Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / Beyond the Board: Olympic Gold Medalist Caroline Marks On The Evolution Of Women's Surfing, Befriending Fear & The Power Of Taking A Break
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: You know, we're always growing and learning as humans, like
- 0:02Speaker 1: no matter what you know, and that's the beauty of life.
- 0:04Speaker 1: You just keep evolving and growing and you just got
- 0:07Speaker 1: to ride the roller coaster.
- 0:23Speaker 2: What's going on everyone, Emily Abadi Here, you are listening
- 0:26Speaker 2: to another episode of Hurdle, a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets,
- 0:30Speaker 2: and true stories of the most inspiring women in sports
- 0:34Speaker 2: and wellness, empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more
- 0:37Speaker 2: motivated life and of course, conquer your own hurdles. Today's
- 0:42Speaker 2: guest is a powerhouse in the water and a pioneer
- 0:44Speaker 2: on the world stage. Joining me is Olympic gold medalist
- 0:49Speaker 2: and world champion surfer Caroline Marx, fresh off of the
- 0:53Speaker 2: premiere of her new film Nowadays the Red Bull Athlete,
- 0:57Speaker 2: joins us to discuss the incredible of a life of
- 1:00Speaker 2: female surfing and what it's like to travel the world
- 1:04Speaker 2: competing against and filming with her closest friends and biggest rivals.
- 1:09Speaker 3: We dive deep into.
- 1:10Speaker 2: The savage mode mindset required to win, the courage it
- 1:14Speaker 2: took for her to step away from the tour at
- 1:15Speaker 2: age nineteen to prioritize her mental health and how she
- 1:19Speaker 2: learned to embrace the discomfort of being out of her
- 1:21Speaker 2: comfort zone to eventually stand on top of the podium
- 1:25Speaker 2: in Paris.
- 1:26Speaker 4: You don't need to be.
- 1:27Speaker 2: A surfer to truly love this episode. Caroline's journey of
- 1:31Speaker 2: self belief and tenacity is sure to inspire you to
- 1:35Speaker 2: find your own flow state. Make sure you're following along
- 1:38Speaker 2: with Hurdle over on social It's over at Hurdle podcast.
- 1:41Speaker 2: You can also check out Iheartwoman's Sports. Over at iHeart
- 1:44Speaker 2: Women's Sports and me over at Emily a Body. Listen
- 1:48Speaker 2: to Hurdle with Emily a Body on the iHeartRadio app,
- 1:50Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And with that,
- 1:55Speaker 2: let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling.
- 2:06Speaker 4: Today.
- 2:06Speaker 2: I am sitting down with Caroline Marx. She is an
- 2:09Speaker 2: Olympic gold medalist from Paris. How are we doing today, Caroline,
- 2:13Speaker 2: Welcome to Hurdle.
- 2:13Speaker 3: Thank you, thanks for having me. We're doing great. How
- 2:16Speaker 3: are you doing.
- 2:16Speaker 4: I'm feeling vibes are high.
- 2:19Speaker 3: I love it.
- 2:19Speaker 2: You're fresh back in California after a really big premiere
- 2:24Speaker 2: moment in New York for nowadays.
- 2:26Speaker 4: Talk to me about it.
- 2:27Speaker 3: Yeah, it was super cool.
- 2:29Speaker 1: It's my first time doing a big film like production
- 2:32Speaker 1: like this, so it's been really fun to premiere it.
- 2:34Speaker 3: That was our first miere.
