Built for the barrel: Erin Brooks’ fearless journey to the top

Most high school juniors spend their days buried in SAT prep books, dreaming about college. At 17, Erin Brooks was studying the ocean, one wave at a time. Raised on Hawaii’s North Shore of Oahu, the young prodigy now claims Southern California’s Oceanside and British Columbia home. 

In 2024, Brooks arrived at Fiji’s Cloudbreak as a wildcard entry and left as a Championship Tour winner. Against one of the world’s most intimidating waves, Brooks delivered the biggest victory in her early career, putting the WSL (World Surf League) on notice. 

Now a full-time CT member, Brooks recently landed on another tropical locale, the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. With new faces entering the draw and champions returning from sabbaticals, the 2026 campaign has been nothing short of challenging. 

Her latest victory at Teahupoʻo caught the attention of fans and pundits around the world. Brooks’ road to the final was certainly no cakewalk. She defeated five-time world champion Carissa Moore, before taking out defending Tahiti Pro winner and reigning world champion Molly Picklum in the quarterfinals. 

The semifinals were equally heavy, as Brooks took down Isabella Nichols with a 9.00-barrel wave, the highest single score of the women’s competition. 

Riding this momentum into the final, she faced off against 2026 CT rookie Anat Lelior. It all came together at the perfect time, scoring the highest heat total of the women’s event (17.20 out of 20) to lock in the win.

Her breakthrough dub saw Brooks leap seven spots to No. 11 in the rankings and a much needed confidence boost heading into the final stretch of the season. 

At just 19, Brooks has established herself as one of the most talented surfers on tour. Her performance at Teahupo’o showed what she is capable of when the waves turn on. A mixture of composure, confidence and a fearless approach to some of the world’s most demanding barrels.

Stacking the record books 

➖ Only Canadian to ever qualify for the WSL CT: Erin Brooks

➖ Only Canadian to even win a CT event: Erin Brooks 

➖ Youngest male or female to win a CT event at CloudBreak: Gabriel Medina - 20 (2014), Erin Brooks - 17 (2024) 

➖ Youngest male or female to win a CT event at Teahupo’o: Gabriel Medina - 20 (2014), Erin Brooks - 19 (2026) 

Following her signature performance at the Tahiti Pro, The Sporting Tribune caught up with Brooks for a virtual one-on-one to discuss her rise through the ranks, the mindset behind her tenacious approach and what comes next for one of surfing's bright young stars.  

Michael Silver: In 2024 you were attempting to qualify for the Paris Olympics on behalf of Team Canada, coming up just short. Fast forward to present day, you’ve won an epic final in Tahiti against Anat Lelior of Israel. Battling a rookie on this year's tour, you faced a double-digit deficit early in the heat and made an epic comeback. Does this feel like a full circle moment being able to compete at Teahupo'o? 

Erin Brooks: Yeah, it totally does. I'm definitely a bit bummed not being able to qualify for Paris, but I think having this moment made me feel so much better. The Olympics are definitely in my sights for next time. 

Teahupo'o is one of my favorite waves that we get to surf on tour. I'm a goofy footer, so that's my front side. Barrels I feel like are one of my specialties. I felt really confident going into that event. My heat's before were going really well. I was never down like that, but in the final, I was combo’d like you said and had to really pull it out. It was all a gift from God because I was so nervous. I couldn't believe that I got the two waves. Someone posted about it the other day, saying I got two excellent scores within five minutes. So that definitely makes someone feel good. I was just so happy to get the win. 

Silver: You previously won on the WSL tour at Cloudbreak, which also is a notoriously heavy wave. That was your first CT event (August 2024), and you were a wildcard entry, which is even crazier. Serious question, do you thrive under gnarlier conditions? 

Brooks: I feel like growing up in Hawaii, I was definitely in that environment more, surfing bigger waves at Pipeline and Sunset Beach. I’ve always practiced breath holding training, so I do feel comfortable when the waves get bigger. 

