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Lee-Ann Curren with Guitar

Lee-Ann is prepping to record an album..eventually. Photo: Quiksilver

Surfer/Guitarist/Singer

I’d heard whispers of Lee-Ann’s musical flare, and after trawling the net for tunes I came across a clip of her and some pals doing their thing, performing under the name ‘Betty the Shark.’ With a painted face and cherry-red lips, Lee-Ann teased the strings and belted out choruses. “Music has always been a hobby,” she says. “Betty the Shark is the second band I’ve played with since I was fourteen, but when we all graduated we kind of all went separate ways. The other two went to New York and I started doing the tour.” Despite the (semi) breakup of the band, don’t think she’s closed up shop on a music career. “Whenever we’re back in France we play together, and I really want to record an album when we get a chance. We’ve been working on songs, so if all goes well it should happen.”

Music in the Veins

It’s one thing to be able to surf with your three-time world champ father, but better still if he’s a signed muso. “I was in California all of January and early February and we played together lots. He’s actually recording an album soon so I got to meet the other musicians he plays with and watch them all work together. We had a good time,” says Lee-Ann.

Global Roaming

Lee-Ann splits time between her home town of Biarritz with her Mum, and Santa Barbara with her Dad, as well as scouring the globe for waves with other Roxy gals. No doubt she’s racking up flyer miles, but does it get annoying?  “I’m pretty used to it by now. Dad went back when I was four so it’s just how it is. Plus I’m the kind of person who wants to move when they spend too much time in one place, and I love to travel anyway.” Problem solved.

She Gives a S—

Lee-Ann (a Quiksilver Ambassador) and boyfriend, Brazilian ‘QS ripper Andre Silva, started the Surf and Hope Foundation as a way of giving back to the kids of the Titanzinho favela in Northern Brazil, the place where Andre grew up. The foundation works to get the kids in the water and on a board as an alternate lifestyle to drugs and crime. “We started out by making the video, ‘Titan Kids’, and have started getting donations from people to fund surf schools, build a club house, and do other little things.”

Cooler Than the French, but Perhaps Not the Brazilians

Given that she lives in both France and America, and is flanked by her Brazilian boy on a regular basis, she’s good authority on how young Aussies stack-up against other fellas from around the world. “I think Australian boys are more similar to American boys, very friendly and easy to talk to. I think it’s kind of harder to be friends with a French boy, but, yeah, I don’t know, it’s a hard question. I guess boys are pretty much the same everywhere, besides little differences. I mean we’re all just human in the end.”

Lee-Ann Curren

Lee-Ann likes to give her boards an extra creative touch. Photo: Quiksilver

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