Intro
Meet Rachael Tilly. Professional surfer, 3x World Longboard Champion, and someone who has been chasing waves since she was a little kid. From San Clemente, California, Rachael grew up with sand under her feet and saltwater in her veins, winning her first local contest at 8 years old. She made history as surfing's youngest ever world champion at 17, and she hasn't slowed down since. When she's not competing, you'll find her sailing, foiling, prone paddling, or finding any other reason to be in the water. The kind of person who lives fully, travels freely, and brings good energy everywhere she goes. We're proud to welcome her to the Turtlebox family.
Q&A
What is your profession? And did you always know this is what you would end up doing, or was it something you stumbled into?
I'm a professional surfer. Surfing, and more specifically longboarding, is something I fell in love with from a young age. My parents always took my brother and me down to the beach to spend our days in and around the water. I won my first local contest when I was 8 and from there I absolutely fell in love with competing and the challenge of trying to win. I made all the goals a little girl makes to become world champion and professional surfer one day, and then just worked my butt off to make it happen.
When you’re not doing your core pursuit, what else do you enjoy doing?
I love everything around the ocean: sailing, foiling, prone paddling, fishing. I've always been inspired by athletes who are all-around watermen and women with a deep understanding of the ocean, and I'm always striving to grow in those ways.
How do you incorporate music into your life?
Music is involved in everything I do. It can really change my mindset and relax me before competing for a world title, or be the thing that boosts the vibes when I'm on long paddles or out on the jet ski. Music just makes every activity in life more colorful. I love to dance and always try to be the person that brings fun energy to the group, and music always helps with that.
What does “Live Free” mean to you?
To Live Free means to live completely in the present and fill the day with as many activities as possible.
Any guilty pleasures?
I'm sugar obsessed. A big bag of Nerds gummy clusters comes on every trip with me.
What’s your hottest take or most controversial opinion?
Donuts are the best food in the world and eating super healthily is kinda overrated.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you in the wild/on tour?
I've been traveling on tour since I was 15. There's too many experiences to pick just one. I'm a very spontaneous traveler, a last-minute airport person, and tend to fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to travel logistics. Imagine a ton of random journeys in random situations just to cross a country or make a flight. I live by the motto that it'll all work out, and because of that I've become a great problem solver. Especially doing all of that with a 9-foot, 70-pound board bag in tow through cities like London, Tokyo, and the middle of China, where there's no surfing and everyone is just staring like "what the heck is that thing?"
Who is your favorite musical artist? Or what are you listening to right now?
I love happy music: pop, alt, indie. I love having a playlist or a few songs I play to death on a trip, so that every time I hear those songs in the future they take me straight back to that moment. Before one of my world title runs, I listened to "Stop" by the Spice Girls before every heat and it always pumped me up and helped me relax and have fun. Now every time I hear that song it takes me right back.
Favorite Turtlebox speaker and why? How do you use it?
My favorite is the Ranger. It's packed in every suitcase, velcroed onto my paddleboard during long paddles, and in my jet ski cup holder when I go tow foiling. It fits perfectly into every aspect of my life. And the fact that it's waterproof is an absolute game changer.
