Watch Now: Trouble, the Lisa Andersen Story
Trouble is more than a surf story. It’s a human story: the story of how a woman who had nothing rose to the top of surfing in a way no other woman had done.
Lisa Andersen is a four-time surfing world champion, inductee into the Surfer Hall of Fame, and a pioneer and icon of women’s surfing. Trouble, the 50-minute documentary written and produced by Chas Smith, follows the story of how Lisa became one of surfing’s greatest legends.
In an emotional interview at the beginning of the film, Lisa talks about the difficulties she faced growing up without support or guidance from her parents, who worked long hours and weren’t home often. Her life outside of the house wasn’t easy, either. She struggled to fit in at school, make friends, and stay out of trouble.
Everything changed when she found surfing at age 13, and it became all she wanted to do. Her excitement and energy is palpable in the homemade video clips scattered through the film from the time she started surfing. Surfing lit her up, but her family forbade her to become a surfer, and at that time women were not represented or supported by the surfing world.
Left with no one to guide her as a young teenager except her dream to become a world champion, Lisa had to forge her own path. She explains how, after running away from home to pursue her dream, she faced homelessness, had run-ins with the law, endured abuse, and had toxic relationships. Trouble brings us on this journey with Lisa as she navigates through chaos and vulnerability to reach her goal.
“[Lisa Andersen]: ‘In the end, I ran. I slept rough, sometimes under park benches on Newport Beach. There were other times when I would find an empty beach house, wait until nightfall and then crawl up to the veranda and make a cubby hole under my surfboard. I’d have to change my sleeping spot most days. I was so paranoid I used to think that the FBI was on my case.’” —The Guardian
Her life was full of challenges, but she had just the right amount of determination, grit, and talent to rise up, inspire, and transform women’s surfing forever. She forged her own path in surfing and paved the way for the future of women’s surfing. As the muse for Roxy, a brand dedicated to women’s sport that spread across the world and redefined global surf culture, she shattered stereotypes associated with motherhood and athletic career success.
“Lisa defined a new era for women’s surfing and changed what men thought of how women surfed.” —Kelly Slater
Trouble expertly captures Lisa’s story by integrating her own narrative of her life and all its trials and tribulations, intimate footage of moments throughout her life captured on a handheld camera, and highlights from some of her most impressive performances on waves. The multidimensionality of the film makes it simultaneously relatable, evocative, and inspiring. It’s a remarkable documentary and a must-watch for surfers and non-surfers alike.
