AUSTIN, Texas — Ashley Kidd had a real fear of hermit crabs growing up and it made her want to stay away from the ocean. The Corpus Christi native would find her way back to the water later as a kid, when she was introduced to wake surfing on a lake. 

What You Need To Know

  • Ashley Kidd grew up in Corpus Christi, and now she lives in Austin

  • Kidd is a seven-time World Wake Surfing Champion

  • She is in the process of preparing to win here eighth world title

  • Last fall, she injured her MCL and had many months of recovery before she could be back on the water training

“The minute I got up I was like this is my sport,” Kidd recalled.

Her love of wake surfing started that day and has only grown. As a teenager, she started to enter competitions and realized she wanted to make a career out of the sport.

“I knew that that was the only thing I truly wanted to do,” Kidd said. “When I was 18 I moved to Austin and at that point I made the choice to go all in with wake surfing.”

Kidd had the goal of becoming a world champion in the sport and became focused on doing whatever it took to reach that goal.

“If there’s something that comes up and it’s not going to help me progress or it’s going to take away from being able to practice or not feeling great on the water, that part of my life has to be put aside,” said Kidd. “There’s definitely things where you have to say, this would be fun and this would be cool, but not right now.”

Her dedication to the sport paid off in 2014 when she won her first World Wake Surf championship. She didn’t stop at just one, though. Kidd is now a seven-time world champ.

“I had been working so hard to win my first world title and my goal was I want one world title,” Kidd said. “One world title and I will do whatever it takes to get to that. Now, here I am, seven world titles later.”

She is in the process of preparing to win her eighth world title but this year has been a little different. Last fall, she injured her MCL and had many months of recovery before she could be back on the water training.

“When you’re an athlete and go from doing one to two workouts a day, being extremely active to not being able to walk, it’s one of the most mentally challenging things,” says Kidd.

Kidd is back practicing and says her knee feels even better than before the injury. With her success in the sport, she’s been able to use her platform to bring attention to wake surfing and help teach the next generation of riders.

“From the minute I learned how to wake surf and grew my own brand, it’s been with the idea to push the entire sport,” said Kidd. “Getting more people wake surfing is a huge part of what I do, both teaching and getting them to learn their first trick so they stay excited about the sport.”

Kidd has done big things in the sport and in her career. She has her own signature boat designed by MasterCraft. She rides on her signature boards and has built a huge social media following. It has not taken away from her desire to continue to dominate the sport. Her chance at an eighth title will come this October and the world championships will be held in her home state of Texas.