THE SHORT SISTERS ON HOLD IN AUSTRALIA

Zahlia and Shyla Short, the two blonde haired beach babes from the south coast of NSW are leaving footprints anywhere they go. There is a lot more to these gorgeous girls than meets the eye, they are competitive surfers, dancers, singers and also best friends. Together they have a following of over 30,000 on Instagram, these girls have been building their profile since day one. 

I decided to reach out to them and talk to them about the life of surfing together as well as creating a happy and healthy lifestyle. 

Hey Zahlia and Shyla! Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves and what you’re passionate about? 

Zahlia- Hi! I’m Zahlia Short  (Zee) and I’m 14 years old. I love to surf, sing, play guitar, dance and snowboard 🙂 

Shyla- I’m Shyla Short (Shy) and I’m 13 years old. I love to surf as well as Zahlia, dance and snowboard 🙂 

You girls have been surfing since a young age, what made you want to start surfing and when did you realise that it was a lifestyle you want to live?

Zahlia- Yeah I started surfing when I was four and I remember my mum and dad were both surfing. Shyla and I would sit on the beach and watch our parents do tag team, one would sit on the beach and watch us while the other parent would go out surfing and one day we just wanted to join in on the action. Growing up near the beach and having our parents surf encouraged us to surf and it was always going to become our lifestyle. It’s where we spent most of our time.

Shyla- I started surfing at the same time as Zee I was 3 at the time. For me I always copied what Zahlia did. I always wanted to join her and be better than her haha.

You are both also incredible dancers and singers, where did this passion come from and do you want to go somewhere with it in the future?

Zahlia- We have been dancing since we were super young I guess like 4 and 3 years old.  Shyla is definitely more of the dancer. I love singing. I can’t remember ever not singing. I would drive my family nuts just randomly singing around the house and I think I was at age 9 or 10 when my parents put me into singing lessons and I’ve been doing it ever since. That and guitar are what I love to do most when I’m not surfing. I’ll definitely continue with my singing into the future. I need it so however that fits in my life I’m not sure but I know it’ll always be a big part of it.

Shyla- Yeah as Zee said I started dancing when I was 3 mum owns a dance school which my grandma owned before that and at a young age mum put us into lessons and I love it. Same as Zee I would just love to do something I love and I am passionate about. Surfing and dancing are my two favourite things to do so I am just happy working on both those things at the moment. 

You are both pretty similar in age and have competed against each other, supported each other and travelled with each other. Are you always good together or does the sibling rivalry come out to play every now and then?

Zahlia- Yeah it’s so good hanging a sister as close in age as we are. We can relate to things at the same levels. Most of the time we are like best friends that can’t live without each other. I honestly wouldn’t want to travel without Shyla. We laugh so much more together and make the best memories. But when it comes to competing against each other this happens every second year for us and Shy definitely gives me a run for my money, she’s beat me a lot more than I’d like. But we are pretty friendly in the water most of the time haha.

Shyla- Yeah Zee is a pretty sick sister to have sometimes she thinks she’s our mum haha and I have to remind her she’s like only  a year older than me but most of the time it’s just fun and games at home. I’m always trying to beat Zee. It’s like my only goal in surfing which is not very good when she’s not in my heart cause I’m not nearly as competitive haha. But I do love surfing against Zee. We always have a blast the only time things get heated is when she drops in on me that makes me so triggered and I swear she does it on purpose to get the reaction out of me..

You both have quite a large following on Instagram as well, what kind of life do you want to live and portray on social media?

Zahlia – To be honest I don’t put too much thought into it and I probably should. I really just post things that are relevant to me at the time of my life or if I’m reminiscing about times I’ve had. I try to be mindful that there are younger girls following my account. That’s one thing that’s been drummed into me and I try to be a role model for them. I guess the lifestyle I want to portray is living a  happy life doing what I love and the things that make me happiest. Whether it’s travelling, comps, singing. I hope I’m promoting a healthy lifestyle. I guess that’s what I would like to be portraying.

Shyla –  Zee is the creative one that loves making surfing and youtube videos. I have no idea how to do any of that stuff so it’s kind of her domain. But I agree we just post things as we think of it or get asked and hope it portrays our lifestyle as a true reflection of what it is.

And that’s a wrap for the two gorgeous sisters. If you want to know more, check out their Instagram @zahliashort and @shylashort !!