Champion surfer Jodie Cooper was born and raised in the small whaling town of Albany in Western Australia. Jodie started surfing at age sixteen and began her career as an amateur surfer in 1981 before eventually turning pro in 1983 in the wake of finishing second at the Rip Curl Pro contest at Bells Beach in Australia. Voted the tour's rookie of the year and world ranked at #6 in 1983, Cooper went on to win a slew of surf contests that include back to back wins at both Sunset Beach and Haleiwa in Hawaii in 1992. Moreover, in 1985 Jodie was the first female surfer to regularly brave the big waves at both Off the Wall in South Africa and Backdoor Pipeline in Hawaii. Cooper was world ranked at #2 in 1985 and won twelve World Championship Tour career titles altogether prior to quitting the world pro tour in 1994. Moreover, Jodie came out publicly as a lesbian in 1997. Cooper was made a Life Member of the Association of Surf Professionals in 1994 and inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions in 2001. In addition, the Jodie Cooper Award that's awarded to the Western Australian Female Surfer of the Year was first awarded to someone in 1999. Jodie has gone on to serve as an event director at several Roxy Pro events and as a regular analyst and commentator at pro tour contests for both men and women alike.