Ever since Erin Brooks rode her first wave at age nine, she wanted to surf “like the boys.” In her young mind, there was no reason she wouldn’t be able to do that. Within five years of her first surf lesson her name was being mentioned alongside some of the most progressive aerial surfers on the planet, including Felipe Toledo, Matt Meola, Chippa Wilson, and Albee Layer.

At age fourteen, the goofy footer wowed her peers at the 2021 Stab High event in Costa Rica, landing what many still consider the best female air in the history of the sport. As she skipped playfully out of the white water and up the beach, American surfer Micky Clarke commented, “I feel like I just witnessed the ultimate glimpse into the future.” The performance dazzled the judges, earning Brooks a unanimous 10 and a first-place finish in the Laydbirds Under-15 division.

The event’s commentator, Matt Meola, one of the best aerialists of all time, gave her the ultimate compliment when he told viewers, “I did a little air in front of her and I felt like I did an air in front of Kelly Slater.” 

Brooks’ aerial antics recently landed her on the cover of SURFER magazine’s 65th anniversary issue. The arresting image, shot by Brian Bielmann (Bielmann has shot more cover photos than many other surf photographers at over 200, but this - incredibly - is his first SURFER Magazine cover), captures the young American/Canadian punting a massive, fully tweaked frontside air at Rocky Point, on the North Shore of Oahu. The image represents the incredible progression of the next generation's young female surfers. 

What made her first cover even more memorable was that the G.O.A.T. himself presented the issue to her. Slater had been on the previous month’s cover and felt that it was only fitting to do a hand-off. “It was so cool that he [Kelly] surprised me,” says Brooks. “It was such an honor.” He told Brooks he scored his first cover around the same age, seventeen, and coincidentally the image was of Slater shredding in a wave pool back in 1988, long before the Surf Ranch.

The onset of wave pool technology is partly responsible for Brooks' speedy ascent into professional surfing. The teen trains fastidiously in pools, sessioning maneuvers to help bring consistency to her airs. She also practices on the trampoline and skates half pipes to improve her rotations. At seventeen, she’s a skilled barrel rider and a rookie on the WSL Championship Tour, which comes as no surprise to her mentors, who see the work she puts in behind the scenes. 

Brooks cemented herself in surfing history by winning the coveted 2024 Vans Pipe Masters alongside Nathan Florence. The surf was pumping on competition day and Brooks’ performance set a new standard for up-and-coming surfers around the globe. 

“People tend to see the results and the trophies and the glory, but they don’t see the thousands of hours of extremely hard work she has put in when no one was watching,” says Shane Dorian, who coached Brooks to her 2024 Vans Pipe Masters victory. “She has accountability, which is very rare these days. She doesn’t make any excuses - ever - and she’s willing to work harder than anyone.”

From the Lone Star State to Surf Phenom

Surfing was an unlikely destiny for Brooks. She was born and raised about two hundred miles from the ocean in landlocked Texas Hill Country. From an early age her father, Jeff Brooks, recalls she was a ball of energy and would do flips off the couch. “She doesn’t have an off switch,” he jokes. Gymnastics was a perfect outlet for Brooks. It also helped hone her incredible air awareness. 

When she was nine years old, her parents retired and moved to Maui. The family learned to surf together. “I just progressed a lot faster,” she jokes. Brooks’ love of surfing was instantaneous but that doesn’t mean she was a natural. She recalls finishing last in every heat at her first contest, Menehune Mayhem put on by Maui surfer Ian Walsh. “I performed terribly,” she says. “But it gave me the drive to keep pushing. I want to be the best at everything I do.”

Brooks may look like a Disney princess, but inside she’s a competitive monster. Her tenacious drive often takes her competitors by surprise. At the 2022 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang in Indonesia, a 15-year-old Brooks finished fourth overall, smoking some of the best barrel riders in the world, including her mentor Shane Dorian, Mason Ho, and Nic von Rupp. 

“At first, I think he [Nic] was excited that I was in his heat, because I’m a little girl and he didn’t expect me to do much,” Brooks told Stab Magazine. “But then I got an eight in the first couple of minutes, and then I sat on him, because I know that he’s such a good barrel rider and I didn’t want him to get any scores. After the final, he chaired me up the beach. He was such a good sport.”

In 2024, on her way to win the 2024 Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro in Australia, Brooks earned a perfect 10-point ride for a super deep barrel in the semifinal. Later that year, along with her victory at the 2024 Pipe Masters, Brooks clinched the 2024 Corona Fiji Pro at Cloudbreak - as a wildcard - becoming the first Canadian to win a Championship Tour event.

