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MOVING ON UP
Meet the new ASP Women's World Tour mananger, Brooke Farris
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By:
Kirstin Scholtz
All photos: ASP/Covered Images
October 17, 2007
West Oz's Brooke Farris started surfing because she had two older brothers with surfboards.
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The next year, Layne asked Brooke if she'd be interested in working as her personal assistant. Fast forward half a decade later and now, at 27, Brooke is the newest member of the ASP team, acting as the lady in charge of the women's World Tour. It's a big job but Brooke's obviously the right woman for it. ASP's Kirstin Scholtz caught up with Brooke for us to get the nitty-gritty on her career so far. SURFLINE: On being Layne's personal assistant BROOKE: When I first moved to Sydney to work for Layne, I thought it would only be for a few months. She didn't have a manager at the time so my responsibilities snowballed and I ended up working for her full time for five-and-a-half years. I did everything from accounting, to booking flights, dealing with her sponsors, helping run her charity foundation, Aim for the Stars, as well as being the event coordinator and Contest Director at her ASP Women's World Tour event, the NAB Beachley Classic in Manly. What were some major highlights? We put together her DVD, Life in the Fast Lane, in two weeks and spent a whole week in the edit suite. I think I was getting four hours of sleep a night. Then there was working on Aim for the Stars which was such a fantastic experience because I got to meet all the girls she helps as well as to see how much the financial contribution made a difference in their lives. And helping the NAB Beachley Classic get off the ground -- seeing her have an event in her hometown with the richest ever prize money. "The girls deserve to be surfing in those phenomenal waves because that's where they rip but they also rip in two foot beachies. It's not preferable but if they get coverage it's good for the event and the sponsors, so we just need to find the balance between Huntington and Teahupoo."
-- Brooke Farris
I think growing up in Western Australia and surfing strong and powerful waves was another reason Layne and I got along. When I was staying with her in Hawaii, we'd go swimming at Sunset without flippers when it was closing out, just to feel what it was like and get comfortable in the line-up. It makes you so much more relaxed out there when you swim because for some reason you know you'll be fine. We paddled out one day they called off the contest because it just got way too big. We were at Ken Bradshaw's house looking out at this massive left hander which we were told was 20 ft and we decided to paddle out. The lifeguards thought we were crazy and Ken came out on his jet ski in case anything happened. We were trying to get some waves before two o'clock, which was when the biggest wave was going to come through. I think I was delirious with adrenaline and didn't realize how silly we were. Then caddying for Layne when she won the 7th World Title in 10 ft Honolua Bay was one of those once in a life time personal assistant experiences! I got to do crazy stuff like that. Honolua is an amazing wave, so to be sitting in the water watching all the girls, not just Layne, was amazing. Describe your new role as the ASP Women's World Tour Manager? It's been three months and so far I've been to South Africa, Brazil, Spain and Peru. I'm learning how to be a diplomat and the person in the middle of many relationships between sponsors and surfers and trying to keep peace and harmony in that world. My job is primarily about making sure the Top 17 Women have a tour that they're happy with, trying to get more events and more sponsors and make sure they're treated with the respect that they deserve. My goal is to ensure that at the end of their careers they go, 'Wow that was the best experience I could've had,' because surfing is an amazing lifestyle and we're all privileged to be part of it. If I can make it even better that would be awesome. What's the best part of the job? The first thing is the travel and the friendships you make with all the people you work with. It's teaching me a lot about myself and about how to communicate with everyone. It's really exciting but also quite sad because when you leave, you have to say goodbye to all the friends you've made -- until the following year. Most challenging part? Nothing's too challenging at moment because everything is fresh and new. I think if I were jaded three months in, it might be a bit scary. I'm just rolling with the punches and trying to remember that not everyone will be happy all the time. I guess that's the hard part because I like to please everyone and I like having people like me. I'm just trying to make the best decision I can in the moment and stick with it and move forward. Thoughts on the level of professional women's surfing today? I think the standard is the best it's ever been. The girls leading way on tour at the moment are all the rookies and it would almost be scary to be someone like Steph right now with all the talent that's coming through. I've even heard Layne say she's glad she already has her seven world titles. Where do you think the future of the tour is headed? The tour is at eight events and I would like to see it at ten. I think that would be phenomenal. At the moment it's about finding the balance between the dream tour and taking women's surfing back to the people because they're your fan base and they like to get up close and personal. We probably need a few more years to catch up to the men's tour. The girls deserve to be surfing in those phenomenal waves because that's where they rip but they also rip in two foot beachies. It's not preferable but if they get coverage it's good for the event and the sponsors, so we just need to find the balance between Huntington and Teahupoo. WOMENS HOME PAGE WOMENS SURFNEWS ARCHIVE |
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