It's not what you think.
There is no Pipeline today nor was there any Pipeline yesterday but when the waves turn-ish on for the World Surf League’s first stop of the 2025 championship tour season, Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons will be there in singlet, ready to battle Tatiana Weston-Webb and Luana Silva in heat one.
An extraordinarily long surfing life.
The 34-year-old New South Welshwoman burst onto the competitive professional surfing scene two decades ago with as Association of Surfing Professionals Pro Junior Open win. She jumped onto the dream tour in 2009, finishing 5th, and has been there ever since, minus a snag, battling with the best of the best.
But how, in this day and age of mental health years off and adventure sabbaticals, how does Fitzgibbons maintain her passion for this sport of queens? She has just revealed the secret.
Surfing is my life. I want to talk about it, I want to do it, I want to represent it. All these things drive me to keep a spot on the world tour,” the effervescent brunette told Fox Sports Australia. “It is the curiosity that keeps me going. I’ve really admired athletes both male and female that have pushed the age limits. For me it’s the drive, the love, and most importantly in surfing – the creativity. After 20 years if I displayed the same things to these judges, it would be getting a little bit drab, and I wouldn’t get the scores.”
But also, “I’ve also fallen in love with the process, or what they call ‘the grind’ as an athlete. That training and repetition can be for some people the thing that makes them depart the sport, you hear it all the time ‘I’m not really ready to do that work anymore to get to the top’ but I’ve always loved the work. Whether I was competing or not, I’d still find a challenge in my life, or an outlet for that. We’re never a perfect product, and when you stop seeking that perfection, you find the fun in remodelling it all.”
So, in a word, masochism.
Do you think the ageless Kelly Slater is also a masochist or does he possess a different psychological dynamic? The 11-time world champion will be taking on Italo Ferreira and Sammy Pupo in heat five when the Banzai cranks to life. Filipe Toledo will be against Barron Mamiya and Alejo Muniz in heat eleven.
And please don’t forget “people need to know that we’re humans, not machines.”
The end.
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Sally Fitz and Jadson Andre hook up and have the ultimate QS warrior baby.
I just looked up who this chick is on YouTube to see why people have such strong opinions on her.
She seems to me to be a happy, bubbly, frothy person and a decent enough surfer. I guess that pisses some people off.
bizarre stuff.
Why is she hiding that minge in the photo ? It’s a good minge I’m sure a tough Aussie minge
A minge to be proud of a minge you could settle down with
is she Christian ✝️
I thought she was gonna say something else
Doesn’t matter what she says, no one can understand her anyway
BREAKING: NEYMAR SHUNS SAUDI MONEY, MLS, RETURNS TO BRAZIL FOR GABBY’S GAP YEAR IN THE NAME OF LOVE!
go oregon beavers!
Lucky she has such a head in the sand attitude cause she sure as shit has no chance against Caity,sierra,Erin and the new crop.
Sal,s doing her best selling sheds and dropping in on the disabled Olympics athletes moment in the sun. Clueless
as for that voice …. fugenhell
How come you’re so full of piss and vinegar?
Try and keep them spirits up, mate. And if you can’t, then maybe keep the poison to yourself lest you come across as one of these maga cunts on this site.
So Nick Carroll and Sally Fitz don’t live up to your core-and-poor ideals. No need to shout it from the rooftops. Even the people who you don’t hate as yet probably have something in their back pocket that would make you hate them. Just chill, mate.
Thanks for the sage advice mr barney (or is it mr carroll perhaps?)
Maybe it is the self loathing Aussie in me but
what are the chances of back to back BG articles covering 2 out of the 3 worst examples in the history of high profile Australian surfers ?
Loving the smell of your own farts and being oblivious to the fact you are washed up shouldnt be an excuse .
(A PT article would have made it a clean sweep )
“After 20 years if I displayed the same things to these judges, it would be getting a little bit drab, and I wouldn’t get the scores.”
Isn’t that exactly what happened and why she failed the cut 3 years running?
Froffen! Yewwww 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
Carn straya!!
Said the Pommie.
Ome not pome
A legend in many ways and a simple country girl with ambition. Being single with no serious attachments outside the game gives her the stoke for more excitement in her chosen career. I wish her all the best in her life that’s still to unfold.
nice take
Also willingly walked away from Roxy and didn’t sign with another major brand. Deserves credit for that.
I admire her pluck.
We’re human…not A.I. machines yet…no wonder A.I. was so ahead of his time.
Wonder if she and Tyler have ever surfed tandem together?
Sally is no carpet muncher.
Considering how gorgeous she is, seems odd that she has been single for a long time, unless there is a partner who is under the radar that i’m not aware of.
She was engaged to a footy meathead
That’s right . Seems like that was about 10 years ago and haven’t heard of her with another bloke since. It wouldn’t surprise me if dating an NRL player turned off men all together
Being cute and bubbly certainly hasn’t hurt the longevity thing.
If it only cured the ol’ stinkbug squatting while drawing your line!
The key is to be a little light upstairs, anyone with a few braincells eventually quits early.
Our Sal has many fine qualities. A scintillating intellect isn’t one of them.
Don’t overthink it
Honestly one of the biggest common factors in pro athletes, especially great ones, is a troubled home life. The sport they’re good at is one of the only times in their lives they get positive attention so they’re able to put themselves through the monotonous hell required to make it.
All competitive surfers are masochist, some just do it longer.
Masochist- The tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from one’s own pain or humiliation.
Felipe must have gone full beast mode into a sock after that heat with Kelly and Hedge.
A cum sock too! The filled him with an ensemble of jizz!
Xox
“After 20 years if I displayed the same things to ….”
Kelly Slater interrupts.
“Hold on, hold on! I’ve displayed a picture of my World Title moments above my toilet forever. The same thing. To remind me that even in my shittiest moment, me is the greatest. Me does the judging of me.”
She was a national cross country champion which I can attest is an exercise in masochism. I just hope she makes an air reverse in a heat so she can finally retire.