The quotes below are taken from the following articles: "Wendy Botha" (SURFER, August 1988), "Leaders: Wendy Botha" Surfing, November 1988), "The Human Touch" (SURFER, January 1989), and "Post-Modern Surf Femme" (SURFER, June 1989.)


John Cougar Mellencamp, ZZ Top, Crowded House, Billy Idol, Talking Heads, Hoodoo Gurus.


Martin Potter, Tom Curren, Elvis Presley, John Belushi, David Bowie, Marilyn Monroe, Simon Anderson, John Elway.


All politicians, almost all longboarders, male chauvinists, women's libbers, summer in California.


Winning the first three events of the year. Especially the Op Pro, because it's so big, and I've been reading about it for years, thinking, "That's the one to win." It doesn't get much better than that.


Not being able to go to Japan. [Note: Botha, from Durban, was not allowed to compete in Japan because of that country's ban on athletes from apartheid-ruled South Africa.] That put a damper on the whole thing. It was a real downer. But if that's the way they feel about it, there's nothing much I can do. [Two years later, Botha moved to Sydney and became an Australian citizen.]


I've probably surfed against Frieda the most, and I beat her every time this year. Her surfing doesn't faze me a bit, and I think I was a real worry to her, because I've beaten her so many times. [Zamba went on to win the 1988 world title. Botha won in '89, '91 and '92.]


I have to work on my wave selection in events, and also try to freesurf during my heats. Every so so often I'm able to do that, and people say, "Wow!" My freesurfing is %100 better than my contest surfing. They're going to die when I start freesurfing my heats.


On any given day I can surf as good as a lot of the guys on the world tour.


I'm glad we're starting to have girls who surf like guys. I'm happy to see that. It's been a bit of a worry to me because in any other sport you should play like a man. There's no reason the girls shouldn't try to surf as well as the guys. I don't know what girls today have in mind. If they don't want to surf like a guy, how do they want to surf? You can't get any better surfing low-key or non-aggro; you'll end up standing still for the rest of your life. As for those girls just getting started, I'd say try to surf like a guy. Keep your femininity out of the water. It's okay on the beach, but once you step into the water it's lost its place.

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint