By Mike Latronic – I first caught a glimpse of Caity Simmers years ago, battling it out with the junior girls at Lower Trestles during the USA Championships. She was far from timid in the water, but her demeanor on land was quiet: someone who observes way more than she speaks. Her frame is small enough that early on, she leaned on technique and timing rather than power. Surfers like Tyler Wright and Carissa Moore came up overpowering their competition; Simmers came up reading it. As she’s matured, her power has grown too, but it’s the subtle way she uses her rails and timing that magnifies it. You kind of have to see it to believe it.
That approach carried her to a world title in 2024 at age eighteen, making her the youngest woman ever to win it. She’s since become one of the sport’s most-watched surfers, as much for her progressive style as for her results. Caity is definitely unique. I wouldn’t call her style punk rock but she has this mixed energy. Subtle and reserved yet oozing in potential and revolt once she’s gliding across a wave. I caught up with her a few months back at Punta Roca in El Salvador, where she’d just posted the best heat total of the event, a 16.50, before running into a determined Tyler Wright in the quarters. Here’s our conversation.
Take me back to the beginning. How did you get into surfing?
I remember surfing on the nose of my dad’s board when I was five or six. My parents always loved the beach, so I was just always around the ocean. I actually fell out of love with it for a couple of years. I think I was just cold, and didn’t love the sand. In that stretch I did BMX, skating, scootering, dance, baseball. I was always into being active and competitive.
I became obsessed with surfing around age ten. I don’t remember one specific moment. I just remember my first surf contest, being so excited about the whole process, the anticipation, the nerves, and then winning. I’ve always loved winning, and I think that’s what made me fall in love with competing. Combine that with surfing being this exciting, unpredictable thing that just felt natural to me, and I fell in love with it. I feel so much joy doing it, and in my own beliefs, that’s kind of what you’re meant to do. Whatever brings you the most joy. That’s always felt like my calling.
How would you describe your style, and how it’s evolved?
For me it’s about picking what I want to do on a wave and sticking to that. I’ve been trying to surf with more power, changing little things. That’s the fun part, honestly, because I never want to stay stagnant in my surfing or my style. I try not to think about whether people are going to like the direction I take. I just think about how I want to surf, and that’s where I’ll always move.
At the same time, I do have a competitive side that wants to surf to the WSL criteria. I’m always going to want to finish a wave with a big turn that scores well. That’s the competitive side talking. Then there’s the side that just loves surfing and feels the joy of it. When I’m at my best in competition, those two things mold together perfectly.
You came onto tour going up against surfers like Tyler Wright and Carissa Moore — surfers built on power. Did people underestimate you?
Growing up, I always watched Dane Reynolds and Stephanie Gilmore, two surfers who read the ocean their own way rather than just conforming to a scoring criteria. That’s always been more of an inspiration to me than being a competitive machine. So when people said I didn’t have as much power as other girls when I got on tour, I actually think having a different element to my surfing was an advantage- being able to go beyond the criteria and surf how I wanted. I view competition as a stage to show my surfing. If I can surf how I want in front of a big audience, that’s the goal.
Where do you think your competitive streak comes from?
My mom played tennis competitively when she was younger, and she’s a pretty competitive person. My dad’s more laid back. I also have a younger brother, about a year and a half younger, and we always had the same interests and were always trying to one-up each other at everything. That probably contributed. But honestly, I think it’s just who I am. I’ve always felt like competing was a way to prove something to myself. It’s not something I have to interpret or guess at. I got first in that contest, that means I’m doing well. I think that’s why I fell in love with it.
Did you do the traditional high school thing, or did surfing take over?
I was homeschooled through all of high school. I went to school in-person through elementary and a bit of middle school, but it was mostly online after that. I was already surfing competitively and traveling by middle school, so I missed out on some of the social side of that age. But it also brought me opportunities to meet people all over the world, which gave me a different perspective than a lot of my friends who did the normal middle school and high school path. Not a good or bad thing, just an interesting way to grow up. I’m grateful for it.
How do you keep perspective when the waves or the results aren’t going your way?
I get a lot of my happiness from surfing, and surfing happens in the ocean, so it can become a negative if you put too much of your happiness on whether the waves are good or not. Especially now that surfing is my job, it’s hard not to get emotionally attached to how a contest goes. So I try to focus on the other things that bring me joy. My relationships, the places surfing has brought me, the people I love. That’s something I think more surfers could get better at, because it’s easy to get stuck in the moment on a bad surf trip or after a bad heat. If you can pull yourself out of that and remember you’re surrounded by good people in a cool place, it helps. If you’re fortunate enough to just be in the ocean, you’re already doing well— there are a lot of people in this world working just to survive.
How’s it feeling being back in El Salvador?
Waves are pumping, the weather’s warm, it’s a perfect right-hand point break. Good vibes all around. I don’t know if you can ask for much more.
How are you feeling about this year?
I’m feeling good, feeling confident, more confident in myself, in my surfing, feeling stronger. Not as much has changed for me other than that confidence and really believing in myself. It’s been a great start to the year. I’m looking forward to the events we’ve still got left. This one hasn’t even finished yet, and I’m already excited to get back in the water and surf some more perfect waves. I’m living my dream every day. I’m really grateful for what I’m living and what I’m doing. It’s a good life. I can’t complain.