Layne became a professional surfer as soon as the finished secondary school. She started travelling to surfing competitions all over the world. It wasn't easy. She was away from her family and friends a lot, and for three years she didn't win anything. Then, in 1993, she won her first competition. That's when she knew she could be a champion. 'I started believing in myself,' she says.
By the time she retired from competition in 2009, Layne had been World Champion seven times. So what motivated her to keep entering competitions? 'The desire to be the best ever and the desire to win,' she says.
Layne also enjoys 'big wave' surfing, which means riding waves as tall as 18 metres! To surf such a big wave, you have to be towed behind a jet ski until you are going fast enough to ride the wave. It can be dangerous, but for Layne it's a challenge. 'It's just something I love to do,' she says.
Go, girl!