Words by Kirstina Vassbotn
In August Danish surf chick Emilie Uttrup is following her dream and surfing for the world champion title 2016 in Costa Rica. Along with Kamila Kjærby and Oliver Hartkopp are they representing the Danish team in the ISA Surf Championships that is happening in Jaco, Costa Rica 6–14th August.
Emilie is currently living in Ericeira in Portugal, a well-known surf destination in Europe. She works as a surf instructor during the summer and studies at Lisbon University the rest of the year. “I love living here, it is the ultimate lifestyle and I can surf all year round. We are a Scandinavian surf community that lives here and surfs. It is great,” says Emilie.
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All the days are dedicated to surfing, and the stoked surfer girl spends as much time in the water she possible can. Emilie manages to get the surf schedule to run smoothly and explains: “I usually have surf lessons twice a day, and surf before and after if I have the energy. For the moment I am also getting some coaching from the local surfer José Brito to motivate and push me before the comp in August.”
From horse girl to wave rider
What once was a small town, horse girl from Silkeborg, is now a world traveled wave rider. Since Emilie was a little girl she was into horses and when she was 19 she went to China to train horses. Her stay took a quick turn as it ended in a tragic car accident. It was only her and the driver who survived out of the five passengers. This was a life changing turning point in her life, and after rehabilitating and training Emilie wanted to follow a different path: surfing.
Follows the surf dream
Emilie went to Australia on a work and travel visa and went to a 4-day surf camp, and since then she was hooked. “I bought my first surfboard in Australia, I was so shit but I loved everything about it. I couldn’t stop” says Emilie. She went back to Australia a few years later to study and surf more. She quickly got picked up by the Danish surf team and had her first competition in 2014 in Denmark. The year later she participated in the European surf championship and the Regional Portuguese tour. Every competition she performs better and in the Larkour Pipemaster in Denmark she became 3rd. “The ultimate goal would be to become Danish surf champion, but for the competition in Costa Rica it would be sick to win a heat. There are so many great surf chicks that is going to surf, so I look forward to surf with them, watch and learn from them.” Says a smiling Emilie and put on her wet suite, ready for another surf session of the day.
Photograph credits: Katharina Maloun (www.malindkate.com), Benjamin Ness
More info about the event: CLICK HERE
