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F R E E

P A R K I N G

Mark Healey, Pipeline. Photo - Brent Bielmann

TA B L E

O F

C O N T E N T S

Photo - Brian Bielmann

Free Parking

40 Aperture

Editor's Note

Michel Bourez

Cover Story

Jack Robinson

News & Events

Seth Moniz

Matthew McGillivray

Stuff We Like

Shion Crawford

Last Look

Sky Brown

V O L U M E

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N U M B E R

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E D I T O R ' S

N O T E

Things Left Unsaid By Andrew Oliver

Photo - Brian Bielmann

There is a lot that goes unspoken in surfing - the etiquette, locations of secret spots, or the hierarchy of a lineup to name a few. Even on the most crowded days, we generally bob silently in the lineup between waves. It may be because there is so much that goes unsaid that the lore of our surfing heroes can be so great. In lieu of an explanation or some semblance of an understanding of how the surfing greats achieve the unthinkable in the most challenging surf we inject a fog of mythology to explain their superhuman performances. Because how can it be possible for there to be such a gulf between their ability in the surf and that of our own?

he flood of content on social media has pulled back the curtain to some extent, giving us a glimpse on the incredible lengths these superstars go to fine-tune their bodies into the athletic machines that they are. And, of course the always envy-inducing fresh quiver shots. A seemingly infinite supply of the world's best surfboards custom crafted to further their performance barrier-breaking trajectory. But, let’s be honest, no quiver of freshly shaped sleds and power yoga routine is gonna have us qualifying for the CT any time soon. A very select few have been touched by the surf gods and have been given the talent to inspire us mortals. However, we can rejoice in the fact that maximum stoke levels aren't exclusive to the surf elite, so get yours however you can.

In this Interview Issue, we speak with a few that do it best. While we tried our best to pry the secrets to surfing excellency out of them, when asked about how they achieved their most incredible feats, to a person, they responded that it’s all instinct. The nature vs. nurture argument in this case will leave us forever searching to just where exactly those instincts come from.

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“This is a special treat for everyone at Freesurf mag, Mike Ho gets the cover, When's the last time a 63 year old got the cover of a surf mag? And, we did not give this cover to Mike, he earned it. I remember telling Mike, “Dude you're the best 50 year old surfer in the world,” and he’d get all embarrassed and I said, “Ok who’s better?” Now it's 13 years later and I'm telling him, “Now you're the best 63 year old surfer in the world.” I remember Mike as a kid, we were the same age, and I was watching him in the surf movies and seeing him in all the surf mags. He was the Mason Ho of his day, Haha! He was one of my heroes, and I loved that he was my age and just killing it! I got to Hawaii in 75 and there he was out at Rockies and Sunset ripping it up just like he was in the movies. Well that was back in 1975 and here we are in 2021 and Mike is still one of the first guys out in the morning when the waves are pumping Backdoor Pipe. That day, I stumbled out of bed, got my two cups of coffee, and made it to the beach just in time to see Mike stand in the tube on the most beautiful wave of the day with his hands behind his back. Thank God, I skipped on my third cup that morning, otherwise I would have missed this. I'm so stoked Mike got the cover and so stoked the shot was mine. I was in the water at Pipeline getting shots of him winning the Pipe Masters with a cast on his arm and I was shooting him in the water at Sunset when he got the biggest barrel of the day before it totally closed the channels out. Ive witnessed him surfing Waimea and Big Teahupoo. One of the best things of my career has been being around so much talent and getting this cover feels like it was meant to be my shot… He’s truly a gift to surfing and an inspiration to me and all the other aging surfers. Mike’s only as old as he feels, and I don’t think that's very old! Keep on Rockin in the free world Mike!!!” Brian Bielmann, Photo Editor 14

N E W S

E V E N T S

Keala Kennelly Wins Red Bull Magnitude Red Bull has announced the winners of the first-ever all women’s bigwave digital contes, Red Bull Magnitude. After three months of amazing XXL swells across the Hawaiian Islands, a panel of expert judges reviewed hours of footage, and ultimately presented big-wave icon Keala Kennelly with the Overall Winner Award, signifying her position as the top-performing women’s big-wave across the 2020-2021 Hawaiian Winter Big Wave Season. “This year will definitely be remembered as a milestone, not solely because you had one of the biggest XXL swells of the decade but also because Red Bull put on a specialty female big-wave event. Magnitude was a great concept that gave women a platform and the much lacking resources they needed,” says Kennelly. “Having filmers and a jet ski safety team dedicated to us every time the contest would activate, gave women big-wave surfers the opportunity to push their limits with more confidence and then have video footage, not only to use to boost our profiles but also to review and learn from.”

