Ask GO211 Team Pro Holly Beck your questions and then check back for her answers

wow, getting kind of personal are we? ok, ok. i'm not afraid! i am 28 years old, which is kind of a nice age. I'm much more experienced than when i was 18, a whole lot wiser than 21, can rent a rental car without paying extra, and sometimes it's really nice to realize that i am fully an adult with all the privileges of an adult to go wherever and do whatever I please. To fully answer your question, i was born on October 27th, 1980 which makes me a Scorpio. Look out!

wow. the free-lines are in a box in my surfboard room with some other sporting equipment that i don't use enough like body surfing fins. I need to pull them out and take them for a spin I think! Thanks for the reminder : )

That is such a good question. I like the questions that are a bit different and really make me think. I'm not a big movie person so I don't have a ton of options to select from. I like heroes that are strong, daring, caring, but also have to think, so a character like Indiana Jones is appealing.

i started competing almost as soon as i started surfing. i think i had been surfing for one summer and i was at school in september with the most disgusting spring suit tan ever, but i was really proud of it. someone was making fun of me for my "farmer tan" and i said, "whatever, this is from a spring suit because i was surfing all summer!" One of the older guys overheard me and then started asking me if I really surfed. I got nervous because i was totally hyping myself but really i was a kook. He said they needed another girl for the surf team and pretty much committed me right there. From then on, he picked me up and drove me to the beach in the morning and I was on the team. It was awesome because it helped me progress so much quicker than just going alone. I got 2nd place in my first heat and just wanted to improve from there.

I can't say, because the reason i love it is that it is uncrowded. So if I told you, you might go there. so i'm not going to answer that one.... sorry! ; )

wow. no idea. time expands in the tube. I had a really long one at Sandspit in Los Osos and another pretty long one in Nicaragua, but I can't tell you exactly how long.

Hi Mark, Um.... not sure. I'm actually sort of obsessed with sharks. I was reading The Wild Within by Paul Rezendes and it talks about the concept of "you are what you eat" or you become what you eat, which you could take to the next level and say that you then become a part of what eats you. Get it? So, i think there are worse things than to become part of a shark. Is that weird? The only shark I saw for sure while surfing was in Nicaragua and I'm not sure how big it was. I dove with 8 ft lemon sharks in Tahiti, and totally made out with a 20ft whale shark in La Paz but he was much more of a lover than a biter!

Yeah Francesca! When are we going on another dive trip? I haven't been diving since Tahiti last May. Scary! I just don't really like cold water, so I need to go on another warm water high visibility trip with lots of toothy creatures. I want to be in awe of the power of a big animal that could possibly eat me. Let's go! The Casita is AMAZING! Heading down to Nicaragua for 6 weeks on May 12. Can't wait. I will post more photos here for sure during hte trip. Your longboard sounds perfect. Now all you need is a hot guy to volunteer to push you into a few. Good luck!

I have thought about doing something like what you are talking about, although not as a grommet search particularly. I did put together an event in Huntington called Hello Kitty Boardfest that offered pro shortboarding, pro longboarding, and amateur divisions. It also had a "learn to surf better" training clinic where we taught the girls about how to get sponsored and compete. It was really cool. Since then i've been working with a few girls one on one. I just get recommendations from people about some young girl who is smart and looking to improve. I really like coaching, but more than just helping them do a better cuttback. I like to see myself as a life coach in a way. If i can help them adjust their thinking to be better surfers, it will help them in everything else they do in life as well. If you know of a cool girl that could use some help, send her my way!

Hi Cameron, Thanks for the question. I don't watch too many skate films, so i'll stick to surfing. I really like the film One California Day because it chronicles the lives of a bunch of different types of surfers in different regions of California and shows a little bit about how they approach the waves and how their particular spot has helped form their style. It's really well done and worth a look. Go Silver Joes coffee!

i've never actually surfed NY. I have surfed New Jersey though. I dated a guy for a long time that was from there. His family had a house in Lavalette (spelling?) right across the street from Eastern Lines surf shop. I spent a few weeks there one summer and had an amazing time! I was actually really impressed by the quality of the waves, but the lifeguards there are gnarlier than anywhere else I think.

So, I'm not entirely sure what kind of answer you are looking for here. I will do my best. It sounds like you are looking for couches to surf. Am I right? You asked if you were to show up with your surf gear and just plans to surf, would you "stand a chance among others for a comfortable living situation". I guess it all depends on how outgoing you are and how quickly you can make friends. Try San Diego. Almost everyone down there is from somewhere else, so it's easy to meet people that will understand your situation and be stoked to help you out. Other than that, all you need is a smile, a respectful attitude, and good energy to share. Good luck!

"most memorable" is a pretty big call. there are so many candidates.... the first time I rode a "green wave" as a grom, the first time I came out of a frontside tube, the first time I came out of a backside tube, the best session for tubes I ever had in my life, the biggest tube I ever got while towing in, in Tahiti. I just realized that other than my first wave, my most memorable sessions all seem to involve tube riding! I'm actually in the process of writing a book and recently wrote about the time I was in Tahiti towing into massive waves for the first time, way back in 2000, before every one was trying tow in surfing. Maybe i'll post it in a blog soon. Check my blog on my profile for the full story in all its glory....

I have no idea when I will be back in Peru, but I need to set a date! I never even got a chance to visit Chicama when i was there last time, so I really need to return. Long lefts are awesome. Thanks for the love and support! Enjoy those lefts for me in the meantime! :)

Is there surf coming? I've found that it is best to be constantly hopeful and imagining good waves coming but never getting overly excited. I sometimes get too psyched up for waves coming and then am just disappointed. So I will be hopeful but not over amped. I'm hoping for big wind swell and warmer water!

It's a strange feeling. I've grown quite accustomed to being known in my own hometown or while surfing anywhere in California. sometimes it's great, other times I just want to hide. I feel like I always have to be ripping because if I fall in front of someone they might go home thinking "I saw Holly Beck surfing today and she's actually a kook!" I've been trying to get past that lately, but sometimes those thoughts resurface. I actually get kinda stoked when I meet someone at the beach and they don't know who I am. I had that happen a few weeks ago and it was really refreshing. One time I was in South Africa with my sister eating breakfast and we saw some girls staring at us. My sister figured they knew who I was but I told her there was no way. "No one knows me in Durban," I thought. Then they came over and asked what it was like living with Danny Fuller. "He's so hot!" they said. Turned out that Boarding House : North Shore was on in their country even though it had been long over in the states. Classic.

WWF, huh? I can't say I had a favorite. Good question though. I was way more into American Gladiators. I really wanted to be one of those. I think I would have been good at it!

Nervous? Nah. You can't be nervous for those types of things. You just have to believe in yourself and have fun with it. That's what i'll be doing!