Originally published in Santa Cruz Waves Magazine.

The treacherous waves of Ocean Beach aren’t exactly a mecca for learning to surf, but that’s where 17-year old Emma Stone cut her teeth. The 2018 Scholastic Surf Series (SSS) State Championship hails from San Francisco’s Outer Sunset, and has been surfing the notorious beach break with her father since grade school. When it comes to her favorite surf spots, “definitely Ocean Beach is No. 1,” she says. “No. 2 is probably Sunset.”