Name
- Claire Bevilacqua
Age - 23
Hometown - Perth,
Western Australia
Sponsors - Volcom,
Nixon,
JC
Hawaii, Gravis,
Electric,
Jetty
Surf, Squid
Grip
Stance - Regular
Surfboards/Shapers
– various sizes shaped by
John Carper of JC
Hawaii; additional shapes by Western Australia
shaper Colin Earle
Claire Bevilacqua Story
& Interview conducted by Kyla Langen in Oceanside,
California
 Crazy,
Loving, Animalistic, In-your-face, Retarded, and
Extreme... coming straight from the horse's mouth,
that is how Claire is spelled. Known better as
"Bevo", this ripping West Oz native
is never afraid to speak her mind or tackle you
to the ground. Surfing her second year on the
WCT, the feisty 23-year-old is currently the 8th
best female surfer in the world. Hard on the outside
and soft in the middle, Claire's strong personality
and fly moves in the water have brought her into
surfing's limelight. Spending time in Southern
California during a break from the tour, we met
up with Claire for a couple surf sessions and
an in-depth chat.
Kyla Langen: Alright Claire
Bevilacqua, let's try to keep this interview PG.
You're a WCT surfer from Perth, Western Australia
- you're young, coordinated, fit, happy, sponsored
by Volcom… how do you keep it all from going
to your head?
Claire Bevilacqua: I have
a pretty solid family and friend system around
me. My brothers have always pretty forcefully
kept me in line, so it's hard to get a big head
or get full of yourself when you've got people
around you to constantly bringing you back to
reality.
KL: So you don't think you
have a big head?
CB: Do YOU think I have
a big head?
KL: ….uummm…
CB: Nah. I'm cocky, but
I don't have a big head. There is a difference.
I'm only cocky with what I can back up. That's
part of my personality; I think it's funny to
be cocky sometimes. But a big head is different.
I wouldn't have any friends if I had a big head.
KL: True. Man it's hot.
How's this weather we've been having?
CB: I'm really into the
hot weather. I'm not sure my skin likes it, 'cause
on tour we pretty much follow summer around all
year. But I can't stand the cold. I'm all about
bringing on the heat and the warm weather. Nothing
is better than surfing in bikinis.
KL: Have you been feisty,
bold and vulgar since birth?
CB: Ha, definitely feisty. The vulgar part came
out pretty much as soon as I turned four or five.
I have three revolting brothers, and was just
surrounded by things a kid isn't normally surrounded
by. So I grew up pretty fast, but I definitely
know how to control it when I need to. I know
how to tame my feral side when I have to. It's
all about balance.
KL: What have you been doing
during this break from tour?
CB: I've been here renting
a room in my friend Kassia
Meador's house, pro longboarder extraordinaire,
and just surfing a lot. I had an ankle injury
and was out for a month that seemed like forever,
so now I'm just doing my thing in the water.
KL: I hear you've been
honing your aerial skills. Think you'll start
boosting in heats?
CB: I definitely looked
up to Mel (Bartels) growing up. I've been practicing
my airs for a couple years now and I'm finally
confident in landing them consistently, so yeah,
I could do them in heats. But contests are another
thing, I don't surf anything like I do in real
life in a heat. So I just gotta focus on surfing
really good all-around in heats and maybe slip
in an air every once in a while if I'm controlling
the heat.
Claire Bevilacqua
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