By Rebecca Parsons
Born into a family of surfers, it’s no surprise that Alyssa Spencer took to the water. The Spencer family lived near the coast in Encinitas, California and spent their free time at the beach. When Spencer was a toddler, her dad began paddling into waves with her perched on the front of his board. She was hooked.
“I fell in love with the ocean and surfing from the amount of time we spent at the beach when I was a little kid,” says Spencer. “Encinitas was an amazing place to grow up as a surfer because there are waves for every level of surfing.”
Spencer first began competing in the U10 push in division in the WSA series with her dad when she was seven or eight years old. From there, she went on to compete in the NSSA, USA Surfing, and the pro juniors. A natural born competitor, Spencer gravitated towards the competitive scene and thrived off competing.
“There are two moments I remember when I knew I wanted to become a professional surfer,” recalls Spencer. “The first one is when the surf movie Leave a Message came out. I went to the premier and remember feeling so inspired to make that dream of mine become a reality.”
“The second moment is when I was 13,” adds Spencer. “I signed up for my first ever pro junior event and thought it would be cool if I made just even one heat. I ended up winning the event and that really gave me a boost of confidence to go for it with my dream of becoming a professional surfer.”
Fast forward to today and Spencer is competing in the Challenger Series with the goal of qualifying for the Championship Tour. She’s a dedicated athlete and on a typical week, she surfs one to two times a day, goes to the gym three to four times, practices yoga, and focuses on injury prevention and recovery with stretching. In addition to her physical training, Spencer also focuses on her mental strength by doing consistent breathwork and meditation while simultaneously working with a mental health coach.
Spencer has been fired up about this season competing in the Challenger Series. She says it’s been one of her best seasons so far and the ocean has delivered, with fun waves to be had at each event. Of all the stops on the Challenger, Spencer’s favorite stop is at Snapper Rocks in Australia. She feels lucky to be able to surf the wave with only one other person.
“I am really excited for the rest of this year,” says Spencer. “My surfing, body, and mind feels at its best, so I am going to keep up with everything I have been doing to prepare for events. My plan is to keep up the consistency and aim for big results in these last events.”
When Spencer isn’t surfing, she prioritizes spending time with her friends and family. Her entire life revolves around the ocean and she enjoys fishing in her spare time as well.
“Traveling is a huge part of my life, so I enjoy eating good foods and making the most of adventuring around the places I visit around the world,” says Spencer. “I also love country music and sometimes me and my friends go line dancing for fun.”
Looking forward, the 20-year-old hopes to round out the Challenger Series in the top five and win an event. At this writing Spencer currently sits tied for 7th place, very close to her goal with a few events remaining. In the long run, she hopes to finish in the top five on the Championship Tour and dreams of winning a world title one day. She also has her sights set on Olympic qualification for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.