Lisa Anderson "2004 Woman of the Year"
First female in 15 years featured on the cover of Surfer Magazine
Lisa Anderson often dismissively shrugs off mention of her influence on modern surfing, yet her impact has been dramatic. Despite being the only female surfer in her hometown of Ormond Beach, Florida, the wiry teen quickly developed a fluid and spontaneous style surfing alongside the boys at her local break.
While her parents didn’t exactly support her surfing endeavors, a 16-year-old Anderson ran away to Huntington Beach, California to chase her dream. In 1986, she won the U.S. Surfing Championships Girls title, took third at the World Amateur Champs and won the professional tour's Rookie of the Year award in 1987.
She captured the first of four consecutive world titles in 1994, which made her the first surfer since Mark Richards to win four straight pro championships. In 1996, she was the first female in 15 years to be featured on the cover of Surfer magazine.
Despite being plagued by chronic back injuries late in her career, she still finished fifth overall in 2000 at the age of 30, a year after Surfer named her the 19th most influential surfer on the 20th Century.
Outside the competitive arena, Anderson became synonymous with the Roxy brand, a female-inspired offshoot of Quiksilver, and was among the first surfers to wear boardshorts designed for women. To this day, Anderson remains an icon of the sport, a Roxy ambassador and one of the most talented surfers to walk the planet.
