Team News

A Conversation With The Gilmore Girls

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 March, 2010 : - - It’s a sunny summer afternoon in Torquay, Victoria as I head to a friends house to do an interview. The subject, or rather subjects are the Gilmore sisters. Bonnie, Whitney and Stephanie are three talented young ladies, who have each carved out a separate niche for themselves in the surfing industry.

I did my research before I got to the interview. All three were born and bred in Kingcliff Northern New South Wales. All surfed from a young age, brought up around the ocean, sand embedded into their hair since nippers. All three are ‘blonde beauties.’

Bonnie Gilmore, the eldest, is an accomplished DJ and Senior Designer at Roxy. Whitney has been the Girls Marketing Manager for shoe brand Kustom and now does freelance work. Their baby sister Steph has just won her third consecutive world professional surfing title. Steph also rips on the guitar. Not bad since none of them are even close to 30.

I pull up to the house and there is a group of people sitting on the balcony in the sun, sipping beers. They yell down and ask if I want one. That’s pretty much the best start to an interview I’ve ever had.

As I walk into the house the polished floor click under my shoes, so I slip them off. I take my beer from the owner of the house and get introduced to the girls. They’ve all got the same infectious smile that lights up the whole face, rather than just touching their lips. It’s an endearing trait.

The four of us settle down in a comfy corner of the house, away from the noise on the balcony. I shuffle into a beanbag and click on my Dictaphone. Finding it’s always best to get an idea of each person’s background to start off, I ask Bonnie to give me a brief rundown of her life so far. Rather than a monologue from Bonnie followed by questions, I’m treated to an hour or so of engaging conversation where I ask barely anything.

“We all went to Kingy Primary then Kingy High.” Bonnie begins. “Bonnie and I were captains of Kingy Primary but Steph was only vice.” Whitney cuts in with a cheeky glance at Steph, like ‘suck on that world champ!’

Bonnie continues, as if nothing was said. “I worked in retail at Kingy surf, which was the cruisiest job ever. Ended up being a buyer there, which was pretty funny. Then I hassled all the reps to get a job, because I thought that was pretty cool. I was a bit of a label slut, I started out with Insight, then went to Rusty, then Rip Curl, then decided I wanted to be a designer.

So I went to design school for a year and got a job at Roxy, which is where I am now, stuck in Torquay. I thought I was going to be a famous DJ, travel the world and earn heaps of coin, hanging out at palaces and on people’s private yachts, but I met my husband Hayden and fell in love, he’s so worth it. I love Torquay now.”

“She still DJ’s a mean party.” Steph adds in.

Check the Full Article

www.empireave.com 

What's your take on this?
Post your thoughts: SV Forum

New Survey: Map Surfing’s future 

More USA/Cen Amer. surfing news available here
Check the latest West Coast Surf Reports and Forecasts

New! B2B News ASBE-Surf   |  Receive News-Alerts

Tim / Lincoln Eather

Team - Surfersvillage