Travel tips from Lakey Peterson – one of the best surfers in the world

There are very few people in the world that can say they have landed their “dream job”, but Lakey Peterson isn’t most people. At only 21 years old, the Californian native is one of the best surfers in the world, having won several prestigious awards, including the NSSA Open Women’s title for the first time aged just 14! Today, she stands proud as one of the World Surf League’s top 20 best female surfers. Outside of time on the board, she is also a leisure photographer, an avid traveler, and a motivational speaker, encouraging young women and men alike to live their dreams and go for the gold.

We caught up with Lakey while she was resting a sprained ankle to discuss her lifelong dedication to surfing, pushing yourself to the limit, and travelling the world.

How did you first get into surfing?

I grew up in Santa Barbara, California, just a walk’s way from the beach, so I was always around the ocean and loved it growing up. Obviously because we were so close to it, we’d go out on the boogie board or just go in the water, but I didn’t really start surfing, or I didn’t fall in love with it until I was 12.

I started going every day after school with my neighbor and a few friends. Luckily, I quickly got my groove and started signing up for local contests up and down California, and doing quite well. Then, Nike picked me up and sponsored me, and I qualified for the world tour when I was 16. It all happened really fast. I was discovering my own passion and enthusiasm for it while learning, which made me even more dedicated to pursue it. Luckily, I have a really supportive family, which kept me grounded and extremely grateful to be travelling around the world doing what I love.

And, when did you first get ‘the travel bug’?

Oh, it’s always been there – much before my surfing days. When I was 5 years old, our family took a huge trip around the world for a year. That was a pretty incredible experience. Meeting so many different people, hearing so many languages, seeing different cultures … even though I was young, I think it was a formative experience for me. It’s definitely kept me passionate about travelling. Not only do you feel like you are educating yourself on how the rest of the world is outside of your own home – and how friendly and compassionate people are all over – you also learn so much about yourself.

When things really started taking off for me in surfing, I was still so young, and travelling alone or with a small team at 15 made me pretty homesick, missing friends and family, even school. But, eventually, I realized how lucky I am to get the chance to fly to places like Sydney or Hawaii, get on my board and practice or compete, then spend the rest of the time exploring these places with cool, like-minded people. I know that having that experience is very rare for a 15-year-old, and I learnt to go with the flow and embrace that opportunity. Six years later, I still do, and my interest in travelling continues to grow.

When you’re not surfing or training, how do you like to spend your time travelling?

Well, it’s kind of hard to get much sightseeing done, as the training is pretty intense. Still, I try to make the most out of being somewhere new – I can’t just lock myself in the hotel room! So, I try and plan the trips so that I have some time off to explore wherever I am.

I love taking photos, so for me it’s just fun to go walk around and take some photos. I’ve met some amazing people along the way, too, just by wandering around. I think it’s important to meet locals as much as possible, as you end up having some kind of connection and cultural exchange. Being open like that often leads to the best travel experiences.

Travelling from such a young age, I have visited many places, some where people are economically less fortunate; where there are people who don’t have a home or clean water. I’ve also been to places that are so luxurious, I guess I’ve seen the full spectrum. It’s been really eye-opening for me. That’s why I started getting involved in organisations like Hands4Others (H4O), that set out to provide clean water systems for developing countries. I am lucky to have to do stuff like that. We’ve only got one world, and people are the same all over, so we need to take better care of each other.

Is there one destination that you really fell in love with?

Well, it feels like you fall in love every time you land somewhere new and exciting. Somewhere that I particularly love is Portugal, and in particular Lisbon. I was travelling there again last year and got the time to really explore it. The architecture, the style, the music – it all feels like you are stepping back in time a bit, and the locals are very proud of their heritage. There’s something kind of mystical about that place, and that’s part of its charm. Also, there are some incredible surfing spots in Portugal. You can get huge waves up and down the coastline in places like Espinho and Nazaré, which are always fun.

Having said all that, I would really have to recommend people travel to California whenever they can. Not only do you have so many fantastic beaches for surf and weather, the whole state has some of the best food, culture and people you could ever meet. It’s the perfect place to just get a car, get lost and explore all over.

What is your favorite place to surf?

Another impossibly hard question to answer! There are so many fantastic places, and I’m discovering new ones all the time. I think the ultimate surf trip is Tavarua in Fiji. The infamously named Cloudbreak wave can be pretty intense, but there are a couple of little spots there, if you’re not quite as good or just starting as a beginner. The setting is just paradise. You’ve got incredible waves and scenery. There’s also the food, the nature, the people and some of the best snorkeling and fishing opportunities the world can offer.

Where did you find the motivation to follow your dream and become a surf pro?

I don’t need much motivation to go surf, it’s just fun! I am out with an injury right now, and I’ve been able to reflect and realize how much I depend on it. I love my job and kind of need it for my soul and well-being. It’s an extremely hard thing to commit yourself to, so you kind of need that passion there to push yourself, to train, and continuously get better, otherwise you will fail. Any dream or goal is possible, if you’ve got that passion, perseverance and fire inside you.

Plus, a huge motivation for it is that I get to travel, meet inspiring people from all over the world and spend my days out on a beach, throwing myself into the waves. The ocean is a really healing and enriching place to be. I think we probably take that access to nature for granted, and we shouldn’t!

If you could travel the world with any one famous person, alive or dead, who would it be, and why?

Tough one! I think it’d be pretty cool to travel the world with Amelia Earhart (the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean). I love flying and I want to get my pilot’s licence, so I think it would be cool to go with another woman, and she was obviously a badass …

She’s been quite a big inspiration throughout my career so far, because she went against the grain, and proved that you can do anything if you put your mind do it, whatever your gender or where you come from. Surfing is pretty male-dominated, I’d say, up until the last few years, and now women’s surfing is having a comeback. I am really happy to be a part of that change.

To find out more about Lakey, visit her personal website and follow her on Instagram.

Looking for more inspiration? Read our interview with Timothy Allen, the genius photographer behind the groundbreaking BBC series Human Planet.