Gaby Perez G Shannon Reporting interview on big-wave safety

The Gaby Perez G Shannon Reporting interview for MILLIONS’ Women Making Waves focused on how the Mexican software engineer and big-wave surfer approaches more powerful surf. Perez said safety and gradual training were key to her progress, and that she has used an inflation vest twice. She also spoke about entering surfing without a surfing family and welcomed seeing women involved with jet skis.

How did Gaby Perez G meet Shannon Reporting at the Safety Summit?

Gaby Perez G and Shannon Reporting met at the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group’s Safety Summit in paja California. Reporting recalled that meeting while asking Perez about Nazaré. Their shared starting point was a safety-focused event, a fitting context for Perez’s account of preparing for bigger waves rather than rushing into them.

Meeting at the Safety Summit

The summit gave Reporting a way to revisit an earlier question: whether Perez already knew she wanted to surf Nazaré or was still considering it. The conversation did not establish a date or a specific plan for surfing there. Perez’s account of her development instead centered on gaining confidence step by step.

Mexico and bigger waves

Perez described Mexico as having many waves and spoke about the difficulty of choosing where to go when conditions are good. She is both a software engineer and a big-wave surfer, but her explanation of surfing more powerful waves rested on what she could assess in the water: conditions, preparation and the people around her.

How did Gaby Perez G begin surfing without a surfing family?

Gaby Perez G said she did not grow up in a surfing family. Her account was not one of following relatives into the sport; she described building toward more demanding conditions little by little. That background matters to how she explains her progress: she had to develop her own confidence in the water.

Perez mentioned her mother while talking about the mental side of the experience. She also referred to pools and a water park, though she did not present them as a simple route into big-wave surfing. Her clearest point about her background was that surfing was not already a family pursuit.

When she turned to larger waves, Perez described measuring what she was doing as she went. She did not frame progress as a single decision to take on the most extreme conditions. Instead, she linked it to what she had learned, how she felt and whether a session was right for her.

What did Gaby Perez G say about big-wave surfing safety?

Gaby Perez G said safety was key to moving into more powerful waves. She described gradual training, trusted people and attention to conditions as parts of that process. For Perez, being ready did not mean going out whenever the surf was biggest; it meant deciding what she could handle on a particular day.

She recalled assessing who was with her in the water and whether she was in good hands. As she gained experience, she continued to measure her own readiness rather than treating every demanding set of conditions as one she needed to enter.

Perez also made clear that conditions can be too extreme for her. Her approach leaves room to wait for another day. That is the practical distinction in her account: wanting to surf bigger waves and deciding to surf them in a given session are not the same thing.

Training and safety remained linked when the conversation turned to the people working around surfers in the water. Perez’s emphasis was on preparation that supports a decision, not equipment or confidence alone as a substitute for one.

How many times has Gaby Perez G used an inflation vest?

Gaby Perez G said she has used an inflation vest twice. The question came up while she was discussing wipeouts and safety in larger surf. She did not give a detailed account of both occasions, so the clearest takeaway is the number she gave, not an assumed account of what happened on either wave.

After confirming the two uses, Perez began talking about the first wipeout. She also referred to the beach and to being farther back, but did not set out a complete sequence that would identify a particular wave or location.

The vest was one part of a broader safety conversation. Perez had already stressed training, conditions and the people around her; her answer about the vest added a concrete detail about her experience without replacing those other considerations.

What did Gaby Perez G say about women in surf safety?

Gaby Perez G welcomed seeing women involved with jet skis in the water. She connected that sight to a wider discussion of training and safety, and the conversation later turned to Olivia and encouragement among women. Perez’s remarks emphasized the people taking part, not a claim about a particular rescue or event.

Women on jet skis

Perez expressed her reaction plainly:

how cool that there's, you know, all women doing the jet ski.

She also said she thought it was good to have many people there. Joanna came up in the same discussion, but Perez did not clearly assign her a specific role. The point Perez made unmistakably was her appreciation of seeing women participate.

Olivia and encouragement on the beach

Reporting also brought up Olivia in a discussion that touched on cancer and strength. Later, the conversation turned to moments of encouragement among women at the beach and in the water. It was a more personal close to an interview otherwise focused on preparation: alongside the training and equipment, the people sharing those moments mattered to Perez.