Kennelly took home $25,000 after a four-judge panel made up of legendary big-wave surfers Kai Lenny, Rochelle Ballard, Mark Healey, and “Banzai” Betty DePolito reviewed footage of the performances of the entire 24-person competitor field and compiled their votes on who they felt was the top performer. Along with the Overall Winner award, the judges also gave out three other awards, each carrying a $5,000 prize purse: Biggest Wave, which also went to Kennelly for a 35-foot bomb she caught at Oahu’s Outer Reefs, Overall Runner-Up, which went to Makani Adric, and Best Ride, which was given to Emily Erickson for her picture-perfect Waimea Bay giant. A fifth award, the People’s Choice Award, presented by Yeti, was given to Makani Adric, who fans voted for online as their favorite performer for the contest. Throughout the event, Red Bull dispersed camera teams and water safety crews at three priority big-wave locations across the Hawaiian Islands (Waimea, Oahu Outer Reefs, and Jaws) anytime the surf forecast called for sustained 15-foot Hawaiian swells. Ultimately, there were three such swells, with one falling in December, January, and February. The January swell, in particular, was the biggest swell to hit Hawaii in years. “My specific defining moment this year would have been surfing the swell on January 16,” says Adric. “I think it was such a defining moment for me because being out there in waves that size just felt unrealistic. The crowd and weather were great. I surfed for seven hours straight. It was one of the best days of my lifetime.” “You’re going to see the progression in women’s big-wave continue after this event,” says Healey. “The performance aspect isn’t that much different from the men. When someone achieves something that’s never been done, five more people do it in the next six months. The pioneers are a novelty. But you have all these hyper-talented young women who see a volume of women out there, then it’s normalized for them.”

Keala Kennelly, Outer Reef, Oahu February 13, 2021. Photo: Christa Funk/Red Bull Content Pool

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The Surf Refugee The Matthew McGillivray Interview

Photo - Brian Bielmann

By Andrew Oliver

Young South African Matthew McGillivray is either living every surfer’s fantasy, or is stuck in some unique surfing purgatory. The sprightly regularfoot accomplished his lifelong dream of qualifying for the World Tour at the end of 2019. Wanting to make the most of his incredible opportunity he hit the road months before the 2020 season began to get some extra practice in Hawai’i and Australia. Unbeknownst to McGillivray , and the rest of the world, the global pandemic swept in and put the world on hold. South Africa, is already a notoriously difficult place to travel from, in both distance and price, and the restrictive visas most countries place on South African passport holders. McGillivray has been away from home for well over a year with no return date in sight. On the bright side, he’s been getting epic waves, and it looks like the WSL season is about to finally start, so his postponed rookie debut he’s dreamed about will finally commence.

it was almost too much. I felt like my body was dying some days. I'll wake up with such a sore back and I'll be like, “Please let the waves just be average for once.” And it wouldn't be, it has just been non-stop and you'd have to go surfing. We got completely spoiled this winter waves wise and it's finally slowed down. End of January. We get a couple of days off, but I'm sure there's going to be another swell on the forecast soon. At this point, do you have an estimated date when you can maybe make it back home? No, there's no estimated dates when I can go back home at the moment. I thought I was going to sneak back home during this time when the Sunset and Santa Cruz events got called off. But, the U.S. has shut their borders now to South Africa because of the new strains of Covid. So, I'm going to have to hold out here in Hawaii, which isn't a bad thing. It's the best place in the world to be right now with waves. And, I'm just stoked to be surfing every day. The beaches are shut down back in South Africa right now as well. So if you go back home and you get caught surfing, you get put in handcuffs, which is no good. I'm stoked to be over here in Hawaii and hopefully it gets to go back home maybe in June or July when the waves are pumping again for us, during our winter.

