Struggling With Body Image in the Past, 26-Year-Old Surfing Sensation Brisa Hennessy Pulls Out of WSL Event Due to Grave Injury

Surfing dreams came to a halt as the professional Costa Rican surfer faced the hardest blow at the World Surfing League in Portugal. Brisa Hennessy, the 24-year-old who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics may not have a chance at this year’s Summer Games. Resorting to her Instagram post, the youngster has posted a carousel of images that showed her in a dispirited form.

The caption of her post reads, “Really bummed to have ruptured my ear drum & sadly forcing me to pull out of the event. Time to give my body the rest it needs”. Though she’s already thanking the medics for their immense support at the right time, her Olympic entry may be still hanging. Bowing down to the unpredictability of her life, she further wrote in her comment, “Not how I wanted to start here in Portugal but that’s the way life goes sometimes”. Having made waves at the first Olympic surfing debut was nothing but a blessing to the Costa Rican.

Hailing from a family of surfers, Hennessy was raised by parents who ran a surf school. She hit the tides when she was 3 and since then, her surge to the top began. Later in her growing years, she shifted to Oahu from Costa Rica to pursue surfing professionally. But one thing that has almost plagued her life was her body image issues. Let’s hear from her.

Surfing youngster life carved by body image issues

“While there are many good days I feel like I’m constantly in a battle with my mind and my body and sometimes I want to give up. In the ideal world, I wanted to share my story once I was ‘better’ (but) the truth is I know the journey is going to be long and if I could help someone not feel alone right now why wouldn’t l”, the 24-year-old posted in April 2023.

Body image issues, dysmorphia, and eating disorders have tried to dissuade her often since was just 16. Hyperthyroidism showed in her life in 2022, followed by a pituitary gland adenoma in 2023. This resulted in 20 pounds’ of weight gain in 20 weeks.

Surprisingly, even though she missed out on this year’s WSL victory, her place in the Paris roster is already secured. So, since 2023, she has been healing and moving past the traumas. “I have a deeper awareness and appreciation of my body that I thought I would never know”, she wishes to move forward in life with this mantra.

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