Teahupo'o is a whole different beast. The lip is so thick, the reef is so shallow. There's other things to think about versus having to be underwater for a long time. You see everyone wearing helmets and vests because you definitely get bounced off the bottom. These two waves, I definitely feel confident at it. I've been coming to them for so long. I'm just happy to get wins at both of them.

Silver: Growing up, what kind of surfers did you look up to? Did you have any idols that inspired you to become a surfer yourself? 

Brooks: I definitely looked up to a few. One of them is Bethany Hamilton. Now she's a good family friend, which is honestly crazy to think. When I was younger, people like that were obviously unreal to me. She is such an inspiration because she's honestly unstoppable, no matter what. She's always pushing herself and showing us that anything is possible. I looked up to surfers like Gabriel Medina, John John Florence, Carissa Moore, and Stephanie Gilmore. I feel like those guys, they’re all the GOATs of our sport. Obviously, Kelly Slater as well. He's probably THE goat. 

Silver: You're 19 years old. Have you adjusted to life on the road, being on tour? What was it like when you started to compete, seeing your GOATs right in front of your face? 

Brooks: It was definitely something that I had to get used to, surfing against people I looked up to my whole life. I'd honestly see the heat draw, like Carissa and Stephanie, and I'd be starstruck shaking before my heat would even start. Those are such big names. Then you have to calm down, not look at the name and let your surfing do the talking. You hope that you did enough to get the win. 

Traveling as a 19-year-old is so much fun. I'm getting to see all different places of the world. Normally kids my age are starting their first year of college like all my friends are. I'm getting to see Tahiti and Fiji, Australia, and Europe, I couldn’t ask for anything else. 

Silver: Have you allowed yourself to think about LA28 and winning an Olympic medal at Trestles? 

Brooks: Yeah, for sure. It's definitely one of my goals to win an Olympic medal for Canada. I haven't competed in an Olympics yet. Getting there first will just be a dream come true and I have a lot of family in California so having that support behind me as well will definitely make me more comfortable and ready to go surf for them too. 

Silver: If you were to wake up tomorrow and compete in the Olympics in another sport besides surfing, what would you do? 

Brooks: Ooh, I'd love to compete in gymnastics. I used to be a gymnast so I feel like that would be so much fun. I’ve watched a lot of Team USA and they're all so supportive of each other and it looks like they're having the best time.

Silver: You famously surf goofy-footed, same as 2023 world champion Caroline Marks does. What makes your stance so unique, and do you think you approach riding waves differently? 

Brooks: Yeah, I am so happy to be goofy especially on our tour, a lot of the heavier waves are lefts. Being frontside I feel more comfortable, and what makes my surfing different? I approach waves with a lot of speed and more progression with aerial maneuvers and more radical turns and also being comfortable when the waves get big. 

Silver: I'm always curious about what athletes are listening to musically. What pumps you up? What is on your playlist these days? 

Brooks: I start listening to music really early on during my competition day. I always try to start the morning with some worship but then getting closer, I listen to more pop. At the moment I love Tate McRae. She's also Canadian. She gets me really fired up and some Rihanna. A lot of the pop girls. 

Silver: You are the reigning Rookie of the Year on tour. What advice would you give young girls, looking up to you, that want to become surfers and any experiences you've learned along the way? 

Brooks: I would just tell them to always keep it fun. It's such a long road and surfing is definitely a difficult sport. You never want to get too hard on yourself. You always want to make sure that the reason you're doing it is because it's fun for you and you love it. 

Silver: Fiji is coming up, which you've previously won. What can fans look forward to and expect at Cloudbreak? 

Brooks: It looks like we're going to get some really epic waves. So just expect some great surfing. Hopefully we get some big barrels and another fun contest. 

The Fiji Pro is set for competition from August 25 to September 4. For more information and how to watch, visit worldsurfleague.com.