So you're somewhat of a global surf refugee? Yeah. Bit of a nomad at the moment. Yeah. At least you've been staying in some pretty epic places. Exactly. Like it's been a long time on the road, but I've been in good locations and I definitely can't complain. Whenever I feel a little bit sad or homesick, I just tell myself to count my blessings and look where I am. And there has been so much epic surf here in Hawai’i this season, 18

ut, I’ve been traveling for over 365 days, which is pretty gnarly. I miss home a lot. I would have gone home from Australia, if I could have returned, but there were no flights for a couple months with COVID. But, I scored good waves in Australia. Everywhere I've been around the world has been firing really. I definitely got home sick when I saw all the footage coming in of guys scoring perfect J Bay, but I'm hoping I get to go back there in the next couple months, but we're just going to have to wait and see. I guess with how good technology is now I’m getting to keep in touch with my parents back home fairly easily. What a crazy year to have as your rookie year on the World Tour, how have you been coping with that? 2020 has been a crazy little emotional roller coaster because everything happened so fast at the end of 2019. At that point we knew we only had three months to prepare for the first event. And I actually came back over here to Hawai’i as I wanted to surf the Volcom Pipe Pro, to get some experience out at Pipeline before having to surf the Pipe Masters. So, I spent a month and a half here before going over to Australia. That was great training and preparation for me, I feel stronger in my surfing.

Matthew McGillivray Photo - Brian Bielmann

Once in Australia, we then found out that everything got canceled and postponed, and I wasn't sure if I should hang out in Oz or go back to South Africa. I ended up staying in Oz for eight months and living there, just doing my training and basing myself there, waiting for events to start back up again.

I’m sure people say, “It's great, you're on the road, no big deal.” But, no matter who you are, it's still hard to be away from home for that long not knowing when you're going to go home. Yeah. Traveling from South Africa is always a bit harder because it's so far to get there. Right now I'm literally on the opposite side of the globe as far away as I could be from home. And I've been traveling since the 5th of January last year, so it's been over a year and a half

At first I was really bummed, but then I realized I could use the opportunity to try get better before the tour started and use it to my advantage. So, I made sure I made the most of the time that we had. And now in the 2021 season, we got to surf our first event at Pipe Masters. And that was such a cool experience. I'm so happy that the event went ahead. So, I got my first taste of it as a member of the WT and now a couple of events have been postponed and we were waiting to hear what's going to happen. So, it's like a little dejavu from 2020 all over again. But, things are looking positive at the moment. So, I’m looking forward to what's ahead.

Hoping that everything works out and things get back to normal as soon as possible. Where are you most excited to travel to and compete at? Jeffrey's Bay, if it can happen? Haha The events I was most looking forward to surfing were Bells Beach, J Bay, Snapper Rocks, maybe Margaret River as well. All the right-hand pointbreaks. That's what I'm looking forward to.

Cuervo_2021_freesurf.indd 1

2/17/21 10:24 AM

MIKALA JONES. PHOTO: JUSTIN

Rise Above

The Shion Crawford Interview By Andrew Oliver They say youth is wasted on the young. But, when you’re built and surf like a grown man, have the free time of a teenager to chase waves all day, and call the North Shore your home, I’d say you’re doing just fine. Fifteen year old Shion Crawford has wasted no time in proving himself to be one of the main standouts in a very deep North Shore grom talent pool. His patented frontside hooks, have been fine tuned on the powerful bowly rights of his homebreak of Hale’iwa. Despite his manly stature, Crawford remains as springy and agile as any top grom, as you can see him zipping and flying through the rest of North Shore, that's when he’s not ripping it up at Ali’i’s.

Photo - Brian Bielmann

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How did you gravitate to surfing? Before I was surfing, I was boogie boarding and sand sliding at Hale’iwa and trying to stand up on the boogie board. After that, I feel like surfing was like the next step. So, I gradually went forward and then started surfing.

Is style important? I think style is really important in surfing. Especially in your rail game. I like Taro Watanabe's style. It's super clean, and just stylish, haha! You just got on the O'Neill team this year, do you feel like you're part of a new family? How does it feel to be with them? O'Neill, I feel really great with them. I feel like I'm in the family. The wetsuits are so good, really comfortable, and super stretchy. I'm super stoked.

You’re a pretty tall kid for age 15, do you think your size is an advantage? You have to still be nimble, but you're pretty fast and powerful. I think it’s a combination that works well for you. I feel as a bigger kid, I have to take advantage of my size. I'm trying to do bigger turns and throw bigger sprays. But, I have to try to be fast too. I can't just be big and slow. So, it’s important to balance each other out.

What pros inspire you? Probably John John. I saw his wave at Hale’iwa, the big crazy one he submitted to the Triple Crown. He did that huge carve into the barrel. I’ve never seen anybody do that at Hale’iwa, The way he did that so perfectly it drives me to be like him. Because, I want to surf Hale’iwa like that too. And probably my second is Griffin Colapinto, his style and how good he’s been surfing in the barrel this year. It was super sick. It was pretty mind blowing all the incredible waves at Backdoor and Off the Wall this season, so many guys got crazy waves.

Well, for you what's harder. Big waves are small waves? I feel like surfing bigger waves is harder. The timing of your moves. And you have to draw out your turns. It's not going to be those small checkturns, like you do in knee-high waves. If it’s double over your head and you have to draw out those lines and you really have to time them right. That’s the biggest challenge. What’s unique about surfing is that you can never really know what's going to happen or know exactly what you want to do on each wave? You can hardly predict waves. You can kinda guess, “Oh, I might have a little air section on this one,” but then you take off on the wave and it’s not really there. Or, it looks like it’s gonna barrel and then you try pulling in and it just clamps. You really don't really know what a wave is gonna give you until you actually ride that wave.

Shion Crawford Photo - Brian Bielmann 24

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Anything is Possible

sports darling and future olympian made her debut visit to the North

The Sky Brown Interview

sessions at the Banzai SkatePark and the real Banzai across the street.

Big things come in small packages - 12 years old Sky Brown is case and point. The pint-size goofyfoot ripper has been blowing minds on her skateboard, surfboard, and the dance floor for some time now. Hard to believe, with her not even being a teenager yet. This actionShore this spring and Freesurf caught up with young Sky between her

By Andrew Oliver

Photo - Brian Bielmann

Who are some of your favorite skaters and surfers? My favorite skaters are Letitia Bufoni, Greyson Fletcher, Nyjah Houston, Alex Sorgente, and Pedro Barros. And, my favorite surfers are John John Florence, Coco Ho, Carissa Moore and Kelly Slater.

How do you balance both sports and surfing? Honestly, I just skate whenever I want to skate and surf whenever I want to surf. If I feel too hot, I like to go in the water. If I feel too cool, then I go skate. Simple as that, haha!

You had one of the worst slams in recent memory on your skateboard, how did you overcome that, and fear in general? Falling down is a part of life and part of skateboarding. That was just an accident. I was just skating, like normal, and it just happens, it’s a part of life. But, that can't stop you from doing what you want to do. You just need to keep going and just overcome it. I was just excited to get back on my board. I wasn't really scared or anything. I wanted to show girls that even if you fall, you just gotta get back up. I know everything on Instagram and stuff like that looks perfect, but I want to show that people that everyone falls, but you have to get back up.

How was your first time out at pipeline? It was actually pretty big out. But, it was just so cool to see in real life and just seeing all the surfers catch waves. It's kind of scary, but I feel I’m a little more used to it now. But, it was really fun

What has it been like joining the Billabong team? It's been really fun to be in Hawaii and staying at the Billabong house. I’ve been surfing and skating a lot with Jackson Dorian. The waves have been pretty fun. The water's nice. It's warm. One of the best trips ever. It's really nice.

Sky Brown Photo - Brian Bielmann

Are there things about skateboarding that you'd like to see in surfing? I think people could start doing kickflips on their surfboards. I bet that would be hard, but I would be pretty sick. I like going up in the air, flipping the board and catching it, like a kickflip indie. That'd be cool to do in the water. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Doing the same thing as now. Maybe dancing more, singing more, maybe trying some other new sports. I’d like to travel more, maybe go to Cambodia again. I’d love to travel a lot and teach kids how to skate.

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The Path of the Spartan The Michel Bourez Interview By Andrew Oliver

One characteristic that separates the surfing of the competitive elite of the last decade or so, from previous generations, is the prevalence of aerial surfing. No maneuver illustrates this point more definitively than the frontside air reverse. At its zenith it was almost comical how many times you would see it being used in competition. Tahiti’s Michel Bourez rose through the competitive ranks at the height of this new aerial phase. But, Bourez was one of the few surfers of the last generation whose surfing is completely devoted to power. What could seem like a holdover style from generations past, Bourez molded to adapt to the modern competitive arena. Coming from the remote islands of French Polynesia, largely removed from the global competitive circuit, Bourez had no choice but to blaze his own trail. This circuitous path helped forge one of the most iconic and well-respected surfers of the last decade.

Michel Bourez Photo - Brian Bielmann

What was growing up in Tahiti like? It's like growing up here in Hawaii, it's the same thing. We are surrounded by water, so you always end up playing in the ocean. It could be surfing, paddling canoe, or just playing with your friends. So that's what I did at home. I used to go to the beach with my older brother and, and we used to live right in front of a reef pass. So whenever the swell gets big, there's a little wave that breaks near the shore. Everything started when I was around eight years old, I wanted to do the same thing as the others. Following their path, and trying to do the same as them, and trying my best. And, at one point I was standing up on a surfboard.

But, I hope we're going to be able to surf the contest again this year. Looking past this crazy last year and the Covid situation, How do you feel about the path of life that you have forged? As a professional surfer, I'm super happy about what I did, and what I accomplished on my journey. I have a couple good results, a couple of CT wins, and a couple QS wins as well. And, just to be able to still be on tour at my age, I'm 35. I’m getting old. Haha! The body is fine, the mind is fine, but the fire is kind of getting smaller. Obviously, I have my family back at home and I have done the tour for years already. At one point I'm going to have to stop. It could be in a couple of years or it could be tomorrow. I don't know. I'm just going to go day by day and see how it goes. It seems like a dream job, when did it become a dream for you?

What is life like for Michel Bourez? Life is simple for me. I don't ask myself too many questions. I just live day by day. I have plans of course, in the near future and I have my family too, and they're the priority always. But, with the COVID situation life is different. In the big picture I really can’t complain.

When I was younger I never thought that I could become a professional surfer just because it was too far away. I didn't have sponsors at the time and I didn't know how to get there. There were a few Tahitians that succeeded back in the day, Vetea David, Hira Teriinatoofa.

Photo - Brian Bielmann

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Growing up, with the VHS tapes back in the day, I’d be watching Kelly Slater, Shane Dorian, and all the Momentum guys. It was weird to think that life was possible, it didn’t seem it was meant to be for a Tahitian. Obviously we are so far away from everything. But, the luckiest thing we ever had, till now, is Teahupoo. That wave brought so many good surfers around the world, and the media. The whole world was focusing on that wave for a certain amount of time. And, after being able to surf that wave, that's when I told myself, okay, it could become a dream. I was around 17 years old. After I graduated, I said, “Okay, I'm going to try, see how it goes, I’m going to give myself five years, and by the time I'm 23, I have to be on tour.” When was the first time you traveled outside of Tahiti for surfing? I was 14 years old. I went to Bali, with the Tahitian team, for the ISA World Junior event. It was the first time that I actually could see all the kids, from other countries surfing and to see the level of surfing, so I could like measure myself. I could finally know exactly where I was around the best surfers of that age at that time. So it was a good experience. I remember making the quarters, but at the same time to me, it wasn't like make-able. It was like, “Okay, I made the quarters. But, there's no way I can make the final, you know, I have to be from Australia, from Brazil, from another country, like there's no Tahitians gonna make it happen.”

But after years and years, I told myself, “Why not try?” Around 18 years old, I started to travel, for the pro juniors around the world, Australia, Europe, and started to do the QS as well when I was 20. Because I got second in the WSL World Junior Pro behind Kekoa Bacalso, my good friend from here in Hawaii. And back then, we both got the wildcard for all the high higher rated QS’. Then I could really compete against the world. I gave myself three years to succeed at that time. And if it doesn't work, I’ll go back home to work. But, it worked! What were some of the pivotal moments for you along your journey to fulfill your dream? When I was 19 years old I went to Australia and I made a semifinal at a Pro Junior, and the guys in that event were like the best in the world already. So I told myself, “Wow, I made that happen? Maybe I could get a sponsor, you know?” And, I ended up getting sponsored by Quiksilver and I went to Europe to follow the Pro Juniors series. I finished fifth in the rankings and they were taking the top five to represent the Europeans in the World Juniors Championship. And that's when I got second. That was an amazing feeling, it felt like the doors were finally open at that time. Then I got into the top 100 on the QS my first year, second year, I was in the top 50, and I told myself, “Okay, now I know everything I need to know, I need to qualify.” We came here to Hawai’i

for the Triple Crown at the end of the year. We're at Hale’iwa, there's good waves, and I really like that beach. And it wasn't big. It was probably like four to six foot only. But, there were amazing conditions. I couldn't believe it. I needed to make the quarterfinal to be in the top 10 to qualify for the CT. I made the quarter final. And then I made the semi's, then I made the final, and then I ended up winning. To me, it wasn’t exactly a dream come true. Because, it was something that for so long I thought I couldn't reach. I wanted to make it happen, but I just thought there was no way I could succeed. It's a hard feeling to describe.

