It sells, man, it sells.
Claire Bevilacqua, who recently posed quasi-nude for international sporting publication ESPN magazine, believes if women’s surfing is to gain the recognition it deserves, its athletes need to show more leg. Sexy is alluring, she says. And not just to horntoad men but uncles, aunties, grandmas and grandpas. When combined with hi-performance athleticism, it’s simply insatiable to the consumer.
Stab: Your first nude shoot - was it intimidating, esteem battering or exhilarating?
Claire: They took me to an old windmill style house on the beach at Malibu with a private beach and waves out the front. There was a gay hairdresser and really friendly make up artists, and everyone was young, chill and acted like it was completely normal. I get my kit off all the time in the surf and I wear Brazilian bikini bottoms so I’m comfortable in my skin. The shoot went for eight hours and by the end I was having a lot of fun.
You bested an schwarzenegroid tennis player, NFL running back and Olympian to get the cover of the spread.
That blew me away. I think they were stoked because I was so comfortable with the nudity. I was up hanging from a tree in the shoot. It’s the opposite of when I was younger, and insecure about my body and having muscles and wanting the boys to think I was hot. I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore. It was liberating. I let it all go and I could see they appreciated my strengths and what my body is designed to do.
Yeah, on that, how exactly do you get a body like yours?
I have really good Italian genetics and it comes down to living a natural and simple life. I surf as much as I can and eat organic bread, pasta and olive oil. I’m a good old-fashioned wog girl who loves and respects her body. I’m also getting older and realise everything I do leaves a lasting impression on my body and my insides. Typically, I surf four hours a day, or six to eight if I’m in Hawaii.
Various female athletes and sports teams have embraced the nude shoot, yet not since Wendy Botha has a world tour female surfer posed nude. Why is that?
I didn’t do anything sexual like Wendy Botha. A lot of the girls are getting more confident and realise they can make a good living from being marketable. Females are taking more pride in their bodies. The attitude has definitely changed. They don’t want to be boys anymore. They want to be girls on a surfboard. Girls are way more stoked on being a woman and taking hold of that power and using it to their advantage. I am 26 now. I’ve had my years to be insecure and worry what people think.
What sort of a profile boost are you expecting this to deliver?
The littlest things can lead to big things and the big things often have the smallest affect. I just loved the fact they wanted to promote me because I look different. I’m not worried about it improving my profile, I’d rather be promoting a healthy image than being famous.
Would you like to see more female surfers capitalising on their femininity and sexuality?
Of course. I encourage anyone to be proud of their sexuality and body, and incorporate it into their sport because action and sport and being athletic is something beautiful. In tennis they sexy up and they have amazing bodies and you see amazing athletes running around. Everyone appreciates what goes into making a world-class athlete. The more attention we get the more exposure and money that our sport gets, and we get what we want. We want our sport to be recognised as much as the others. Being a chick charging pipeline in a Brazilian bikini or doing an air on a beach break is far sexier than a girl running around hitting a ball. People want to see action, sexiness and women being world-class athletes at the same time. You gotta put the girls in good waves. They shouldn’t make us wear wetsuits in some place where people can’t even afford to buy the clothes. I’m just being real and honest. You need high performance, in the best conditions, with spectators who appreciate what it takes, then throw in some bikinis, and you have great eye candy. And the girls will want to perform. If they are smart about it they can make it sexier but we need guidance from the surf companies.
Is it fair for women surfers to use their appearance to gain exposure?
It depends if you’re a cokehead and you’re someone who abuses their sexuality. Women have used their sexuality since the beginning of time for power, so I don’t see why surfing should be any different.
Do you think female surfers embracing their sexuality could be a smart strategy as far as luring more male viewers to surfing?
It’s not just male viewers. It’s your grandma, grandpa, and uncle. Everyone is attracted to sexuality or at least curious. It boosts the popularity of everything else so why not surfing? As long as it’s tasteful. I’m not gonna say other girls shouldn’t go more risqué, or do porno or whatever, just as long as they are doing it for themselves and the right reasons.
What lengths are you willing to got to introduce sexuality into surfing - are we talking jelly wrestling on the shore before your heat?
Anything inventive and funny and entertaining like that I am down for. I just don’t really want to get naked. I would do any shoot but I wouldn’t show my downstairs.
Kelly had his conceptual contest in Fiji. Perhaps Volcom could set up something similar incorporating jelly wrestling.
Anything that is funny I am up for. Our sport is never going to be Olympic and considered for drug testing. It doesn’t have to be. It is already respected and loved. It doesn’t need to follow anybody’s rules. I’m all open to something exciting and fun, and not serious. It doesn’t have to be serious to be legit. I’m sure Volcom would be into it. – Jed Smith
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Reply #18 on : Sun July 25, 2010, 11:18:40