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

It helps that Brooks grew up in an era when girls were taught they could do it all. She was surrounded by imagery of inspiring female athlete role models, including icons like Carissa Moore and Tatiana Weston Webb. From the start, the phrase “surf like a girl” never crossed her mind. She believed there was no reason girls couldn’t surf like the men. “My goal is to surf like Gabriel Medina and Felipe Toledo," she says. 

Jeff Brooks recalls his daughter asking why girls weren’t doing aerials in surf movies. “Someone told her ‘girls don’t do airs’,” he says. “As soon as she heard that she was on a mission.” He remembers her determination to nail a huge air on their first trip to the wave pool at Waco Surf. “Here I was paying to fly her back to Texas to surf two and a half hours from where we used to live,” he says. Her pool time paid off. In 2019, she stomped an air-reverse at Waco that went viral. Two years later, she became the first female to do a front and back flip on a surfboard. “Erin loves a challenge,” says Jeff. “She never says, ‘I can’t do that’ instead she asks, ‘I can’t do that yet and what do I need to do to be able to do that?’”. 

The men have taken notice, and are now cheering her on. Her heroes, Toledo and Italo Ferreira, frequently DM her tips on how to advance her aerials maneuvers. “The guys are still a step ahead, but I think we’re getting there,” says Brooks. “All the girls are pushing it right now and charging. It’s so fun to be a part of it all.”

When asked who her favorite surfer is, she replies, “I’m really loving how Italo Ferreira’s surfing is so unpredictable. You never know what he’s going to do when he stands up and he has a full bag of tricks. I am also a huge fan of Yago Dora because his surfing is so next level. I guess I’m partial to goofy footed surfers.”

Managing the Pressure

Watch Brooks get shacked in Indo and it’s easy to forget she’s only seventeen. “She isn’t in a hurry to grow up,” says her dad. “When no one is around she’ll watch SpongeBob.” After a disappointing finish at the Lexus Trestles Pro, he cheered his daughter up with a trip to Disneyland. “My favorite ride is the Incredicoaster because it’s the most extreme,” she says, referring to a roller coaster that launches from 0 to 55 mph in under 4 seconds. “I like the adrenaline rush.”

The hype around her rookie season on the Championship Tour, in addition to the attention that comes with the tour, has been a new challenge for Brooks to conquer. “There have been a lot of cameras on me and the pressure has been a little nerve wracking,” she says. “I haven’t been doing as well as I hoped. I know it’s a long shot but I’d still like to make the top five.” (As of mid-July she was ranked eighth.) Brooks journals before every heat to help focus her mind and set an intention for her performance. She also puts trust in her faith. “I always ask the Lord to take my nerves away and give me strength,” she says.   

Her dad is proud that his daughter continues to embrace her faith publicly. “It isn’t always the coolest thing,” he says. Brooks has been lucky to have a mentor in Bethany Hamilton, another pro known for her strong Christian faith. The two met when Brooks was just beginning her surf journey at age nine. Four years later, Brooks signed her first contract with Hamilton’s longtime sponsor Rip Curl, and the duo teamed up for Brooks’ first photo shoot at Waco Surf. When Hamilton saw the skimpy swimwear that had been selected for Brooks and the young teen’s discomfort, she explained to her, “You don’t have to wear something that small, and then asked her, “Do you want to be known for your surfing or your butt?” Hamilton then firmly told the reps that Brooks needed another swimsuit option.

For women, the pressure to maintain a certain image is almost as daunting as the pressure of competition. “I think a lot of women get suckered into sexualizing themselves for attention and money,” says Hamilton. “Erin is so skilled and has a level head. As she goes through puberty I hope she remembers to let her surfing do the talking.” Hamilton has deftly helped Brooks build the confidence to be her own person. 

“Bethany told me people will always push you to do what they want and I need to stand up for myself and respect myself,” says Brooks. “She taught me not to be afraid to say ‘no’.”

Finding Roots and Going for Gold

After the Brooks family lost their Lahaina home in the devastating Maui fires of 2023, they moved to Oahu’s North Shore. The uprooting, on top of a schedule that requires Brooks to travel almost ten months out of the year, left Brooks longing for a connection to home. She was born in Texas, lived in Hawaii, and had family ties to Canada. “I told her you are who you are by blood - by your family heritage,” says Jeff Brooks, who is a fifth-generation Canadian. In 2024, she was granted Canadian citizenship and aspires to represent Canada at the 2028 Olympics.

 “Surfing Canada sent my great-grandparents a box of merch and they sent a photo of themselves all merched out,” she says. “It made me so emotional. It is so special to have the chance to leave a legacy for other girls in Canada to follow and to make my family proud.” 

In her chase for Olympic gold and world titles, she still hasn’t lost the pure joy of surfing, and that might be Brooks’ biggest secret to success.