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Jack Robinson Photo: Tai Van Dyke

On the Verge The Jack Robinson Interview By Andrew Oliver

It’s no secret that the top echelon of surfing is more competitive than it has ever been. There has been a rampant increase in the number of excellent surfers around the globe in the last few decades, and there are no signs of this trend stopping anytime soon. While the WSL technically decides who reigns supreme, there are the occasional surfers whose talents transcend the confines of the competitive realm. (Think AI, Bruce, Taj, Occy, Curren, Slater, JJF, etc) Once in a generation surfers who share an intangible x-factor that draws the admiration of the masses. estern Australian native Jack Robinson, is one such surfer. Long touted as the next big thing, with a preternatural ease in waves of consequence, and heavy shades of Bruce and Andy’s style in his surfing, he possesses that one in a million natural talent that just can’t be taught. Understandably, when you're as good in waves of consequence as he is, you can be forgiven for being less than intrigued about grinding it out in the notoriously bad surf of the Qualifying Series. As a result, it took longer than expected for a talent of his caliber to qualify for the world tour. He finally broke through at the end of 2019 with a historic victory performance at the Sunset World Cup. Unfortunately, his World Tour debut would be delayed due to the global pandemic. Now, at 23 years of age, Jack has utilized the last year to ready himself for his premiere on the world stage, and is looking every bit ready to fulfill the extremely high expectations the surf world has placed on him. We spoke with Jack just before his departure to Australia where the WSL World Tour would kick off the 2021 season in earnest.

Jack Robinson Photo - Brian Bielmann

How has your extended stay in Hawaii been this year. Was it planned to be this long or did you just roll with the punches and stayed longer as the situation changed? Every winter I'm here for as long as I can be. I just feel good here and have a lot of friends. And I have Eric [Arakawa], who is my shaper here. This is probably a little bit longer than usual because we have been delayed with the events. But, I couldn't be happier. At what point did it start to click for you, where you were like, “All right, yeah, I feel comfortable here in Hawai’i?” Probably the first time I came. That was probably like 10 or 12 years ago now. I feel like I connected with all the kids here at that age, and just connected with everyone. I came with just my dad, rolling through just like we would at any other place. Just surfing and not rolling with many people, just him and I. We did that a lot. I went to Tahiti, I went to all these places like that. And, I felt like I made good connections with everyone. I come from a similar place in West Oz. So it's similar surroundings, at least. I remember when I first met you when you were riding for Quiksilver and Stephen Bell, the Global Team Manager at the time, had organized an informal grom camp here on the North Shore with yourself, Leo Fiorivanti, and Kanoa Igarashi. You guys all must have been 12 or 13 years old. It's 48

crazy that you all had different paths, but in the end all three of you made it to the top echelon of surfing. It’s cool that he saw that in you guys so early on. I was thinking about that. That was when I first got on Quik. They put us together and we've been good friends ever since. We also went to Indo for the first time, we wanted to scrap each other, haha, but we’ve always had good times. We were pretty lucky to travel, the three of us, and actually Mikey Wright was traveling with us a fair bit too. It was like a dream, each kid from a different part of the world, but we got to go everywhere. It's been such a long journey, it's just crazy to see where we're at. You haven't really had your rookie year yet? What do you mean? I'm a veteran, I had one year. Haha You had one event? One event!

"I stopped overcomplicating it and a lot of other really have to think too hard about it, I just had

things came together. I didn’t to focus on doing it."

That's wild, to work all the way up to it and then be put on hold. Not to mention this last year felt like five years. Talk about the journey on the QS for you, obviously people mostly see you in gnarly waves getting barreled off your head. Was trying to qualify a struggle for you? I was having so much fun, going to all these places, so I didn't want to go surf crappy waves in a contest, you know what I mean? When I was around 15 years old, that's probably when I started getting into a few QS’ and doing it. But I remember there would be these epic swells in Tahiti, and I went down there like four times in one year. I was probably lucky I did that now. Because you see a lot of guys on tour that aren’t comfortable in a lot of places like that. ut, I struggled on the QS. It was just the lack of motivation for it. I'd be embarrassed to surf a one foot wave all the way to the shorebreak. I'd be like, what am I doing? You know? When you're trying to milk it, but that's what it took. I lost my seeding for a year and then went back to it, got in the good events again. I started to have a few moments, but I lost so many times, I just lost, kept losing, and losing, and never really made that many heats. I was barely hanging on and the heats that I had to get through weren’t even that hard. I was like, “What the hell?” I was probably overthinking it. You start doubting everything when you're losing so much. Finally, I stopped overcomplicating it and a lot of other things came together. I didn’t really have to think too hard about it, I just had to focus on doing it and being more motivated for it.

