As soon as she told us her motto, we couldn’t decide whether to feel scared, fired up...or maybe a little bit of both?
Born and raised up the road in Oceanside, CA 16-year-old Caity has been blowing us away with her talent in the water since she joined our team in 2015 as a micro grom. Since then, she's been filming surf edits and winning comps all around the globe (which she claims is accidental). We caught up with her at O-side pier the other day to get up to speed with some of the things she’s been up to.
20 Questions with Caity Simmers
What’s something random that most people might not know about you?
I have a brother that’s really good at yo-yoing and surfing. I used to do hip hop and I used to be really into boogie boarding.
What’s your motto?
Live fast die young bad girls do it well
Guilty pleasure?
Burritos
How would you describe Oceanside to someone who has never heard of it?
A working class beach town with the worst waves and the best street ninjas.
What really fires you up to go surfing?
A pack of Red Bulls, binge watching marine layer productions YouTube channel (Dane Reynolds). I also watch a bunch of snowboard/skate vids. Dust box is a really sick crew
We know you’re super into surf filming/editing. How’d you get into that? Anything cool you’re workin on right now?
I didn’t like how people edited my videos so I wanted to do it myself. Definitely gonna try to work on some cool projects this year, I’ll say that much.
Talk to us about qualifying for the WSL Championship Tour and why you opted out.
To be honest, qualifying for the tour was completely accidental last year. I didn’t even qualify for the challenger series and then I got a wild card into the US open, and then it kinda just went from there. I opted out of it because I wanted to spent some extra time at home, figure out/improve my surfing a bit more and just enjoy being a kid I guess.
What are a few of your favorite waves in the world?
Of course my favorite wave of all time is my home break, oside pier!! But you seriously can’t match the perfection of an indo tube, so that would probably be a close second. Any punchy beach break barrel is fun to me
Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now where do you see yourself and what are you doing?
In 5 years I guess I see myself on tour, with maybe 1-2 world titles hopefully, and a couple banger surf edits. Wherever I am, hopefully I’m getting pretty barreled.
What was the last concert you went to?
I haven’t really been to a proper concert but the last time I saw live music I’m pretty sure it was my neighbor’s band, they’re rad
What’s the greatest surf movie of all time (in your opinion)?
Chapter 11, modern collective, view from a blue moon (tied for first)
Best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Bring a bathing suit and a book everywhere you go.
Do you feel like skateboarding helps your surf style at all?
Skating is just something I have always just done for fun with my friends and brother. I definitely don’t skate with the intention of it helping my surfing, but it for sure does. It helps with air awareness and some of the body movements are pretty similar.
We have a weekly “Would You Rather” poll running here at the office. So, would you rather use cheese flavored toothpaste? or ham scented deodorant?
Cheese flavored toothpaste 100%
How do you define success? What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
I feel most successful when I’m inspiring other people as cheesy as that sounds. Whether it’s through surf edits or comp results. My greatest accomplishment in competition is probably winning the US open, but I definitely don’t define success as just comp results.
What's the craziest thing that's happened to you on the mountain/in the water?
The most recent one I can think of is when I was at Teahupo’o and it was huuuuuge and I just sat out there for probably 3 hours and got one wave (only like a 4 footer, but still) and went in. But that wave is crazy. You see it in videos and you think it’s gnarly, but in person it’s so unreal.
Dead or alive who would you wanna have dinner with and why?
Snoop dog. Guy would for sure have some crazy stories.
Who’s your emergency contact?
Mom.
What are your must-have travel essentials?
I always bring my skateboard if I’m going somewhere that’s skate-able and download some shows on Netflix haha. Maybe a good book too
Let’s hear your wildest dream.
Make a generation defining surf film that inspires people to go surf. Getting Kool-aid colored barrels with my friends.
