Van Isle style. Photo by Scott.
When describing West Coast culture, look no further than the name Hanna Scott. She's a sun-bleached, wavy-haired Tofino, B.C. resident who takes mysterious film photos, skateboards, surfs, and travels the world. Yeah, I know.
Scott recently won third place in the shortboard division of Queen of the Peak, Tofino’s female surf competition held annually on the first weekend of October. Her various sponsors include Ripcurl, Vans, and Storm Surf Shop, so she’s no stranger to surf success. Scott's earned multiple first and second-place standings during Queen of the Peak’s six-year lifespan.
Usually she juggles long boarding with short boarding at QOP but decided this year to focus on the latter, only to regret the choice due to the weekend's small wave sizes. For her, the highlight of this year’s event was watching the Princess of the Peak: a category for female surfers 16 and under that has been part of the competition for five years.
“When it started there were hardly any girls and they could barely surf,” says Scott, “they were just out there in the white water and the moms were pushing them into waves. I think they’ve just been super inspired by the contest. . . and now they’re just ripping and it’s so cool.”
Scott grew up in Victoria, casually driving to nearby surf spots with friends until moving to Tofino at age 19. From this experience, she has great news for local surfers: “[Vancouver Island is] the one place in the world I’ve found there’s the most girls in the water. . . here I think women are super respected. It’s a really good surf culture for girls.”
From Scott's photography collection, Vancouver Island. Photo provided.
Scott surfs every chance she gets but found herself landlocked in the interior of B.C. this past summer forest-fire fighting. “It was kinda gnarly to be away from the ocean for five months,” she says. When travelling to destinations like Mexico, New Zealand, and Indonesia, Scott makes sure to meet the ocean.
Sitka was introduced to Scott in 2013 while she was surfing and taking photos in New Zealand as Sitka has a store in Auckland. She joined the Sitka team soon after, riding our boards and modelling our gear.
Somewhere between representing surf brands, ocean lurking and land wandering, you’ll find Scott’s photography. Her frames feature natural movement, pastel blue pools, bleach-blonde hair, vintage-esque black and white palm trees and unsuspecting gazes.
A photo from Scott's experiments with developing her own film. Provided.
When asked about her favourite photo she’s ever taken, Scott described a moment post-Ukee Bowl (Ucluelet skateboarding competition) when she nearly crashed on a bike turning around to snap a photo of friends on skateboards who were holding onto a rope behind her.
The favourite photo by Scott. Provided.
When asked if she likes being photographed: “I’m. . . not photogenic and [I’m] awkward,” she says laughing, “I’d say probably a ‘no’ to that question.” She's both talented and relatable, swoon. Sitka loves Hanna Scott and we think you should too.
Pool chills, Indonesia. Photo by Scott.
Check out more of Scott’s photography on her website: TheWeekendForNow.com
