Bianca Valenti fell in love with surfing in the breaks of Orange County, California, when she was seven years old. Soon after, she started competing, gained sponsorships, and won competitions. Even at a young age, Bianca noticed a discrepancy in the treatment, recognition, and reward of male versus female surfers. It was discouraging and disheartening. She left the surf scene entirely but the siren’s call of riding 30-plus foot waves drew her back in. As one of the sport’s best big wave surfers, it was crushing to discover that the premier big wave competition, Mavericks, didn’t allow female competitors.
So, Bianca set her sights on confronting another towering giant — sexism in surf culture.
You can see the wave that Bianca surfed at Puerto Escondido and read more about her work in surf equity.
Credits: Produced by Paddy O’Connell, Elizabeth Nakano, and Fitz and Becca Cahall. Edited by Alex Park. Additional production help from Andrew Stelzer. Music by Brendan O’Connell.
