Mick Hartley

We've come across Australian trans surfer Sasha Lowerson before, complaining that he can't compete against women now he's getting too old to cut it with the men. It's the usual "living her full truth" bullshit:

Sasha Jane Lowerson doesn’t identify as a transgender woman, just simply a woman with a “trans-experience”.

“I am human. I’m a woman, just like you, I don’t want to be treated any differently,” Lowerson told AAA.

But the Mandurah surfer is making a difference for all transgender people with her quest for more equality in her sport. In her former life, Lowerson was among the top longboard surfers in the country and the world but now living her full truth, as her authentic self, she said the sport that helps her feel “as free as a bird” is now caging her in like a criminal.

“I’ve been hiding in this male shell up until a year ago, for 42 years. To still be made to be that guy that I’m not, it’s shattering,” she said.

He continued his "inspiring" journey, winning easily in the women’s division of the Western Australian longboard titles. 

It seems like he's still doing OK for himself. Everybody loves a man who grows his hair long so he can compete against women:

Iconic Australian surf brand Rip Curl has come under fire after featuring a transgender boarder in a campaign to promote women's surfing.

Sasha Lowerson, 44, featured on the Rip Curl Women Instagram page on Thursday as part of the company's Meet The Local Heroes of Western Australia campaign.

It comes just months after Rip Curl dropped former brand ambassador Bethany Hamilton – one of the world's most famous surfers – reportedly over her opposition to transgender people competing in women's sport.

Ms Hamilton, who lost her left arm in a 2003 shark attack but returned to professional surfing, threatened to boycott the World Surf League in February last year after a ruling allowing trans athletes to compete in women's competitions.

Rip Curl is just the latest Aussie brand draw the ire of fans over gender issues, after Seafolly was slammed last year for working with non-binary influencer Deni Todorovič and Moana Bikini featured a male model in a swimsuit this week.

Ms Lowerson, a professional surfer, first appeared in a Rip Curl social media post in August last year where she detailed how surfing in WA had shaped her life.

Not everyone's happy:

However, the short was met with backlash from Rip Curl fans who believe Ms Lowerson should not be competing alongside athletes who were born women.

'I was a college athlete. This hurts because it's not like women can join men's sports and win. We are not built the same way as men. Give trans their own league,' one person wrote.

'Yeah, I stand with Bethany Hamilton on this. Not cool,' another said.

'The reason Rip Curl Women exists is you wanted a space for women to relate and be on equal ground with each other. It's not about exclusion, it's about acknowledging our differences,' another wrote.

To be fair to Rip Curl, they are just following the trend in Australian sportswear ads. Here "non-binary influencer" Deni Todorovič for swimwear brand Seafolly: