Kick-ass surfing with Ainara. Always.Sophie Everard chats
to Spanish ripper
Ainara Aymat about
life in her 20s as a pro-
surfer, the shockwaves
of shaving her head,
and how she is settling
into the equilibrium
of life as a free surfer
on her own terms.GIRL
ON FIRE
20s
B
asque-born surfer Ainara Aymat is a blast of fresh
air in the world of professional surfing. The Zarautz
native has been on the scene for some time now,
having started her competitive career on the WQS
circuit. Despite freely admitting she disliked surfing during this
period, she is now clearly enjoying the freedom of free surfing
and her creative ventures, which today includes shaping her own
board during the Vans Duct Tape Invitational in Ericeira, Portugal.
Currently wrapping up her studies in Sport Science at
University, 22 year-old Ainara coolly made the transition from
competitive surfing to free-surfing at a considerably younger age
than expected, and has been killing it with relaxed candour ever
since. With a focus on exploring her surfing and creating kick-ass
content, the first Sambal video release, which earned Ainara a
nomination of Best Female Performance at the prestigious Surfer
Awards of 2018, was a punk-rock fused short which smashed
some typical notions of ‘surfer girl’ style. The raw, no-holds-
barred edit, which included a short focus, GI-Jane style, on
Ainara shaving her head, let her radical surfing do all the talking,
and was massively well received in the global surfing community.