Surf influencer Erika White admits she went from patching holes in her wetsuit to financing her travels and renting a property in Byron Bay, Australia, after joining Influencer. Free boards and product sponsorships couldn’t finance that lifestyle and those purchases.
White dreamed of building a career in her beloved surfing sport by writing Cornwall beach guides, creating surfing videos, and sharing lifestyle vlogs online. Though sponsorships gave her the necessary equipment, she didn’t have enough money for a stable living.
“I started earning a little from brand deals, sponsored by the wetsuits’ brand, having free boards,” White said. “I was moving in the right direction, but the income was not stable.
“That’s why I joined Influencer: to support that lifestyle, surfing and traveling. Right now, I probably earn more than pro-surfers, and I am able to do all the things I love.”
Before becoming an influencer, White lived in a small studio near her parents’ flat, using Universal Credit, which left her about £100 a week after paying rent.
“I was literally surviving on peanuts,” she said. “I cannot imagine how I was managing.”
White held hospitality and cleaning jobs while working as an online career woman, and at times doubted whether she could survive without quitting her position.
“Definitely, there were times before Influencer when I thought that maybe it was time to find a part-time or even a full-time job in hospitality,” she said.
“I was miserable cleaning toilets. I don’t want to wash someone’s mess off a bowl. I would rather just take one bold picture and sell it.”
A high-quality surfboard costs about £1000, and a wetsuit about £400, so it was hard to keep the equipment in decent condition.
“I used to be the surfer who had holes in his wetsuits,” she said. “There was one wetsuit for the whole year; now there are new wetsuits for every season.”
Since joining Influencer, she has been earning several thousand pounds a month, and this money has helped her feel comfortable in her surfing lifestyle.
“Within eight months I went from making about £5000 per month to £50000 per month,” White said. This was the moment I realized I could earn a lot of money from it.
White has been able to sneak surf trips wherever she could since childhood, though sometimes she had to give away things to pay for them.
“I’ve never been able to afford any fancy surf camps. I was always able to find a way, but right now I am not stressed out of my mind. I did not sell all my possessions to finance the trip,” she says.
Some of the most significant changes, White notes, concern daily life issues.
It sounds crazy, but it is just the basics, like being able to afford petrol to drive her car to surfing, for example, she explained.
Now White can allow herself to spend money on extras she used to be afraid of spending too much on, including booking several sessions in a wave pool and buying a skateboard for an easier way to the venue.
“I’ve bought three sessions that cost more than £100. I was never able to do that before,” she says.
“And I decided to buy a skateboard that costs £300 for just skateboarding to the venue. I was never able to do that before.”
White’s additional income has enabled her to travel through Hawaii, New York, and London, and to rent the house near Byron Bay for A$1800 a week while living in Australia.
“Before, I always used to live with my parents or co-live in family houses,” she remembers.
Moving into the house in Australia feels especially remarkable, as it is the house she first admired while living in a small Airbnb cabin on the same property, where she shot some of her videos for the Influencer.
“I remember driving away from the Airbnb house and watching that main house in that street, thinking I would love to live there someday. And it appeared for rent, and I thought – it is the thing.”
It was a true full-circle moment for her.
Being a surfer has also helped her create a niche as an influencer, as some subscribers pay to watch her in her wetsuit.
“I have actually got a couple of fans who pay me just for wearing a wetsuit. They are saying, ‘don’t take it off.’ They love the tight neoprene.”
Not everybody who was following her initial surfing content liked this transition from White.
People would tell me, “This ruined your whole aesthetic” or “I would love it if you would share surfing with us.” But they don’t understand that posting surfing and lifestyle content doesn’t pay the bills.
According to White, the need to promote her image on Influencer caused her to burn out, which led her to set new boundaries and direct her social media activities the way she wants.
“When I started earning more from Influencer, I was posting more stuff on social media, and I burned out,” she explained. “So I created some solid boundaries. I will only post stuff that I want to do, that is vlogs and surfing, because this is what I love.”
For White, the biggest change is being able to finance her hobbies herself, without sponsorships or selling possessions to fund another trip.
“Before, I would get things for free through social media; this was the beauty of being a surf influencer. I would get free wetsuits, ” she noted. “It was amazing.”
“It is the dream when you are not able to afford it. But it is much better when you have your own money to spend whenever you want.”
