Anne Dos Santos at the Vans Pipe Masters
Interview/Editor-in-Chief/Photos by: Brianna Ortega // Editor: Grace Kinney
Anne Dos Santos is a Pro Surfer from Brazil and Australia. We met up with her on the North Shore of Oahu during the Vans Pipe Masters in December 2022. Anne was so down to earth and kind on land, but in the water, she is fierce and doesn’t let anything get in her way of surfing her very best in all types of waves and conditions. Read our interview with her below, and watch the surf edit we made with her at the bottom of this page on our Youtube Channel.
Anne Dos Santos at the Vans Pipe Masters
What is your history with Pipeline?
I've only surfed it a handful of times. I had always seen videos and surf movies of Pipe. It's just such a beautiful wave and it’s any surfer's dream to surf there and get a sick barrel. It’s a really special place just being out there. It's so hard to catch a wave, but I like the challenge and also seeing something so beautiful and being a part of that.
What is your mindset going out to surf Pipeline ?
Pipe is a gnarly wave in itself already without the crowd. And then you add so many people to the lineup, and it just becomes….I wouldn't wanna say fighting to get a wave, but a challenge to get a wave. So when I go to Pipe, I think to myself: I'm gonna see some beautiful waves today. If one comes to me, I know I'll turn around and go, but if it doesn't, I'm happy here just learning from everybody else. So I think it's really special. And when I have no expectations, I can't be sad.
How do you stay confident in your ability out there?
I mean it's really hard sometimes to not give yourself negative self-talk when you're out there because you see all these amazing people and I think, oh my God, what am I doing here?
But then if you just go out there with a mindset, and know what you're there for, before you get in the water. I tell myself: I'm just there to watch, learn, and if a wave comes, I'm gonna go. That's my mindset for today's surf. If you enter the water with a mindset like that, I feel like you can always go back to that, when negative self-talk comes in.
I think especially growing up in localized spots and always moving around, I've always had to learn how to fit in each time. I've always moved places and had to always earn my spot in the lineup every year. So for me it's quite normal.
So I think just being yourself always and sticking to what you're there to do. Not trying to impress anyone else and just doing you and no negative self-talk.
What is your mindset before and during your session?
I've had times, not at Pipe, but where I think, I'm here, I have to get a wave. I mean, it's what I really wanted to do, but sometimes we can't force the ocean. I’m already super competitive. I need to calm myself down and just focus on the basics. So I focus on paddling really hard. So when the wave comes, I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna paddle super hard. Because that's the main thing. And after that, I feel like everything is just automatic. And if you get it wrong from there, you can just watch a video or remember what you did and then work on things from there. But I think just focusing on being present and thinking: two things I'm working on is if a wave comes, I'm just gonna go and I'm gonna paddle really hard. So I just tell myself, Annie, paddle really hard. Paddle really hard. Even when I'm not catching a wave, I'm thinking of that so that when the time comes, I actually do it. Because sometimes you just forget or it's so much going on that you're not ready for it. So you just wanna be ready for it all the time.
What does the Vans Pipe Masters mean to you?
Where I grew up, there weren't as many women surfers, and a lot of the times when I surf bigger waves, there aren't as many women out there. I'm usually the only one. But I feel like that's all changing now with such amazing women's events like this one; it's a huge deal for the Vans Pipe Masters to include women, and invite younger girls as well. Even if we get there and we fail, it's okay, just because it's the first step to building the future.
So I'm really stoked that they're having this event and really happy to have been the first alternate and at least get to watch the girls rip. I think it's a huge thing for women–that contests include us. We wanna be there, we do, and it's our time and we're bringing it on. And even if we fail now, it's building our future. So I’m grateful for that.
How has your traveling influenced the way you surf and your perspective of riding new waves?
I am from two different places–Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and then I moved to Sydney, Australia. It’s helped me to see a broader vision of the world. Growing up knowing two completely different places, I got to see that there's so much out there. The Brazilians are super loud and always stoked. And then the Aussies are super organized, so it's really cool to try and get a little bit of both and interpret that into myself and my surfing.
Anne Dos Santos with big wave surfer friends Raquel Heckert (owner of the bunnies in the film) and Delia Bense-King at the Vans Pipe Masters Private Party
What is community to you?
I grew up moving a lot, and since I was little, even around Brazil, I would move. I've been to 11 schools. So I feel pretty detached from one place, and being a professional surfer, I'm traveling all the time. But, it's really awesome to see how people are so supportive everywhere around the world that you go. The community that I have is not just in one place. It's everywhere I go, each person helps out a little bit. I've stayed with so many amazing families and I feel like that plays such a huge part in my surfing because I have so much support from people. And when you're out in a new place, you never feel alone. How can you be afraid if you have so much strength from so many people behind you?
If you were an ocean animal, what would you be?
The other day I was at Haleiwa and I saw this huge turtle and I would see it every time I went out on the surf. So I’m a Leo (zodiac sign) and I always thought that the lion suits me really well–competitive and sometimes a bit bossy. But, then I saw that turtle in the water. And in the Maldives, I had a really cool experience with a turtle where it came and swam next to me. I was just chilling on my board and it swam under my hand. It just stayed there and I got to pet it and chill with it. The next day, it came back and did the same thing and that was really cool. And then I saw that turtle again in Haleiwa. I thought, wow, I'm not a lion, I'm not a Leo, I'm a turtle. It makes sense, I feel like some turtles are super slow, but they can be fast when they want to. And they're really smart animals. And I always liked that story with the turtle and the rabbit. I always loved that story and I just had this realization: Wow, I'm actually a turtle, not a lion, but maybe a bit of both. So I think as a sea animal, I’m a turtle. They never give up, they're super strong. I feel like I kind of have that in me, never giving up, and I always liked that story (about the turtle and the rabbit). Because things may seem impossible; who would've thought a turtle would beat a rabbit at a race? But everything is possible. So that's what the turtle represents: never giving up and everything being possible. Give it a try and never give up.
Who has been your biggest inspiration in your surfing journey?
My auntie is everything to me and inspires me in every way. She taught me how to surf and we just followed this journey together where she kept coaching me. There's not that many female coaches around, so it’s cool that she coaches me. She has a sports science degree and she's always helped me, not only in surf training, but also in physical training in the gym, and yoga, which has helped me with injury prevention. She’s also helped me to stay mentally strong. Staying mentally strong is super important if you want to have a long career. I've seen a lot of people that were so amazing and they just gave up because they didn't have it in their mind. So it's a really big thing. And she's always there for me. I always talk to her. She's my best friend, my auntie, my coach–she's everything. So it’s great to have her. And she charges, she pulls in, and gets super barreled.