5 questions with... Emily Grimes
When this cold water woman is done with trigonometry classes, you can find her calculating perfect lines across some of the UK’s biggest waves…
#coldwaterwomenser
We recently came across Emily on Facebook, where we saw these photos of her charging Thurso on a 9ft board. The longboard is no more, but Emily is surfing strong and has recently entered the historically all male ‘King of the Point’ in Scarborough; a gnarly big wave surf comp. She’s not only representing in the water - she’s also increasing female participation in STEM! We asked her to share her story with us…
1. Hey, Emily. When we saw these photos of you charging Scottish waves on your longboard, we just had to reach out! Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your recent ventures?
I'm a surfer from the North East of England, currently trying to manage my addiction as best I can as I’m training full time to be a maths teacher. This is the first time since I started surfing that I've been restricted to the weekends and I keep killing myself by looking at the charts. At the moment I'm managing to find a decent wave somewhere in the country most weekends, so that's keeping me going until the holidays, where hopefully there'll be some decent swells.
I've recently entered ‘King of the Point’ in Scarborough which is a big wave surf comp running over the winter (if there's a decent double overhead plus swell), so fingers crossed on that. I want to push my surfing as far as I can, for no other reason than I absolutely love it! I've had lots of support recently which I'm super thankful for, from Josh at Phrenix Surfboards and Fitzroy; a local North East brand.
I've been surfing a 9ft singlefin shaped by Josh for the last few months, but unfortunately I snapped it at the weekend! He's got two new boards in the making for me at the moment - I'm into big boards and single fins.
My other passion has always been horses and before maths I taught horse riding. With that I did riding for the disabled which was incredibly rewarding. Surfing is just as therapeutic and eventually I would like to be able to teach both surfing and horse riding from a little field close to the ocean, and surf as much as possible. That's the dream…
2. You know we’re going to have to call you Queen of the Point now right?! Sounds like you’re well and truly addicted. Have you always been surfing?
Actually, I only started surfing about 3 years ago when I was 21. I was working at a horse riding school near Torquay in Australia, and out of nowhere decided to buy a board and started surfing whenever I could. I had no experience at all and I didn't have a clue what was going on then, so I can't really remember now why I liked it so much - I was hardly getting to my feet for months and months! Pretty quickly it became all I talked about and thought about, and its been the same ever since really.
“Squeezing into a cold, wet wetsuit when it’s 2 degrees outside, as horrible as it is, has its appeal. I’m getting really stoked just talking about it!”
3. Crazy that you’ve only been doing it a few years, yet you surf like a pro! You’re obviously a natural. What does being a cold water surfer mean to you?
Less crowds! I love it. Obviously surfing in a tropical country in a bikini is pretty dreamy, but there is so much more adrenaline when surfing cold water. Even squeezing into a cold, wet wetsuit when it's 2 degrees outside, as horrible as it is, has its appeal. I'm getting really stoked just talking about it. The cold just makes it that bit more exciting. I'm really keen on a trip to the north of Norway.
4. Where do you usually surf?
I mix it up a lot. I'm not shy of an 8 hour drive so any UK coast is an option at the weekend. Wherever the charts look best.
5. That is commitment! Do you have a pre-surf routine? Well I try get changed as quick as possible because I'm normally on the verge of hypothermia. It always seems to take forever though. Then depending on the time of day or day of the week, I'll go somewhere warm for a coffee or a beer!
Post-surf beers? A girl after our own hearts! We’ll certainly be rooting for Emily at King of the Point. If you’re keen to find out how she gets on, and would like to keep up with her other ventures, follow her on Instagram.
Photo credit: Fitzroy (@fitzroysurf)