By Janna Irons

Twenty-two-year-old LeeAnn Curren is all you’d expect from a Curren offspring. She plays music, she makes films, she gets barreled. She is quite the underrated talent factory. I recently returned from a trip with her and must admit I came back singing the gospel of LeeAnn.

So, let’s begin with the obvious starting point: Tell me about surfing with your dad in your early youth.
Yeah, I started surfing with my dad, and my mom—she surfs too. They taught me in Biarritz when I was probably 3 or 4. Surfing was in my life since I was born. First my dad would put me on his board and I would just lay on the front. After that I learned to surf playing with my brother in the shorebreak. Since I was little, my dad always gave us advice.

What kind of advantages did you have growing up the daughter of such a legendary surfer?
When you have a name that is already kind of famous you get more attention, even when you just start surfing—people hear about you and want to see how you’re doing. I spend a couple months a year with my dad, but my brothers who grew up with my dad in California got to surf with him everyday and watch him everyday and that’s really good inspiration and motivation. If you see him do his turns, you’re going to try to do yours the same, and I think that helps your surfing. My dad and I don’t have the same style, we’re definitely different, but I think there are definitely a couple of things that we all [LeeAnn and her brothers] took from our dad.

So you made the Tour in 2009. How did that go?
I was on the Tour, but I got a knee injury at the fourth contest so I missed one event. Then it wasn’t feeling that good for the last three events. I still had fun on the Tour and I hope I can make it again. That’s my goal for next year.

What about last year on the “QS—were you all healed?
I did the “QS last year and I didn’t do very well. I had an injury again last year, I was starting to feel better, but it didn’t work out well in the contests for me. I wasn’t even close to qualifying. Next year I’m going to try to re-qualify and hopefully I do okay. I also want to do some trips, and surf some good waves.

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