"I have never been prouder to wear the Maple Leaf," Erin Brooks rejoiced when learning that she had formally been granted Canadian Citizenship by Minister Marc Miller.

After a lenghty process in which Erin competed for Team Canada for over three years racking up podiums around the world, she was welcomed to the country of her grandparents who live in Montreal.

At just 16 years old, it is glaringly apparent that Erin Brooks is a once in a generation talent on a surfboard.

Erin’s notoriety as an elite surfer rose at a meteoric pace, having not even touched a surfboard until she was 9.

When her family moved to Maui that a friend suggested she get into surfing, and Erin was instantly hooked. Learning to surf was Erin’s first board sports experience, and when she started entering contests she was fueled to outwork the competition, much like she does in every aspect of her life.

Upon realizing her love for the sport, Erin surfed before school, after school, and pretty much every opportunity she had, catching the eye of the surfing community with her high-flying airs and seemingly effortless tube-riding.

After about a year in Maui, Erin’s family moved to the North Shore of Oahu to train with reputable waterman and surf trainer, Kahea Hart.

Since making the move, Erin went viral for a captivating edit at Waco in 2019, won the Stab High event in 2021 with what has been called “the best air ever done by a female.” She now trains for Canada under the guidance of Head Coach Dom Domic in Tofino, BC.

In August 2022, Erin made history again with her performance in the 2022 Padang Padang Cup in Bali as the youngest person to ever compete in the event and make the finals as the only female rider.

In June 2022, Erin won the Gold Medal at the ISA World Junior Championships for Team Canada – the first ever medal for her family’s home nation – and is now on track to be one of the first ever Canadian Olympic surfers.

Erin’s fearless approach to sport paired with her philosophy of “hesitation leads to devastation” continues to set her apart from the rest of the field, solidifying her as the future face of women’s surfing.

The noteworthy level of progression displayed in such a short period is a clear indicator of Erin’s willingness to put in hard work, she is surfing well beyond her years and taking aerial maneuvers to new heights.

Erin’s list of accomplishments is already remarkable, signifying that this is just the start of something truly special that now includes her upcoming debut in the WSL Challenger Series as the first-ever Canadian and youngest competitor in history.

Still a teenager, Erin was recently featured by Olympics.com as one of “three young athletes to keep on your radar for Paris 2024" and in a national cover feature in Canada's Globe and Mail that perfectly sums up her prodigious potential:

Canada's surf prodigy pushes the sport to new heights ahead of Olympics.

Then, at the 2023 ISA World Surf Games in El Salvador, Erin entered the women's competition as the youngest competitor in the event's history and battled through eleven repechage heats to finish in second place.

Canada's first ever medal in international surfing and earned her high praise from the judges who commented to Team Canada Coach Dom Domic:

“No one can believe someone so young and so small is so good. She’s a freak. She’s like an alien who got dropped down onto this planet."

Then, in October 2023, she proved it again. In only her second WSL Challenger Series event, Erin won gold and will advance to the full tour in 2024.