Nikki van Dijk has to do her homework before she competes even if she's up against defending world champ Steph Gilmore. Life for this 16 year old is far from the norm, red carpets, Hawaii, world tour events and an interview with Banzai.

How does it feel knowing you’re the centre of attention on the red carpet at just 16 years?

I don’t know about the centre of attention! The whole process has happened so fast for me so it hasn’t really registered yet.

When you first learnt to surf, did you ever dream of staring in a feature film?

No! When I first started I was just surfing after school for fun, I didn’t even think about it being a career… I guess at 4 years of age you don’t really have any idea about what you want to do.

Check out the First Love trailer

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Tell us how First Love came about?
Well basically one afternoon I was sitting at home and I got a phone call from Claire Gorman the cinematographer. She called me to see if she could film me surfing some afternoons after school. I was always away for competitions so she couldn’t get the amount of footage she wanted. That’s when she brought in Jess Laing and India Payne.

And it all started rolling from there.

How did you get on with the other two girls during filming? Any behind the scenes funny stories we should know about?

It was easy to film with the girls because I’ve known them for so long. We went to school together and we’ve grown up surfing together, so it was good fun.

There were lots of funny stories behind the scenes…When Claire was filming her camera was often hidden so she caught plenty of embarrassing things on camera, like my brother Joe accidentally calling himself a girl!

How do you think the documentary compares to Blue Crush?
I think they are both very different, but First Love is a really natural documentary and because it’s all true, other girls can relate to us easily. Although Blue Crush is inspirational it’s harder to relate to the characters because it’s a Hollywood film.
It must have been hard being in Hawaii while Jess was at home recovering from a dislocated shoulder?

Yeah I felt really sorry for Jess. It was hard to leave her behind. We kept in close contact though and hopefully we can go back together soon.

Is there one clear message to come out of the film?

If you love something enough you can achieve your dreams no matter what obstacles you face.

In the film you say your mum doesn’t let you compete unless you’ve done your homework, fair enough, but when do you fit in school work?
It’s extremely hard to manage surfing with school, but usually when I go away I take my schoolbooks along with me so any free time I have, is spent doing my homework.

Every time I go home and back to school from being away, I realise that my friends are there everyday. I am just so grateful that I am able to travel as much as I do.

What are your top five tips for people wanting to try surfing for the first time?

Getting lessons are the easiest way to learn to surf. The instructors make it so easy for you. Maybe even get a couple of lessons under your belt so you feel comfortable to go surfing without the instructors help. Basically you just have to practice, practice, practice and just have fun with it!

Who’s your surfing idol and why? Do you try and mirror their style of surfing?

Steph Gilmore is my idol because she surfs so incredibly but she’s also just a generally nice person. She maintains a balance of the pressure of competing, traveling and media so well.

I definitely try and surf like Steph but it’s hard because we both have a completely different style of surfing. I also love Carissa Moore’s surfing because she is so futuristic and the level of girls surfing at the moment is really escalating!

What are your goals for 2011?
2011… I’m focusing on my Year 12 subjects at school and competing.

I have the junior world championships at Peru in May so that’s going to be really exciting but tough.

When can we see you on the World Tour? How keen are you to get on it? Or isn’t there a rush given you’re still young?

I’d LOVE to be on the world tour right this second but…. My mum is a teacher and of course school is an extremely important time in your life. So I’m going to focus on finishing school and then go all out!!! woohooo

Who’s your tip to take out the men and womens world surfing crowns in 2011?

With the boys you just don’t know who’s going to win they all surf so amazing. But I think if Dane Reynolds puts most of his heats together right, he will smash them. As for the girls, again you don’t know what will happen but I think Carrissa Moore is looking pretty strong, 2011 could be hers.

Do you believe Steph Gilmore has what it takes to win a 5th title?

Yeah definitely, Steph has the maturity whereas most of the other girls are pretty young so they all have a lot of learning to do. Steph has 4 so there’s no reason why she can’t get 5!

Click here to get all the inside information on First Love

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