THERE are few sports in the word which, on the face of it, are quite as glamorous as surfing. Sandy beaches, blues seas and picture postcard locations – what could be better?

But while surfing has brought Dianne Ripoll some of the best moments of her life, it has also brought her some of the most challenging times too.

Ripoll has been one of this country’s best surfers for a number of years; she is a former Scottish champion and has travelled the world searching out some of the best surfing destinations.

A competitive tennis player in her youth, becoming an elite surfer wasn’t always her plan though and when she began a law degree at Aberdeen University, she had never even ventured on to a surf board.

However, during her regular running sessions along the beach in Aberdeen, she developed an interest and despite a touch of apprehension, took the plunge.

“I’d see people in the water and I thought I fancy trying that but I’d always been a bit scared of what was in the water,” the 31 year-old recalls.

“But in my last year at uni, I went for it –- I joined the uni surf club and I was completely hooked straight away. I’d go surfing every day even if the waves were rubbish.”

After graduating with her law degree, Ripoll decided to put her law career on hold and instead, focus on surfing.

She made the decision to make surfing her life. She embarked on six months travelling the world and with each of her stop-offs being surf destinations, her pursuit to become a better surfer became one of her life’s priorities.

“I was relentless – if I set my mind to something then I do it,” she says. “I never like to say that I’ve got talent – I honestly believe with anything you do, if you put your mind to it and you work hard at it then you can become successful.

“Surfing was an escape for me too – I loved being outside, I loved being in the water and it became my life. I think it being such an individual thing also appealed to me – it’s all on you and I like that aspect of it.”

Ripoll became Scottish champion in 2011 but just two years later, she was involved in a horrific accident while surfing in France and she knew immediately that it was serious.

“I remember falling from the wave and landing really awkwardly on the side of my neck,” she says. “The impact was like falling on concrete and the sensations I was having in my body and the tingling I was getting made me realise that something pretty bad had happened.

“My priority was to get back to the beach safely and not do any more damage but panic took over. I started to think that I might never be able to walk again – it was surreal. Then I was put in a neck brace and helicoptered off the beach.”

With a bruised spine and serious nerve damage, Ripoll was in a neck brace for a considerable time and for a while, was unable to even hold a fork properly.

However, with time, the physical scars healed but the mental scars have taken longer to mend and Ripoll admits that she struggled to recover psychologically from the trauma.

In the aftermath of her accident she did, she admits, have moments when she wanted to burn her surf boards and never surf again. However, slowly but surely, she has recovered from her injuries and these days, she is able to acknowledge that a number of positives came from her accident.

“I try to look at what happened to me as something that’s made me a better person because previously, I was quite selfish and all I did was live for surfing,” she says.

“Now though, surfing isn’t my whole life like it maybe was previously. It’s strange because surfing is one of the real loves of my life but on the other hand, I have this constant fear of landing awkwardly again so I just need to keep working through it. I’m confident that I’ll continue to make progress though.”

Last year was hugely successful for Ripoll. She began competing again and two victories highlighted the progress that she has made.

However, she knows that her recovery is an ongoing process. “I was so happy last year when I started to compete again and I won the two competitions I entered so I know I can do that if that’s what I choose,” she says.

“Physically I feel fitter and stronger than I ever have but the mental effects are something that I’m still working on and it’s still a battle. These days, I travel a lot meeting different people and I work with a charity – hopefully I can help inspire other people to not give up on their dreams.

“And so these days, I’m looking at how my surfing career can benefit others and not just focus on every competition I enter.”