Schuyler McFerren

Schuyler McFer­ren is a tal­ented Cal­i­for­nia surfer who was the win­ner of the ASP Women’s World Long­board Cham­pi­onships in 2006. No longer com­pet­ing, she is just as stoked on surf­ing as she was when she was a lit­tle girl. We caught up with Schuyler to find out more.

What was your life like grow­ing up?
My life grow­ing up was amaz­ing!! Between liv­ing in Mon­tana and Cal­i­for­nia, I had some won­der­ful and unique expe­ri­ences that I wouldn’t trade for any­thing. My fam­ily is awe­some; they were always very sup­port­ive of any­thing that my broth­ers and I were into. Both my mom and dad surf, so as soon as I showed an inter­est in surf­ing as well, they were really excited and encouraging.

When did you get your first surf­board?
Well, the first surf­board that I got that was com­pletely and entirely mine was when I was about 12. Before then, I had been rid­ing what­ever my par­ents had in their garage—mostly an old 6’8” egg with yel­low stripes and a 9’0” long­board that had its fair share of dings.

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
The very first time I stood up on a surf­board I was only about eight years old, and my fam­ily was camp­ing in Cardiff for a cou­ple weeks dur­ing the fall. We were still liv­ing in Mon­tana at the time, and I was really unfa­mil­iar with the ocean and slightly intim­i­dated by it. My mom took me out one day that had teeny tiny waves and pushed me into a cou­ple. I remem­ber lov­ing it! Lit­tle did I know that we would be mov­ing back to Cal­i­for­nia in a cou­ple years and I would make surf­ing into a career.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young girl?
Well. as a young woman, I looked up to my grandpa and grandma a lot—and still do. They are two amaz­ing and inspir­ing peo­ple, and I have learned a lot from both of them. My par­ents, as well, were two peo­ple that I looked up to a lot.

Of all the places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out and why?
France. It’s def­i­nitely one of my favorite des­ti­na­tions, mostly for the cul­ture fac­tor. The art, the cities, the fash­ion, the peo­ple, the food… it’s incred­i­ble. I’m dying to go back for a cou­ple months. The waves were always really fun when I was there too.

Who/what inspires you?
So many dif­fer­ent things, but mostly books, music, art, travel and friends.

What is the great­est thing you have learned in your life?
That life is com­pletely rela­tional. At the end of the day, it’s all about the peo­ple in your life and how you treat them.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some­thing dif­fer­ently?
Nope. I’ve learned a lot through­out my 22 years of liv­ing, but I have absolutely no regrets.

What are you most proud of?
Prob­a­bly win­ning the 2006 ASP Women’s World Long­board Cham­pion title. I make some pretty del­ish coconut oat­meal choco­late chip cook­ies too.

What is your opin­ion of the state of pro­fes­sional long­board­ing in 2010?
To be hon­est, I haven’t been involved in the scene very much lately and I don’t feel qual­i­fied to com­ment on it. I do know that the girls are rip­ping and that they just keep get­ting bet­ter and better.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
The role that surf­ing has played in my life has changed over the years, but the love for it has been con­stant. Right now, I’m con­cen­trat­ing on fin­ish­ing my col­lege edu­ca­tion and pur­su­ing other career paths out­side of surf­ing. I’m incred­i­bly thank­ful for the places that it has taken me, the peo­ple I’ve met and the amaz­ing expe­ri­ences I’ve had all because of surfing.

What is your favorite board? Your favorite surf spot?
I have three noserid­ers that I could never part with and that are crazy fun. Any one of those boards at Noosa or Swami’s would be perfect.

How did you dis­cover surf mats? Explain why they’re so much fun.
I had grown up using the cheap inflat­able mats from RiteAid that would pop after about four or five waves. One day at Swami’s, I saw Ken McK­night rid­ing one and we struck up a con­ver­sa­tion. He con­nected me with Paul Gross at Fourth Gear Flyer. Paul sent me a cou­ple to try, and I was imme­di­ately hooked. They’re really fun because they’re so dif­fer­ent from rid­ing a surf­board, and they’re great to take out when­ever the waves aren’t very inspir­ing or you just want to mix things up a little.

What’s your favorite meal?
Salmon salad with avo­cado, mango and papaya. It’s one of those meals that just always, no mat­ter what, sounds great to me.

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
It’s con­stantly chang­ing, but this week’s fla­vors are Vam­pire Week­end, Mag­net, Kid Cudi, Arcade Fire, and As Tall As Lions.

What causes/organizations do you sup­port?
I spon­sor a lit­tle girl through World Vision, and I’ve been involved in var­i­ous min­istries with my church.

What are you most grate­ful for?
The tremen­dous peo­ple in my life.

What’s next for Schuyler McFer­ran?
Grad­u­at­ing (even­tu­ally) with a degree in Busi­ness and Eco­nom­ics. Hope­fully start­ing my own busi­ness one day. Trav­el­ing and tak­ing more pic­tures, surf­ing as much as pos­si­ble, and enjoy­ing each day as it comes along.

Find out more about Schuyler McFer­ran here.