Annie Reickert is a leader of the new school of waterwomen – all-around ocean athletes. Photo: Brian Solano
Annie Reickert is a waterwoman through and through. Raised on Maui by a family of surfers, Reickert was introduced to surfing when she was just two. By the time she was 10, Reickert knew she wanted to make a career out of riding waves.
Today, the 23-year-old does it all. She longboards, shortboards, tow surfs, prone foils, downwind foils, wings, and stand-up paddles. And she excels across the board. In 2024, Reickert achieved two of her biggest career milestones: she competed in the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational for the first time and placed the highest among the female competitors. She was also the fastest woman to complete the Molokai to Oahu crossing on a foil.
Out of the water, Reickert is a talented artist. Over the last few years, she’s experimented with painting animal designs on her boards and found that it was a fun form of meditation. Here, Reickert shares how she balances her training across disciplines, what she loves about big wave surfing, and how she first got into art.
So yeah, how do you balance your training across so many disciplines?
It can be tricky. The biggest problem I tend to have is overtraining. I tend to push myself to the brink and then either get injured or I have to take a break for a bit. The nice part about doing all the other sports is that they compliment and help each other. So, whether I’m foiling or shortboarding or surfing a big wave, the more time I put in with each of those sports, I see that return in other sports too. It’s hard to juggle all of it sometimes but it’s nice to have different options.
Maui is such a versatile place and there are so many different things you can do on a daily basis. In the winter, I’m focused on big waves and everything surrounding big swells. In the summertime, I like to focus on traveling and exploring new places. And then all of July is for the channel crossing, so that’s when my focus switches to downwind foiling and winging and all of the other sports that come with that.
Do you remember the first time you tried big wave surfing?
The first time I caught a proper big wave at Jaws I was 17. I went out with Paige Alms, Andrea Moller, Bianca [Valenti], and Keala [Kennelly] for the first time and it was a small, glassy day. From then until now it’s been one of my main focuses, not just to compete in [those conditions and types of waves] but because I loved it from that moment on.
What do you love about big surf?
I think it’s a lot of different things. Being in the ocean when it’s at its most raw and powerful is pretty incredible. Whether I’m crossing a channel or I’m in big waves, I love to chase that feeling. I’m also an adrenaline junkie. So, when I am out there and I get to ride one of those big waves and pull off in the channel, it’s one of the most incredible feelings in the world. There’s also something to be said about getting to chase swells all around the world and surf these waves that are so inconsistent. It’s a special journey.
Annie got her first invite to The Eddie this year. Mostly because of waves like this. Photo: Fred Pmpermayer
What was it like competing in the Eddie Aikau Invitational?
I wasn’t included in the event the first year that it ran with the women. I watched it on TV, and it was one of the most incredible things ever. I was injured at the time, so getting to see that from the couch was so inspiring and moving to watch. The following year I was invited as an alternate and it didn’t run and then I got invited as an actual competitor last year and it ended up running. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life.
I watched that event from when I was eight years old. I so vividly remember watching the 2009 Eddie that Greg Long won. I was so enamored with big wave surfing and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I asked my mom where the women were and my mom didn’t really have an answer for me at the time. But I wanted to see an older version of Annie out there. The fact that I can say that I’m now one of the first women to compete in that event is really cool and a full circle moment.
Did you put in a lot of time in at Waimea before The Eddie?
I think this might have worked in my favor, but I had never surfed Waimea before I paddled out for my first heat. When I got invited to the Eddie that year, I wanted to earn my place in the event and recognize how grateful I was to be included, so I told myself I would go over there and surf Waimea the first chance I got. And then it just so happened that the weeklong run of swell that we got was the first chance that we had to surf at Waimea at all and I actually ended up staying at Jaws because it was so glassy and it’s so rare for us to get glassy swells out there.
So, I ended up going straight into the Eddie having never surfed it. But I had some amazing support. I don’t think I would have been as successful as I was if it weren’t for that. Makana Pang’s dad, Uncle Dennis Pang, helped me that day and he’s one of the OG legends at Waimea. He showed me where to sit in the lineup, what waves to go for, and what board I should ride.
Downwind season for Annie looks like a whole lot of fun. Photo: Brian Solano
You had a big injury a couple years ago. How has your recovery been?
Two years ago, I got shoulder surgery and that was definitely a big struggle. I’d never really been injured – I was always kind of like a rubber band as a kid and could bounce back from everything. And then I had a torn labrum in my shoulder that just didn’t get better. I pushed through a whole winter and that was really impacting me and a lot of my sports, so I ended up getting shoulder surgery. I got to work with a really great team of people that helped me recover.
I was hurt for so long that I kind of convinced myself that I’d never get back to the water person I was. It was about a year and a half of that. Looking back and reminding myself that I did feel that way and now I’m out of the woods and I’m able to do all the things I love is something I’ll never take for granted again.
What are some comps you’re hoping do this next year?
If I get invited to the next Eddie that’ll be a huge one. I think the Jaws contest is kind of up in the air whether it will run again but if that ever runs, I would love to be apart of it. Getting to compete in my backyard and the place that I grew up watching would be incredible. I did it when I was 18 for the first time and then it hasn’t run since then. If it ever does run again, I’d love to see how much I’ve learned since the last time out there.
When did you first get into art?
I loved to do art my whole life, but I would never call myself an artist. It’s so surreal to hear people call me that now because I don’t think of myself that way. But I’ve always loved to be creative. I found my niche that I love to do. I love to draw animals and I love to draw detail, so that’s the form of art I love with the dots.
I taught myself how to do that from YouTube and looking at actual photos of animals and turning them black and white and just trying to sketch it out on paper. After I learned how to do that, I had the idea to put them on some of my surfboards. I love putting my finishing touch on the beautiful boards that I’m given by KT. It’s been a fun thing to be able to go out in the water and enjoy what I worked on on land.
Any plans to sell boards with your work on them?
I’m not sure. The boards take a really long time and I don’t want to cut corners with that. I think the reason I love it so much is because I get to put in so much time and then see the result. It makes the process worth it. Usually, one board will take me 45-50 hours; it just depends on what I’m doing. I would love to find some way to do it more and do it for other people. I’ve done a couple boards for people, but I haven’t really found the direction I want to take it in yet. We’ll see where it goes.
What’s next for you?
I’m excited for the next few years. I just want to keep doing what I’m doing, especially on the big wave side of things. I want more girls to do it with me. We have such an inspiring generation above us, and I want more of us in the lineup to continue to make them proud and to continue to push the level. We’re seeing that so much in shortboarding, but I want to see that on the big wave side too.
