The Red Bulletin July 2019

Surf Girls Jamaica
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While growing up in Eight Miles, Bull Bay,
on the south-east coast of Jamaica, Imani
Wilmot didn’t see many women in the
ocean. As the daughter of Billy ‘Mystic’
Wilmot – founder of the JSA (Jamaican
Surf Association) and known locally as
‘the Godfather of Jamaican Surfing’ – she
spent most of her childhood on the beach
and surfing waves with her brothers, but
quickly realised that rarely were there
any other women out there with her.
“Historically, women in Jamaica have
been told to stay out the water,” says
Wilmot, who manages the Jamnesia Surf
Camp in Eight Miles. “They’re worried
about their hair in the salt water, and
their skin being out in the sun all day.
I never thought about that, because I
grew up with it.”
As she grew older and started to travel
to surf competitions, it was always the
same handful of women from across
the island competing against her, too.
“My school really supported my surfing,”
Wilmot says. “They brought me out in
assembly when I won competitions and
showed off my trophies, but it didn’t hide
the fact that I was the only girl doing it.
I started to realise back then how much
we needed more girls in the sport, how
much we need more girls of colour on
the waves, so that others would see them
and realise they could do it, too.”
She set up her first female surf school
at 17 and began to teach local women.
“It’s something I felt was missing, like
nobody else would fill the gap. I felt this
big urge that I was the one to do it.”
Caribbean surf culture is rarely
represented in the wider industry.
While there’s an exciting and growing
community on Jamaica in particular,
it’s one that is overlooked in the global
narrative of the sport. Wilmot believes
this is one of the main reasons why many
of the women around her didn’t see
a place for themselves on the waves.
“Nothing in mainstream media is
representative of surf culture here,” she
says. “There’s a lack of representation
in surfing that is down to money. The
media is controlled by what makes money,
and I don’t think they see the worth in
having a black woman in their adverts.”
Wilmot believes that change will come
when more women of colour make
themselves visible in the sport. “It’s about
empowering yourself, because people of
colour put the most money into places
where they see themselves represented,”
she says. “If other women see me doing
my camps, that will make them think,
‘If those women can do it, so can I. This
is a place for me, too.’”
The space that Wilmot’s surf camps
provide is needed in more ways than one:
it’s become a safe place for many women
in Bull Bay and the surrounding areas.
Jamaican culture can be particularly
misogynistic and violent, says the
28-year-old. “The camp is just a place
that is nurturing and comfortable for
girls to come and learn to surf,” she
explains. “I’m really concerned about how
these girls are doing emotionally. People
need to feel like they are supported and
“Historically,
women in
Jamaica have
been told
to stay out of
the water”
that their dreams and what they want to
achieve in life are valid.”
Women from all walks of life started
to join the camps, looking for space and
time away from their problems. “Being
a woman in Jamaica can be tough,” says
Wilmot. “Sometimes the way that people
are treated can be hard to deal with, and
surfing can be time away from things that
are happening in society – whether it be
corruption, abuse or a whole array of
things that put a strain on people.”
Leading groups of around 10 to 15 at
a time, Wilmot began to teach more and
more local women how to ride the waves
on their doorstep, while creating a space
for them to meet and support each other.
“When it comes to personal things, we
all show up for each other’s stuff,” she
says. “In every aspect, we feel like we
have somebody who’s there. It doesn’t
have to be to do with surfing – by having
this community, we share personal
experiences that will help us cope.
Nobody has to go into things feeling like
they’re completely on their own and lost.”
Wilmot’s story has recently been made
into a documentary by British filmmakers
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