‘We’re used to it’: Aussie surfing champ explains bizarre fan habit
In the surfing world, Molly Picklum is the name on everyone’s lips. Crowned world champion at just 22, she is nowhere near finished.
But as Picklum’s star rises, her fame brings some unique challenges she didn’t anticipate.
Picklum drove out the Aussies to watch the heats. Aaron Hughes
Unlike most elite sports, surfing is highly accessible. Fans can paddle right up to their heroes, especially before heats at open beach breaks.
“I mean we’re so used to it that it’s all right. But at the end of the day, of the surf world, we are F1 on the water,” Picklum told nine.com.au in an exclusive interview.
“You technically have Joe Blow just paddling out to you. Imagine me, an average driver on some Sydney roads, and then I decide (to) turn up in Melbourne like, ‘Hey, Max Verstappen. How you going? Let’s have a little race.’
“Some people come up and try to hustle us in our moments of preparation. It’s literally as if I was with my Hyundai trying to out drive Verstappen.”
Mainstream sports often dismiss surfers with a stereotypical label, so laid-back and easygoing that they’re practically horizontal.
However, beneath that relaxed exterior lies a formidable resilience, forged by the necessity of withstanding the world’s ultimate equaliser, the ocean.
“One way or another we’ll find a way, it’s because of how many elements and challenges and obstacles we face daily, let alone in a season, let alone even into a normal surf,” explained Picklum.
“Sometimes you turn up to events and our surfboards aren’t even there. (Then) you gotta perform on someone else’s board.
“Surfing’s pretty wild, that’s for sure. To be fair, a lot of the audience are still learning and trying to understand what our sport is in one way, and just how to get behind it.
“That’s why you gotta be fluid, you gotta be moving with the elements. Otherwise, if you’re a rigid person, you struggle in the surf world.
“The ocean’s the biggest equaliser. You learn that from so young. So, you don’t hold on to a lot, you learn to let go, being a surfer.
“You become pretty accepting. That’s for sure.”
Perhaps the most significant impact Picklum has had on the world tour, however, is bringing the Australian contingent together.
Beyond serving as a beacon of inspiration, she is the ultimate teammate - someone who will go out of her way to ferry her male counterparts on the back of a jet ski just to support them during their heats.
Molly Picklum took a commanding win for the World Title in Fiji. World Surf League via Getty Imag
“I mean it’s just exciting to hear even from your guys’ lens that (people) are so intrigued into the story of surfing and Australian surfing,” Picklum continued.
“And then the fact that the females are having a real big push with that. It’s really cool ’cause I think it’s important obviously as Australians, we are such a surf nation and we have a heavy beach culture.
“I take a lot of pride and probably wear a lot of that weight as…wanting to do well for Australia, because I honestly believe that Australian surfers, we need our surfers to be at the top.”
Picklum is acutely aware of her role in the sport’s generational shift as one of the World Surf League’s youngest champion, but she is quick to share the credit.
She shares the WSL stage with four other Aussie women flying the flag; Isabella Nichols, Tyler Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons and Stephanie Gilmore.
Stephanie Gilmore. World Surf League via Getty Imag
“I’m just so honoured to play that part and to hopefully inspire other girls. It’s just cool that it’s not me, we have a whole crop coming through and it’s not gonna, it hasn’t started just at me and it won’t stop,” she said.
“I think that’s a really healthy thing. I think the boys – they haven’t won a world title for a little while for the Aussies. I obviously want the boys to do well as well.
“But it’s just epic. Aussies - we love each other, we love taking the piss out of each other, hanging around, we’re friends and it’s always good to be able to jump on the back of a ski, go support them and then, we all just rally.
“We’re in it together as much as it’s an individual sport, but from a nation standpoint, we definitely have that camaraderie that’s really special.”
