"The SURFER Interview with Sofia Mulanovich," by Chris Mauro, ran in the March 2005 issue. Mulanovich, 21, had just won her first and only pro tour world championship.

Take us through the final moments before you clinched at Haleiwa. What was going through your mind?

For me to win the title at Haleiwa [the next-to-last stop on the schedule], first Rochelle Ballard had to lose early on. She ended up going out in the quarterfinals, and I knew I’d have to make the finals to have a shot, which I did. They checked the numbers and told me I had to get 3rd or better in the finals. I felt like I was doing pretty good, I had a couple decent rides, nothing special, but I knew that Tita Tavares still didn’t even have a wave with a minute to go. Right then, Chelsea [Georgeson] and Layne [Beachley] were screaming at me, going, “Sofie, do you realize what’s happening?” Pretty soon we were counting down together, and I was just screaming at the top of my lungs. I couldn't believe it. Then we all rode in together and as I was getting into shore I noticed all these signs on the beach. Roxy had made a bunch of banners and hats that said “Congratulations Sofia." I was so happy. It was really nice.

Given that Layne has owned the women's side of things for so long [Beachley had won six straight titles], it must have felt incredible to be the one to break her streak.

You know, Layne has been so great to me. She's been giving me advice over my whole career, and even now, she’s giving me tips on how to deal with what's expected of me.

No. They were going to come but I get nervous when they’re around sometimes so I told them it’d be better if I was alone. They're coming over in a few days, and we're having a big party when I get back to Peru, but it’s just one of those things where I had to be alone.

I take it you’ve been having fun celebrating?

Oh, God. It’s been fun. There’s always a party to find on the North Shore this time of year, so me and the girls have been searching them out. Might as well, y’know. How many times is it going to happen?

Let’s talk about the women’s tour a bit. The girls have several of their own events, but a few coincide with the men’s tour too. Which do you prefer?

Sometimes it’s better to be by ourselves because it’s easier for us to get waves during free-surfs. But to be honest, I love watching the men compete. Being around their surfing is the only thing that’s going to make us better. I love watching those guys. I get excited by it and it just makes me want to surf even more.

With all the progress girls are making now in the water, do you think the gender gap is closing in terms of performance?

I think the gap will always be there. Men’s surfing is men’s surfing and women’s is women's, y’know? But I think the girls are getting better to the point where it’s really noticeable, and I think the guys are starting to respect that. There are a lot more girls ripping today than there were 10 years ago. It's not just one girl here or there, now there’s a bunch of them. But the guys are getting better too. So it’s hard for us to close the gap.

Kelly, Andy, Parko, Mick, Chelsea Georgeson, Rochelle Ballard, Lisa [Andersen], KK [Keala Kennedy] and Megan Abubo. Sorry, is that too many?

Okay, good. I have a lot of surfers I look up to.

Some are saying you represent a new generation of exciting young girls coming up that could impact the women’s side the same way Kelly Slater and his Momentum generation did it on the men’s. Do you agree?

Well, like I say, girls in general are surfing a lot better. The older girls are still drawing nice lines and stuff, but the younger girls are trying to add more variety for sure. We're doing airs and reverses, and just trying to mix things up. So it's good. Now that men see us doing airs and reverses, we’re starting to get more respect and attention.

Pretty comfortable. It gets big in Peru, you know, so I get plenty of time in conditions that can be pretty heavy. But I wouldn’t say I’m into huge waves. I'm ready to learn, but that’s one area where Layne still owns all the girls.

Maybe Layne will tow you into a few this winter.

[Laughs] I think I’ll stick with normal-size waves for now. I'm not in any hurry to become a big wave freak or anything.

You're still only 21. You’ve come pretty far pretty fast.

I can see how it would seem that way, but I’ve been in the water my whole life, so I guess I feel older than I am.

Two years, but I was on the WQS for a couple of years before that, and I've been surfing since I was three, so I feel like I've been around for a while.

You weren’t actually stand-up surfing when you were three years old, were you?

No, I was boogieboarding with my family. But when I was five years old I’d stand up on my boogie and ride waves all the way to shore. My brother and I would see who could do the most 360s on the way in. I spent days and days spinning toward the beach! I didn't get my first shortboard until I was nine. After that, though, it was pretty much nonstop surfing.

It’s a tiny little village called Punta Hermosa, about 40 minutes outside of Lima, which is the biggest city in Peru. It’s not really even a village; it’s more just a few houses out in the middle of a beach. There’s not a whole lot there, but there are pretty good waves. It’s almost a ghost town in the winter because most people only come there in the summer months. So in the winter, it's mostly empty except for a small group of us who stay year-round. It’s one of those places you want to get out of, then you grow up and see what else is out there and all you want to do is get back there.