Photo - Brent Bielmann

With the whole qualification thing, there is this razor's edge where it grinds everyone up, and some people's careers and dreams just fizzle away. It will eat them up and spit them out and the pro surf dream just ends. And, it can be the gnarliest guy ever, it doesn't matter. But, if you're just able to break through, then you can keep the dream alive. But, the dream could be over for anyone. Were you going crazy when you kept losing? Were you thinking this could be the end for me? Yeah, it's crazy. Because I sorta got pissed off with everything. And, the only thing that would make me happy was going to surf good waves. But, then on the other hand I wanted to be on the tour. And, I would see guys on there and I'd be like, “How did they get there?” But, it took a number of things. I kind of uncomplicated everything. I got super focused. And, I got really into it. I think I just got sick of losing. I just got pissed off of it in the end and that's what happened.

Photo - Brian Bielmann

And, everyone's so good. I think that if those same guys put the time in with these shapers they’d find what they’re looking for, it's just about evolving together. Sometimes people get bored of the evolution of it. If it's not going somewhere for a while, then they’ve got to change it up.

I just wanted it more. A lot of guys will quit before that, it'll just drag on, and they'll eventually quit. I got really angry with losing and that just made me hungrier. Before, I would be embarrassed or unmotivated in crappy waves because it wasn't that exciting, and I shouldn't have been. Because, that's just what comes with it. It's not going to all be perfect, even on the World Tour.

or example, working with Eric, the boards would go incredible over here, but working on the smaller boards it took a while to get them in the right place. But, he’s already so good, so you know we're going to get through it and make something that really works. Especially when you’re working with someone that closely and you have that much time together.

Well, no one forgets their rookie year, that's probably especially true this year? A couple of rookie years. Haha. Yeah, crazy!

A lot of guys get bored with that process of it. If it gets boring for them they have to change. They’ll move around, and if they start to doubt themselves. That's one of the first things surfers will do, if they doubt themselves they always have to change to a different board. And, sometimes you just need to stick with it.

Let’s talk about surfboards. I think you're pretty unique in the sense that there's not a lot of guys that aren’t from here that ride boards exclusively from a Hawaiian shaper. Which always kind of baffled me because we have such good shapers here in Hawai’i. But you’ve been working with Eric Arakawa for some time now and it seems like it's working out sick for you. How has that relationship evolved? Yeah, it's interesting. Because I’ve seen all these guys from Hawai’i on boards from OZ, like JS’ or whatever. But the shapers are so good over here. Shapers like Eric [Arakawa], the Tokoros, there's a bunch of them.

It's a constantly evolving process, because Eric’s adapting, and I'm getting better at surfing, so I've got to figure out more things on my end as we go. Luckily Eric's always had a lot of patience and always been super cool to deal with. He'll do anything, he's one of those guys that 52

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doesn't stop. He's always looking to be better at what he does. If he wasn't making surfboards, he'd probably be making swords or something like that. Haha He's a perfectionist, a total perfectionist. By every metric Eric should have a team the same size of JS or CI. But, you've pretty much have unfettered access to a world-class shaper. So, that patience really paid off. Yeah, it's really wild. It's like John John with Pyzel, we kind of have a similar thing. And Eric has said it's a lot of energy shaping and for too many different riders. If he has his key guys it's all cool. I think he liked that with Andy as well, where it would be more of an in-depth one-on-one kind of thing.

ne thing that actually really baffles me with the whole surfing thing is guys that are in the same heats, but they have the same coach. Literally it's you or him, each one of your careers, is in that heat. And, you got the same coach. What's he going to tell you, you know what I mean? I think that it's kind of crazy. Well, it seems like you found your own path, a way to do things, and people who compliment your approach? Yeah, everyone has their own path. You just gotta do it in your way, I suppose, whatever works for you. I'm just lucky to have Eric, and lucky to have good people like that around. They're all part of the team, and it makes everything better.

Photo - Brent Bielmann

the

Humble Warrior

The Seth Moniz Interview By Andrew Oliver

Seth Moniz, the youngest of the venerated Moniz family, has been steadily making a name for himself on his own merits for some time now. Culminating with his breakthrough debut on the WSL World Tour, earning himself the 2019 Rookie of the Year Award. True to the Moniz family legacy, Seth is humble to the core and epitomizes the well-worn motto of, “Let your surfing do the talking.” We caught up with Seth at the end of an incredible North Shore season, where he played the role of standout everytime he paddled out.

