Margo Oberg Paved A Path For Female Surfing All Her Own
“I don’t need easy, I just need possible.”
The world witnessed the greatness of America’s Caroline Marks this summer at the Olympics 2024 in Tahiti, over 10,000 miles from the other athletes in Paris. Caroline Marks tore through the competition and established herself as one of the world’s best.
I’ve always been fascinated by who came before the great athletes, artists and musicians. Caroline Marks never saw Margo Oberg surf in her lifetime, but the influence will always be there.
At barely 100 lbs, Margo is one of the most legendary surfers of all time and is considered the first women’s professional surfer ever. She won world titles in 1968, 1977, 1980, and 1981.
“The first wave I ever rode, I took off and rode all the way to the sand, then paddled back out and rode another 50 waves that day, all the way to the sand. It was total enthusiasm.”
Born in Pennsylvania, Margo was led to the surf when her family moved to La Jolla, California at age 5. She quickly moved up the youth surfing ranks and was winning trophies at age 12 and beating boys. Margo moved with a tight grip on the wave, looking as she refused to give in to the force. She took control of her waves and willed her style upon the water.
Check out her beautiful style here at Nobody Surf.
Margo suffered a type of breakdown following at 2nd place finish at the surfing World Championships. She was only in 10th grade at the time. She took a break, moved to Hawaii and crafted her style, her art, her passion. We all need that. A break to discover what we want to create, how we want to create and if we really want it. Margo certainly came back and figured her shit out.
“Margo was the first girl to actually carve turns and link them together. She had a stand-up-straight style and dropped low in her stance when she was about to execute a turn or cutback," notes Andrea Gabbard, author of "Girl in the Curl: A Century of Women in Surfing."
"She rode like a guy and was the first in my mind to be better than most of the guys. She was also brave, whether it was 12 feet Sunset or trying a macrobiotic diet. She would give it a go and see what happened” - Andrea Gabbard, author of "Girl in the Curl: A Century of Women in Surfing."
“There are ten famous men in surfing and one really famous woman. That’s me. I want to ride the biggest waves any woman has ever ridden.”
She took on a rivalry with Lynne Boyer and traded world title in 1977 and 1978. Then taking a break in 1979, she came back again and won a 1980 world title. I love her comebacks, her breaks, her time off. My advice to Caroline Marks would be to take a break if you need it, but if not keep the fuck going. You are an inspiration to all surfers, not just female, everyone.
“Oberg had the range and polish and strategic know-how, but she had an upright old-guard stance; in general, she played the percentages.”
Watching Caroline Marks this summer was truly remarkable. She took on the world in a style all her own, and it showed us all how to compete or why to compete, men or women. Today, Margo Oberg owns and operates her own surf school. She’s also written chapters on how to help teach women surfers how to compete more effectively.
You can also read a great story by Surfer on the time her husband stripped down to save her board.