The 15-year-old Olympic hopeful and recent ISA Gold Medal winner, Erin Brooks, has signed with the Rochester, NY based lifestyle shop, Neon Wave. Erin brings her creativity and passion for the progression of surfing to the Neon Wave team of athletes and ambassadors.
“Supporting communities, regions, and conditions that align with our core values is the ethos of Neon Wave’s existence. Erin’s approach and attitude she carries into everything she does falls right in sync with this psychology.” Frederick Rainaldi, Neon Wave Founder, said.
“I’m excited to be part of the Neon Wave family and work with them to promote the progression of women’s surfing,” Erin said. “Neon Wave is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a shop, and I look forward to everything in store for the future!”
Erin joins fellow Neon Wave Ambassadors Ståle Sandbech, Nate Zoller, Ashley Inloes, Noah Avallone, Samuel Goncalves, and Bobo Gallagher as they work to establish a global team of likeminded athletes and activists.
“We want to support all of Erin’s creative endeavors both in and out of the water. It’s about more than just surfing. This is the evolution of what partnership means for us.” says Dennis Healy, Neon Wave’s Team Manager and Brand Strategist.
Through collaborations with the likes of Paul Lefevre, an ultra-curated selection of brands and partners, and a unique store design that fuses the natural with the technological, Neon Wave offers more to their community than a place to purchase goods. Infusing art and education into every facet of their approach, Neon Wave reinvests into the culture that raised it and emphasizes community before commerce.
“As we work to expand our role as a local shop—specifically in the way we cultivate riders and expose new worlds to existing ones, we recognize no tool than to inspire. Erin inspires us; her commitment to surf is contagious. Erin’s leadership eludes age and is proof that maturity and youth can live vividly in the same person.” Frederick Rainaldi, Neon Wave Founder, said.
ABOUT NEON WAVE:
Neon Wave was founded in 2018 in Rochester, New York. They are a surf and snow inspired fashion and lifestyle shop stocking hardgoods and soft goods. They bring together carefully chosen fashion, technical, and conceptual items and place them in context through physical and digital experiences. The individually sourced, thematic and seasonal assortments Neon Wave curates are built to service every active need. They work to offer a unique and personal way to explore the otherwise increasingly diluted and impersonal shopping experience. Being a conduit for consumers through art, education, collaboration and the love of life make up the ethos of their existence.
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ABOUT ERIN:
Erin Brooks is a surfing phenom that has been commanding world attention over the past 5+ years. At just 15 years old, it is glaringly apparent that Erin is a once in a generation talent on a surfboard. Erin’s notoriety as an elite surfer rose at a meteoric pace, having not even touched a board until she was 9. Growing up in Texas, it wasn’t until her family moved to Maui that a friend suggested she get into surfing, and Erin was instantly hooked. Learning to surf was Erin’s first board sports experience, and when she started entering contests, she was fueled to outwork the competition, much like she does in every aspect of her life. She speaks two languages fluently, is learning a third, and has four classes left before she finishes her high school degree, all before her 16th birthday. Upon realizing her love for the sport, Erin surfed before school, after school, and pretty much every opportunity she had, catching the eye of the surfing community with her high-flying airs and seemingly effortless tube-riding. After about a year on Maui, Erin’s family moved to the North Shore of Oahu to train with reputable waterman and surf trainer, Kahea Hart.
Since making the move, Erin went viral for a captivating edit at Waco in 2019, won the Stab High event in 2021 with what has been called “the best air ever done by a female”, and was crowned the Rip Curl GromSearch National Champion the same year. In June 2022, Erin won the Gold Medal at the ISA World Junior Championships for Team Canada – the first ever Medal for her family’s home nation – and is now on track to be one of the first ever Canadian Olympic surfers. In August 2022, Erin made history again with her performance in the 2022 Padang Padang Cup in Bali as the youngest person to ever compete in the event and make the finals as the only female rider. She went on to finish in 4th place against 15 of the most prominent male surfers in the world and took the victory in the women’s super-heat.
Erin’s fearless approach to sport paired with her philosophy of “hesitation leads to devastation” continues to set her apart from the rest of the field, solidifying her as the future face of women’s surfing. The noteworthy level of progression displayed in such a short period is a clear indicator of Erin’s willingness to put in hard work, she is surfing well beyond her years and taking aerial maneuvers to new heights. Erin’s list of accomplishments is already remarkable, signifying that this is just the start of something truly special.
