Stephanie Gilmore is an amazing young woman and her raw power should be an inspiration to everyone. She is an Australian professional surfer and six-time world champion on the Woman’s ASP World Tour. That in itself is truly an achievement, but everything wasn’t always rainbows and unicorns. There was a time where she almost lost everything. What is truly an inspiration is how she overcame her personal battles to continue to shine.
‘Happy’ Gilmore was born in Murwillumbah, NSW Australia on 29 Jan 1988. At the age of 10 she started what would be her future career by standing on a body board for the first time. By the age of 17 she was entering world championship tour events. In 2009 Stephanie was awarded the Teen Choice Award for Choice Female Action Sports Star. In…show more content… He has a long history with some of surfing's modern legends and has created some of the most responsive boards in the world, including the boards Stephanie rode to her many victories.
In 2010 Stephanie was the target of a brutal assault with a metal bar. She was beaten by a homeless man while she was walking home in Coolangatta. She was left with head and wrist injuries that almost caused here to fall completely apart. It shattered her confidence and happiness. The frightening experience totally changed her attitude towards competing. Winning events had always felt so easy and natural, but the recovery allowed her to really see the value in putting in that extra effort and really pushing hard with everything she had.
She is currently sponsored by many big companies such as: Quiksilver, Sanitarium Health Food Company, Ford, Roxy and Cole Clark Guitars. She’s achieved the place of top athlete for the Roxy surf team as well. She has also been dedicated in protecting the ocean that has been so good to her and is now on the board of the ocean conservation organisation called ‘Sea Shepherd Conservation
