How it all began….as told by the founding gidget…

I love the ocean and spend most mornings before work most weekends in the water either surfing or teaching people how to surf. I’ve got lots of surfboards. On weekends, I go on surftrips with my other surfing friends aka roadies to find uncrowded waves and good cafes. My favourite holiday are surfholidays in Indo but maybe not 10ft Uluwatu. I guess I’m what they call a ‘gidget’ in surfing circles.

On one of our countless road trips, chatting to one of my fellow gidgets, we figured a few things…As girl surfers we charge hard but we don’t tend to take it as serious as our male counterparts in the surf. It’s not always easy being a girl in the surf, especially if you are just starting out. It is a male dominated world and it might be a bit scary unless you have a hot surfie dude boyfriend who teaches you the ropes. If you happen to have a boyfriend who prefers to surf the internet, don’t worry, we can give you some advice from surfer chick to surfer chick (e.g. how to disguise your massive man surf shoulders in a summer dress….). AND there are not many sites for surfing woman. You have your blokey bloke, die-hard surf mags which are quite amusing but don’t necessarily answer questions like ‘how to make sure your bikini stays on during a duck-dive…’

That’s how the idea to ‘Venus Goes Gidget’ was born. I am lucky enough to have waves in my backyard (=namely Bondi Beach) and I’m passionate about surfing even though it was not the easiest of all things to pick up.  Over the years, on the journey to become a surfer, I’ve made many observations in the line-up and learnt a lot along the way. So I thought why not share these stories with other (female) surfers, gidgets-to-be and everyone who loves the ocean.

Why Venus Goes Gidget? What’s in the name? 

Screen Shot 2013-02-12 at 11.22.43 AM

Ever wondered why the name ‘Venus Goes Gidget’ for a surfing blog? What does it actually mean? Why does the Austrian come up with a name for her blog she can’t pronounce (for those who don’t know me personally – as a German native speaker I have issue with pronouncing ‘V’.)

Well, there is method to madness and a good reason for this name:

Screen Shot 2013-02-12 at 11.28.25 AMVenus
Yes, Venus is the name of a planet, some of you may think of the razor for chicks (you watch too many ads if you do), but with Venus in ‘Venus goes Gidget’ we are referring to the Roman goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and military victory (thanks Wiki – could not have described it any better). Venus represents femininity, so there is a Venus in every women.

Gidget
The original Gidget was created by Frederick Kohner in 1957. Kohner was fascinated by his daughter’s aspirations to take part in a ‘boys-only’ sport back in the days. That’s how Gidget was born. He wrote the novel ‘Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas’ based on his teenage daughter adventures getting involved with the local surf scene in Malibu. The novel got turned into a popular TV series and some movies. Until today,  the name ‘Gidget’ is used as a synonym for surfing girl.

Get it now?
‘Venus Goes Gidget’ stands for women (just like Venus) who get into the water amongst the boys (just like Gidget).

Special thanks to the lovely Miss Laura who has inspired us to the name with her PHD thesis about women in surfing titled ‘Venus, Gidget and Mermaids of the 21st Century: A Study of Women, Surfing and Empowerment’.