My mom used to own smoothie stands, now she runs restaurants, and my dad works in the fish factories exporting fish. My mom works in the city now, but my dad’s work is about 20 minutes from home.

Your country went through some difficult times when you were young. Do you remember any of that?

Yeah. It was pretty heavy. Long before people in America were so worried about terrorism, Peru was going through it. When I was 10 or 12 years old, car bombs were going off every day in and around Lima. It was a bunch of different terrorist groups who all had different politics. One was called the Sendero Luminoso [Shining Path] and the other was Tupac Amaru [MRTA]. I’m not sure what either one stood for, because I was so young. Luckily everything’s good now. Most of the leaders were caught a long time ago and it’s mellow again. Peru is safe now.

Still, it must have been nice living outside the city at a time like that.

We were away from all of that, yes. Plus the best part was I could wake up and see the waves from my house. So I surfed every day with my brothers. Matias, my younger brother, he's surfing pro now, and my other brother Herbert was national champion.

So you were pretty much in the center of the surf scene?

Yeah, my brothers were also friends with Magoo De La Rosa, who’s probably the best-known surfer to come out of Peru. I really looked up to Magoo growing up, I still do. He and my brothers took me around and showed me all the surf spots in Peru. But both my parents surfed too, so surfing was a family affair for us.

Much of the coastline there is still pretty pristine isn’t it?

Yeah, especially up in the north. That’s where most of the best waves are. It’s pretty remote up there, but it’s sort of like our training ground. There are some incredible spots. My parents bought a house up there when I was younger and we’d go stay for a couple months at a time. There are a bunch of left points up in that area. I think even today that’s why I do well on my backside. I love going frontside but I get better results on my backside.

So you’re crediting your wins at Teahupoo and Tavarua to those lefts?

For sure. I love them. When I was little they were pretty uncrowded, so it was the perfect place to get into the whole backside thing worked out.

How big is the surf scene in Peru right now?

It’s huge! It’s been around for a long time, but there are a lot of young kids
starting up now. Lots of young girls especially. They have surf schools and everything, so there are thousands of new surfers there.

Is it true you used to compete against the boys because there weren't enough girl competitors?

Yes. I used to compete against my boyfriend, in fact!

I’m sure he didn’t like that. Was it hard to get sponsors?

I was sponsored by Billabong when I was younger, which was great because I got a few wildcards. Then Roxy came along and took it to a whole new level for me. Now in Peru, surfing is getting so big the corporations are getting involved. I just did a commercial for Telefonica, which is one of the biggest companies in Peru.

I understand you were quite the national hero down there, even before you clinched the title.

It’s been pretty amazing. Peru doesn’t have a lot of sports heroes, so anyone who accomplishes something big gets a lot of attention. Last year I was a presenter at the VH1 Latin Music Awards. I had to give away the award for the best Latin rock band or something. That was pretty crazy, actually, because it's a huge audience.

And you had a hell of a time with that, didn’t you?

Oh god, I had to present with the guys from Jackass, you know, Steve-O and Chris, and that was nuts. As soon as I found out I was presenting with them, I was sweating. I knew it was over. And sure enough, they didn't follow any of the things we were supposed to say. They just went off and did their thing and I was just turning bright red up there. "Okay, you guys, we have to give this thing away. Remember? The award?"

Has it been a whirlwind for you to go from little country girl to Latin American starlet?

Oh, I don’t know. I just surf. [Laughs] I try not to think about all that.

Is all the world title attention kind of old hat since you get so much publicity in your own country?

No, no. It’s been pretty hectic. It’s easier to handle when you’re in your own country speaking your own language. Over here it’s different because it can be hard to express what you're feeling in a language that's not your own.

The women’s movement has more traction than ever before in the U.S. Is that the case around the rest of the world?

It might be, but to be honest I don't think about it much.

Are women accepted more in the water these days?

It varies from one break to the next. I'm sure some people have no desire to see women in the water, but I'm so wrapped up in what I'm doing, I'm too clueless to tell how they're feeling.

You don’t get in any scraps out in the water?

No, I’m pretty mellow. I don’t drop in on anyone or anything.

You’re pretty tiny anyway, I’m not sure you’d last.

Do you think your world title will help Peru become a surfing powerhouse?

I hope so. I think it would be great if Peru could become a powerful surfing nation like Australia or America. We could do it too, because there are some really good surfers there.

I’ll end up there for sure. I love to hang in other places. I stayed on the Gold Coast last year for more than a month and I loved it. But Peru will always be my home. I just bought a house there too, so I’m not planning on going anywhere.

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