Pink Power: Does Wearing Pink Enhance Your Surf Performance?
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Time to read 6 min
Get in losers, we're going surfing.
(For everyone concerned, it’s a Mean Girls quote)
Let us start with a famous saying of one, I'm sure many among us have both watched and adored the movie, movie star idols.
Ladies (and gentleman), welcome Elle Woods: "Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed."
Sure, she wasn’t talking about wetsuits (or surfing), but she did have a point. Pink isn’t a trend - it’s a statement. In the water, it’s not about blending in with the lineup. It’s about owning your space. And sometimes, the most radical thing you can do in a sea of black neoprene is to turn up in unapologetic pink.
We’re already witnessing a graying of our roads, after our cars, do all wetsuits seriously have to be either grey or black? Why let the lineup look like rush hour traffic when it could look like a sunrise?
Table of Content
The Question Everyone’s Deems Themselves Too Cool to Ask For The Psychology of Colour in Surf Performance Femininity vs. Power: The False Choice Pink - The Horizonia Yulex Springsuit The Oncoming Confidence Effect Why the Colour You Wear Matters More Than You Think Join Our Journey The Author: Jessy van Wijk Related Readings ASK WALLIEN
The Question Everyone’s Deems Themselves Too Cool to Ask For
Be honest - you’ve probably thought it.
Does wearing pink actually make you surf better?
In the lineup, style is a statement and these days, most swear by black for stealth and power. Now this makes me and the team at WALLIEN wonder: Does wearing pink actually enhance your surf performance - by connecting you more deeply to your femininity - or should you stick to “manly” colours for power?
Spoiler: it’s not as simple as “girl colour vs. boy colour.” So to be short, not in a “magic powers” way (although we’re not ruling that out), but in the way it makes you feel: confident, visible (yes, both literally and figuratively speaking) and completely in touch with your own energy.
Because here’s the thing and please feel free to ask any surfer, they will most certainly agree with me: surfing isn’t just a physical game - it’s a head game. The colours you wear can shift how you carry yourself, how others see you and how you show up in the lineup. PINK? Pink is a colour with history, controversy and an unexpected power punch. Of course, Elle Woods knew this a long time ago already, but when will humanity ever listen.
From ruling the courtroom to the ocean - pink is there for all of us
The Psychology of Colour in Surf Performance
Colour isn’t just purely for aesthetic purposes, it’s psychological. Sports psychologists have studied how certain colours influence our mood, focus and performance. To name a few of the most influential ones in our daily lives:
Black – Associated with dominance and authority, e.g., rugby jerseys or MMA gear.
Blue – Calming, improves focus, perhaps that's why the ocean makes you feel so utterly zen.
Red – Linked to adrenaline and competitive drive.
Pink – Often associated with compassion, calm confidence, and surprisingly, assertive performance.
A 2022 study in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that athletes who wore colours they personally identified with - regardless of traditional annotated “power” associations - experienced higher motivation and self-perceived competence. Furthermore, suggesting how specific colours, for instance red, also influence how others perceive you, boosting their impressions of your dominance and competitiveness.
Translation: if pink feels like you, it’s not just style - it’s performance-enhancing.
Femininity vs. Power: The False Choice
The very concept of having to choose between feminine and powerful is simply outdated. In our modern era, in the water, power comes from presence and presence comes from feeling like you.
WALLIEN believes in gear that doesn’t just perform technically but gear that simultaneously makes you feel unstoppable. Imagine it as a second skin, your second power layer, offering just that extra bit of comfort and safeness you need to be truly you in sometimes more stressful or unsure times. All of us familiar with the raw power of the ocean have experienced these little moments where you can use a bit of a push in your back, to guide you to push further, overcome your fears and surf (or SUP, or swim, or kite, or windsurf like never before).
This is why we have launched our new Horizonia Yulex Springsuit in Pink. Of course it's aesthetic to have an all pink suit, but our reasoning goes much beyond the superficial. It’s eco-conscious, high-performance and designed for and by women who want both style and substance.
Find the featured WALLIEN product below – all designed for and by women.
"Pink isn't just a color, it's an attitude."
The Oncoming Confidence Effect
Ever noticed how you stand taller when you wear something that just screams you? When the utter and complete chaos of your bedroom - clothes everywhere, a closet in revolt - suddenly feels justified for that one perfect outfit? Science calls it enclothed cognition - the way clothing can shift not just how others see you, but more importantly, how you see yourself. Perhaps this is the moment to tell your boyfriend it’s not unproductive or messy, it’s basically an expanded dimension of self-care. Look good, feel good.
When you feel good, you perform better. It’s not mystical - the so-called self-perception theory allows us an indication. The way you present yourself reinforces how you feel about your abilities. Now imagine and combine that with the energy of the ocean, the energy of taking that one perfect wave or that one perfect moment where you, the board and the wind align and you’ve got a double shot of confidence. One quite impossible to ignore.
So, if you zip up in a pink springsuit and it makes you feel bold, cool and the best version of yourself? That confidence will very surely translate directly to your surfing.
Why the Colour You Wear Matters More Than You Think
For decades, surf culture leaned into muted, “serious” gear. But surf is changing and so is its lineup. Women are claiming space not just with skill, but with style. Wearing pink is more than personal preference. It’s a statement:
I belong here.
I’m here to be seen.
My style is my strength.
Trends shift, tastes evolve and colours fall in and out of fashion. But the way a colour makes you feel in the moment? That’s timeless. Whether it’s pink, black, or neon green - when you wear a colour that feels like you, it changes the way you paddle out, the way you perform your favourite sport and the way you take up space in the lineup.
And that’s the real answer to The Question Everyone Deems Themselves Too Cool to Ask: let loose, wear pink and own every wave you ride.
Join Our Journey
Ready to paddle out with us?
Follow along as we tell the untold stories of women and waves. Sign up for updates, share your own surf story with #WALLIENWomen, and let’s keep rewriting the surf narrative - together.
Stay salty, stay curious.
- Team WALLIEN
The Author: Jessy van Wijk
A competitive wave surfer, multiple-time runner-up at the Dutch Championships and full-time student with saltwater in her veins. Between study sessions and surf sessions, she brings her firsthand experience to WALLIEN - sharing stories celebrating the power of women in the lineup while raising eco-awareness.
Related Readings
ASK WALLIEN
Does Colour Actually Affect Performance?
Indirectly, yes it does - through confidence, visibility and self-identification.
Will Pink Fade Faster in Sunlight?
High-quality, UV-resistant natural rubber material of YULEX like those in WALLIEN wetsuits keep colours vibrant for years (if well cared for of course).
Do Pro Surfers Wear Pink?
Absolutely - from competition jerseys to custom boards, pink has been worn by some of the world’s best.
