Malibu Gidget: Women of Surf
Dec 31, 2015
It was refreshing to see so many women surfing in Malibu this year. We've known women are under-represented in the sport — as well as in photography — not just from our own experience, but from conversations with ambassadors like Alison Teal, Sarah Lee, Jessica Haydahl, and others. Seeing a strong showing of women surfers out in the water made it all the sweeter when we ran into the original Gidget, celebrating her birthday in the waves.
Kathie Lawrence was a pioneer of women's surfing. She and close friend Kathy Kohrner spent most of their youth at the beach in the mid-1960s. Kohrner's father wrote a book about them that inspired the Gidget movie — though it was Lawrence, not Kohrner, who actually surfed. And she hasn't lost her form. Every year, the Malibu resident celebrates her birthday by catching a few waves at Surfrider Beach.
Kathie Lawrence has spent 50+ years working in the film industry as a costume builder. Outex co-founder JR deSouza met Kathie and her husband Fireball while shooting photos at the beach after his own surf session that morning. "Fireball's outgoing personality is contagious, and he told me a bit about her story and birthday ritual," JR said. It made a great morning even better.
All of these shots were captured with the Outex waterproof camera housing system — built for photographers who want to shoot in, on, and around the water without limits.