With her movie Zero to 100 premiering at the Surf & Skate Festival in Hamburg, Germany this weekend, we caught up with ASP whirlwind and mistress of airs, California’s very own Lakey Peterson
Interview by Anna Langer
Hey Lakey, congrats on your very own movie! We’re super excited to watch it! How did it all come about?
Thank you!! It came about because Aaron Lieber (the editor filmmaker of my movie) was doing an all woman’s surf movie for Nike (my main sponsor at the time) about two and a half years ago now. Aaron and I worked well together and had the same vision for a lot of things. I always wanted and thought it would be a great opportunity to do my own project some day and Aaron seemed to be the perfect person to do it with. So it really just kinda snowballed from the Nike movie and we thought we would give doing our own movie a try!
How did you choose the title?
The tittle Zero to 100 came about because my dad was doing an interview actually and he said something along the lines of “ it just feels like Lakey’s surf Career went from zero to 100.” Afterwards he said that it all just clicked and we thought it would be a perfect title for my movie.
What was the greatest challenge in your career so far?
I think the greatest challenge for me is how much I have to travel. Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling, but when I am gone eight months out of the year, sometimes it gets a bit much… I miss my family and friends a lot.
And the very best moment so far?
The best moment for me so far in my surfing career was when I won the US Open of Surfing last year in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the biggest surf contest in the world and a contest that I had always dreamt of winning.
Is there something about the surf industry that you wish someone had told you before you became a pro?
Umm haha not really, I mean part of the experience is learning and if someone had told me everything then I would not be able to learn new things everyday about the surf industry.
What tips would you give young girls aspiring a similar career to yours?
I would say, it’s really easy to get caught up in a lot of dramas of this world and get caught up in how the world looks at you or accepts you, but at the end of the day it’s all about your happiness and making others happy… Also, if you truly want to succeed at something in life or reach a goal, then don’t let someone or something get in the way of that goal of yours, go out and get it!
Can you even aspire such a career or do you think it’s more that it calls you and you answer?
I think that it is a mutual thing. However, I don’t think you can force something on yourself, if you love something and it loves you then that’s what you are meant to be doing, but if you love something and maybe it doesn’t love you quite so much then don’t just stop doing it, work hard and make it love you back! Haha…
Who do you think has the best chances of winning the women’s ASP title this year?
It’s hard to say because all of the girls are surfing so well, but at the moment I would say Carissa [Moore] or Tyler [Wright], they both had a great start to the year and that has really set them up for the back half of the year now.
And who is your favourite surfers of all times & why?
I would say Tom Curren, he is a close family friend of mine and I grew up with him taking me surfing with his sons every single day. His style is like no other surfer I have ever seen.
Anything else you’d like to get off your chest?
Thanks everyone for all your support and love!! Please go check out my movie Zero to 100 on iTunes! XOXO
Lakey is sponsored by Hurley, Channel Islands, Smith Optics and GoPro. Follow her future endeavours on lakeypeterson.com.