Photo - Brent Bielmann

From the outside looking in, I’d imagine everyone probably expects you to perform well in Hawaii, just because you're from here. What’s it really like for you? There's always improvements you can make out here on the North shore. It's a never ending game. Growing up here, you always have that, “Oh, you grew up there so you're, you should be good at it,” but you still have to put the time in like everyone else. You gotta surf these waves as much as you can. And every day I learn more and more, every time I surf each of these waves. Honestly I think this was one of my better winters so far, even though I didn't do as well in the contests as I hoped. I felt like I had a really fun winter and learned a lot about my surfing and learned these breaks even more. It really shows with the guys that put in time over here, like the Colapintos, Crosby, and Griffin, they've been killing it because they've been surfing here the most. Anyone can come here and just put in the time over the years and you'll get rewarded eventually. Was there any advice about surfing on the North Shore that you got along the way that really sticks out? The main thing the older guys would always tell you is to put in the time at these breaks, whether it's bad, or if it's big, no matter what, just be out there and put in the time. y dad always told me to go out there and have fun and don't get too stressed about it. Once you're stressed out about surfing, then it's kinda pointless, you know? That’s probably the best advice I’ve got. Being that you're coming from the other side of the island, what kind of forecast gets you psyched to come out to the North Shore? Probably a Pipe swell, west/ northwest swell. That definitely

"Once you're stressed out about surfing, then it's kinda pointless, you know? That’s probably the best advice I’ve got."

Seth Moniz Photo - Brian Bielmann

gets me excited. That's those drives up here from town are super easy when it's like that. Haha. But, I’ve been mixing it up this season more than I've ever had. Surfing Hale’iwa and Sunset just as much as I surfed Pipe, which has been sick! Who have you been surfing with the most this season? How has their surfing been pushing you?

I surf with Griffin [Colapinto] probably the most out of anyone. We're always kind of like battling each other. I feel like when Griffin surfs, you can tell he's really focused and is always trying to learn something, always practicing, he's not just surfing to surf. That's one thing that inspires me, just the way he focuses when he surfs. And, we get to kind of pick each other's brain on stuff like that.

I’m also surfing with his little brother Crosby, my brother Josh, and Ethan Ewing, we all just push each other. I think that's how you get to be the best. Your brother Josh had some great moments this season as well, what’s it like to see him really take it to that next level? Josh, myself, Parker Coffin, and Ezekiel Lau went to the Mentawais during the dead center

of the pandemic. I came home right after the boat trip and Josh stayed there for another month and I swear he came home a different person. His surfing really improved and he just had this mental psych, I could tell he was super frothed for the winter. I think he got to spend a couple of weeks with Kelly [Slater] and I'm sure he took some secrets off of Kelly, Haha!

Photo - Brian Bielmann

e's been surfing better than ever. He won one of the two comps that ran this winter. That’s something for sure.

not having them there, even though I've only done one year and tour, but I think he's going to get there soon. We’re cruising, Haha!

Is it frustrating to not have him on tour with you? It'd be so much easier if we could travel together because we work really well together. We did the QS together for the last three or four years and it was kind of weird

How competitive are the two of you, and the rest of your brothers? Josh and I are probably the most competitive, just because my brothers are kind of older than us. We've grown up together doing the same things, whether it was fishing, diving, or

surfing. So yeah, we're pretty competitive. But, I support him more than anyone else. I'm more stoked to see him win sometimes than myself, honestly, I get super stoked for him when he does well. What were some of the craziest/most impressive things you witnessed this season? There are moments that happen all the time, just this morning, this little Billabong grom Canon Carr got the wave of his life. And stuff like that happens right in front of you all the time. It’s really cool because we were, we were doing the same thing five or six years ago, you know? Surfing little backdoor and getting your first real waves. This morning, that little kid, I think he's 14, got the wave of his life right here on the North shore. And, that's what it's all about. Watching kids go out there, and have fun, and they’ll maybe get a bomb. That's how it all started for all of us. You get that one wave and you're hooked, you're a fan of the North shore for life. Seth fine tuning his equipment with longtime shaper Wade Tokoro. Photo - Andrew Oliver

Photo - Brian Bielmann 62

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