DENNIS ODA / DODA@STAR-BULLETIN.COM
Betty Depolito recently released her fourth all women's body boarding video "Fired Up Girlz."
Girlz on waves With a nickname like "Banzai Betty," it's no wonder that Hawaii surfer and ocean videographer Betty Depolito prefers the adrenaline rush of riding waves to, say, baking cookies.
A women's surfing pioneer
produces her 4th bodyboarding videoBy Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-BulletinAnd as the popularity of the women's surfing industry continues (currently pseudo-documented in the major motion picture "Blue Crush"), Depolito is far from the only female who prefers a wave-induced endorphin high to lots of sugar.
Still, the 45-year-old easily remembers a time when she was one of the few women with an absolute passion for surfing. It was a time when she was one of the few not content to simply watch from the beach or to let the guys get all the waves. Unlike now, women's surfing was unglamorous in the not-too-distant past -- there was no heavily marketed Roxy clothing line or big-bucks professional world tour. And you could forget about footage for the big screen -- even photographs of women surfing were tough to come by.
"When I was first surfing, I used to get yelled at: 'Go home and bake cookies!'" said Depolito, who came to Hawaii 25 years ago as the California champion to surf here in the Smirnoff Women's Pro -- and never left.
"I don't know that that would happen now. I think the guys accept having women in the lineup now."
As her own career as a pro surfer wound down, Depolito went to school to study television production. In the business for 15 years now, the Sunset Beach resident, who maintains a home office and her own Web site banzaibetty.com, has become a specialist at filming in the water.
Depolito recently came out with her fourth all-women's bodyboarding video, "Fired Up Girlz," and is currently working on her third all-women's surfing film.
"Somebody needs to do it (promote women riding waves)," she explained. "You kind of feel like it's your calling. I was a woman surfer before it was popular. After I went to school, I felt someone had to go out and promote it."
Depolito said her aim during the two years it took to make her latest video was to gather footage that would both show the high-performance maneuvers women bodyboarders are executing and get others excited about giving the sport a try.
Most of the 45-minute video focuses on the Top 20 women professionals as rated by the Global Organization of Bodyboarders, as they ride waves at locales like Tahiti, Indonesia and, of course, here in Hawaii. With Brazilians, Japanese, Australians and Americans among the group, the video demonstrates the sport's international appeal.
One of the main subjects of "Fired Up," Leila Alli, not only rode big waves at Pipeline for the video, but served as its assistant producer as well.
Some of the waves ridden are large; many of them are small. But what stands out most about "Fired Up" is that these women ride waves really well. Female bodyboarders are strong athletes who can be aggressive in getting their waves among men, and maintain their femininity at the same time.
"What I'm most proud about (the video) is showing the state of women's bodyboarding at the present time," Depolito said. "The women are really ripping out there.
"Men are stronger, but so what?" she added. "That's not the point. We're women, and we do what we can do. The point is we like to get our waves just like the guys do."
To get a copy of "Fired Up Girlz," call 638-8326 or visit www.banzaibetty.com
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