Watch: Sierra Kerr Is the Future of Female Surfing

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated 4/1/24

It’s a tough gig being a child star.

Not just in film, TV, and music – but surfing, too. All the attention, the hype, the expectations. Will they shine too bright too young, then burn out before their prime?

Such is the case with many. But young Sierra Kerr seems to be navigating the world of early surf stardom quite well, as seen with her first official surf edit, Pre-Kerrsor.

Under the tutelage of her father, Josh Kerr, Sierra (now 17 years old) is going down the free-surfing route during the current phase of her blossoming career. She is competing, too, with a handful of solid results on the WSL Qualifying Series, although a jump onto the Championship Tour may not be the primary focus right now.

Captioning Pre-Kerrsor, Sierra wrote:

“My 1st official surf edit. I filmed PRE-KERRSOR in the last 6 months of 2023. This edit is very special to me. I have always wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps by filming a few edits. We scored some amazing waves and it was fun having a few of my friends apart of it. I hope you all like it!”

With a variety of locations featured in the edit, Sierra shows off her strengths – slab-wrangling in Western Australia, progressive aerials and turns in Indonesia, and the final section of the short film, some serious charging at Teahupo’o (too bad she won’t be at the 2024 Olympics).

So, what’s next for Sierra? Wrack up a couple world titles on the CT? Keep the free-surfing train chugging? We’ll have to wait and see. But whatever she chooses, based on the edit above, it’s not looking like she’s burning out any time soon.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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