“The main lesson I took from last year was that I needed to get lost, to find myself.”
It has been said that youth is wasted on the young. However, Juliette Lacome has recently absorbed some life lessons that seem beyond her tender 20 years of age.
Growing up in the sophisticated surf town of Biarritz, Lacome started surfing at the age of seven and by her teenage years was seen as one of France’s most talented surfing prospects. Taken under the wing of French CT surfer Lee-Ann Curren, and with an inbuilt competitive drive, she embarked on the traditional competitive route in a successful junior career. The end game was qualification for the WSL Championship Tour. That required an endless treadmill of competition and training and a life of intensity and focus.
“Everyone goes through ups and downs and last summer I was completely burnt out,” said Lacome. “I didn’t appreciate surfing anymore, because I had experienced a lot of pressure and expectation since a young age. Then in 2022, I broke my ankle, and everything went dark.”
The time out of the water and the enforced break from competition, however, had an unexpected upside; the stylish natural footer rediscovered her love for surfing and travel. After recovering from the injury, Lacome parked her competitive ambitions and hit the road for the better part of 12 months.
She documented her trips to destinations as far-flung as Iceland and Hawaii, as well as at home in the Basque Country in her first surf movie Reborn. Her mentor and bestie Coco Ho narrated the film and said the movie is about how “Juju” found her light in the darkness and never gave up on her dreams.
“Coco and I have been travelling a lot together and she always pushes me to be the best version of myself with my surfing or in general,” said Juju. “Last year going on surf trips and learning how to surf again without any pressure helped put me in a healthier relationship with my sport. More importantly, it gave me a new perspective for the future. Hopefully, the film captured that transition.”
Such was the affirmation that came with her pivot, she has decided to keep on pushing her travel and freesurfing to new limits. A recently signed partnership with Db means she is now, literally, ready to roll and check off bucket list destinations like Japan, Chile, and Brazil, as well as heading back to her new fave cold water spot of Iceland.
“My Db boardbag has been a gamechanger,” she said. “It looks classy and makes my travel life so much easier with the wheels, the protection and that I can fold it up. I can’t wait to work with Db and show the world what we have in store.”
Lacome hasn’t given up on her competitive dreams entirely. She has invested far too much and is too talented for that. CT and Olympic dreams remain a part of her future, but for now, with a new perspective, she is focused on exploring the world, and her place in it.“I do have goals and ambitions with this sport, but I just want to enjoy the journey,” she concluded. “I’m gonna put time and effort into trying to be one of the best, and hope that my surfing will take me to many destinations and inspire the next generation. We’ll see how it goes.”
