Making waves — surfing trailblazer Pauline Menczer

Pauline Menzcer is one of the legends of Australian surfing, but even after leaving Hawaii as the 1993 World Champion she had to wait for the recognition she deserved.Pauline Menczer was once the best surfer in the world, fighting it out to be crowned world champion in Hawaii in 1993. Out of the water, it was a different story.Pauline had battled the crippling pain of rheumatoid arthritis since she was a child. To make ends meet at home and on tour, she would flog jeans and hold garage sales. And she organised strikes among female surfers to protest their treatment.All this, because women professional surfers, even the champions, weren't given nearly as much support or recognition as men.More than three decades later Pauline finally got the kudos and prize money she deserved.Further InformationPauline features in the documentary Girls Can't Surf  by director Christopher NeliusOriginal broadcast October 2022To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.