Candice O’Donnell interview
HUCK: You were born in South Africa, and you’ve lived in Biarritz, so why Cornwall now?
Candice O'Donnell: It wasn’t my choice! It was my parents – I think before I was even born my parents came here and thought it would be a nice place for us to grow up. I moved from South Africa when I was six, came to England and then my parents separated and my mum took us to France but in the end she brought us back here.
Obviously Britain hasn’t got the best weather or the best breaks, do you think that breeds a different type of surfer?
I think it really affects the training and that’s why a lot of the riders go away to somewhere warmer for 6 months of the year. It shows that all the Hawaiians and Australians, with their climate and waves, are generally so much better than us. I’d like to go away a lot more than I do but it’s expensive flying back and forth.
Why did you choose longboarding?
I went straight from bodyboarding to longboarding. It wasn’t like I picked up a shortboard in between. My dad used to be a shortboarder and is now a longboarder and all my friends longboard too. I mix it up now but at the start it was always longboarding. Also, with a longboard you can ride all conditions; big waves and small waves. With shortboard you can only ride it when it’s big and punchy otherwise you get frustrated so longboarding is more practical. You get more diversity from longboarding too.
You are currently English, British and European Women's Longboard Champion, how important are competitions to you?
They help to improve my surfing, they’re good for your sponsors and it’s really good to have the titles to your name as well. There’s a really good social scene and it’s good to get your name out there. You represent your country in whatever contest you’re doing so there’s a lot to be gained from competitions. It’s not the be all and end all of surfing but it’s definitely a big part of it.
A lot of surfers don’t like competing because they find it limiting. How do you feel about that?
You’ve got to really want to compete. You’ve got to come to the beach and not have a bad attitude about it, otherwise you’re not going to do your best. You’ve got to be a competitive person and be confident in your own ability to win.
Are you quite competitive then?
Yeah, I’m an Aries. I’ve got a twin sister too so we do compete against each other in a lot of things through our lives. She’s a total free surfer. I’ve tried to make her do contests but she’s not into it, so there’s no point pushing her into it.
What do you do outside of surfing?
Recently I’ve really got back into my photography and I'm a bit addicted to cameras. I’ve got a camera here that I bought for £2 at a car boot sale. I like to use film rather than digital. I’ve been shooting quite a bit with my friend Kassia Meador and we got some epic shots from our recent trip to France. Just using medium format, black and white, 35mm. I also like working with resin and photos – pour resin in the top, let it set, stuff like that.
Does surfing feature in your photography?
Not really. I prefer lifestyle and portrait. I’m not really into landscape. I like people and urban compositions. I’ve no desire to take pictures of people surfing. Well, maybe longboarding at some point, stylishly and quite quirkily but mostly it's on-land stuff.
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