• BILLABONG CREW

    Free shipping & returns for members

    Join now

Bio

Just as talented on a SUP as a longboard, where she is internationally ranked among the top 10 female competitive stand-up paddle surfers in the world. Hailing from Hawaii, she’s surrounded by a super supportive community who cheer her on, no matter what kind of board she rides. There’s certainly no denying the salt life suits her, but it wasn’t always this way. Nique, short for Dominique grew up in South Texas and Michigan and has only been surfing for a few years. You wouldn’t know it, the way she is innately comfortable slicing through the seas on her longboard, a signature look of sun-soaked natural curls falling on her shoulders, a bright bikini and always with a contagious smile.

She made the move to Hawaii as a high-school cross country star and accepted a scholarship to run for the University of Hawaii’s track program, where her life certainly changed tack, bringing with it, a whole lot of self-acceptance after a childhood of complexion insecurities. Nique taught herself how to surf by watching others, and after only a few months was in her first competition which she won. Surfing has been good for her soul, in more ways than one and she states “When you look at the lineup there’s so much diversity, all ages, all body types, all skin colour. The sport is for everyone." Nique looks up to Bonga Perkins, 2x world champion and local Hawaiian surfer who is so skilled yet so humble and its people like him that have encouraged her to fully immerse herself in the islands Aloha culture with love and respect given to all things.