to hang out with her at the movies or something after seeing her naked.”
Botha decided to move on from full-time competition the following year. According to Surf line’s Tim MacDonald, “Botha married New Zealand rugby league international and television star Brent Todd in 1993. They had two children, Jessica and Ethan, and split in about 2005”.
Wendy Botha has been a woman in constant transition. From a shy teenager surfing the unforgiving South African coast to 4-time world champion, from surfing champion to pin-up model; Botha proved herself against the best women and men in the world in every arena. The question is: What is next for Botha?
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