How do you really know you’ve made it as a sporting professional? Is it when you claim eight world titles or when Mattel calls and says they want you to be the new face of Barbie – generally regarded as the most successful girl’s fashion toy in history.
I dare say the latter is more lucrative. You can almost hear the cash registers ringing and the sounds of millions of young girls chirping, ‘Mummy I want the new Steph Gilmore Barbie’ as they roll down aisle three of the toy department. It’s not clear if Steph signed for a one-off fee or took a royalty deal on Steph-Barbie sales, but you can be dam sure it means a big pay day either way.
Will Steph-Barbie inspire a generation of young girls to hit the waves? Will we see shorebreaks teeming with Steph in Barbie mode dropping in on the Tommy Carroll dolls? As Steph prepares to make a comeback will someone on the WSL commentary team be screaming, “That’s Barbie in the barrel!” as she gets slotted behind the rock at Snapper Rocks – contest three in the schedule.
Asked about the similarities between her and Barbie for the video press package (below), Steph flashed that million-dollar smile (literally) beneath a head of shimmering blonde and didn’t miss a beat.
“So I think the cool thing that Barbie is teaching people is that no matter what your dream is, no matter how weird, how funky, how cool, how big it is, you can dream as big as you want and it’s totally achievable. And of course, we also have the same hair and very similar body mould.”
Meanwhile, there was also some honest commentary about her chances against the new faces on the CT.
“For me, coming back after two seasons off is a scary thought – like, am I still good enough? Can I still win? Can I beat these incredible young women coming through? But I see it as a great opportunity. From here on out, everything feels like a bonus – so I’m going to enjoy the ride, push myself, and hopefully have some great performances.”
Who really needs heat wins when Mattell is guaranteeing you are minted?
Who really needs heat wins when Mattell is guaranteeing you are minted?
One also can’t help but wonder if a male surfer will be chosen as the inspiration for Steph’s regular squeeze, Ken. Might we see an Akubra wearing Mick Fanning in a plastic mould or someone like CT hopeful George Pittar who frequently looks like he just stepped out of a Country Road catalogue.
Ken or no Ken, by lending her name to Barbie, Steph may well have initiated surfing’s biggest ever mainstream cross-over. Move over Margot Robbie; see you under the tree at Christmas Steph.