- 2:35Speaker 1: It was also our first time seeing the film ever,
- 2:38Speaker 1: and it was on the big screen, so it was
- 2:39Speaker 1: just really cool to see all the girls reaction and
- 2:42Speaker 1: my parents were able to come out, and it was
- 2:44Speaker 1: just really fun. We got to walk the red carpet
- 2:46Speaker 1: and wear a cute outfit and get glammed up, and
- 2:48Speaker 1: I love stuff like that. So it was the feedback
- 2:51Speaker 1: we've gotten from that was it's obviously like nerve wracking,
- 2:54Speaker 1: you know, first time anyone's seeing it, so like it
- 2:56Speaker 1: was a little nerve wracking. I had no doubt anyone
- 2:58Speaker 1: would love it, but you know, it's just nice when
- 3:00Speaker 1: you get like that reaction to everyone, like, oh, this
- 3:03Speaker 1: is so good.
- 3:04Speaker 3: So it was cool.
- 3:04Speaker 2: A different kind of nerve wracking than being out in
- 3:08Speaker 2: the water with your board, yeah.
- 3:10Speaker 1: But like similar feeling, you know, like your heart starts racing.
- 3:13Speaker 1: Like I actually got nervous right before it started to play.
- 3:16Speaker 1: I was kind of like I had to go on
- 3:18Speaker 1: stage and kind of introduce it, and then I was
- 3:20Speaker 1: kind of like, well, I'm kind of nervous, but like
- 3:22Speaker 1: once it went and everyone was just like excited about it.
- 3:24Speaker 1: I was like, oh, this is so cool in New
- 3:26Speaker 1: York City, Like I feel like LA is more of
- 3:28Speaker 1: a crowd that knows about surfing, so like New York,
- 3:30Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, this is fun. Like I don't
- 3:32Speaker 1: know what to expect, but we're gonna see what happens.
- 3:34Speaker 1: We had Ashland Harris like do our panel after like
- 3:38Speaker 1: a Q and A, which is amazing, and she's she's
- 3:40Speaker 1: so incredible and has been so supportive on this project,
- 3:43Speaker 1: which has been really cool. So yeah, we had a
- 3:45Speaker 1: great time. It was awesome.
- 3:47Speaker 4: It was awesome. It was awesome New York City.
- 3:49Speaker 2: I love that idea of introducing surfing a bit more
- 3:53Speaker 2: to an environment that might not know so much about it.
- 3:57Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, And that's like part of our goal in
- 3:59Speaker 1: this film is kind of like, you know, I know,
- 4:02Speaker 1: like surf world is you know, kind of small, and
- 4:05Speaker 1: people that love surfing love surfing, but I feel like
- 4:07Speaker 1: it deserves an audience that's so much bigger than that.
- 4:10Speaker 1: And the Olympics has been a really big part of
- 4:12Speaker 1: that kind of making us, you know, more global and
- 4:14Speaker 1: you know, not everyone might know about surfing, but everyone
- 4:16Speaker 1: knows about the Olympics, and with this film, I really
- 4:19Speaker 1: hope we reach that audience. And that's a big goal,
- 4:21Speaker 1: is like, you know, I hope not only people that
- 4:23Speaker 1: love surfing love it, but just like people that have
- 4:25Speaker 1: never seen it, they're like, that looks cool and we
- 4:27Speaker 1: want to be like those girls, And that's a big goal.
- 4:29Speaker 3: So I hope it reaches that, so we'll see.
- 4:31Speaker 2: I appreciate also the nod to the fact that you
- 4:34Speaker 2: get to do this with your friends, something that's a
- 4:36Speaker 2: huge part of surfing culture. You get to travel the
- 4:40Speaker 2: world with your friends who also at times happen to
- 4:43Speaker 2: be your competitors. Talk to me a little bit about
- 4:46Speaker 2: how that camaraderie, what it means to you.
- 4:49Speaker 1: Yeah, we're each other's biggest rivals. It's it's really funny
- 4:52Speaker 1: like doing a film with your biggest rivals. But you know,
- 4:55Speaker 1: there's no time like the present, and I just feel
- 4:57Speaker 1: like it. There hasn't been a surf film done since
- 4:59Speaker 1: two thousand and eleve and I feel like it was
- 5:01Speaker 1: so important to shine a light on how first off,
- 5:04Speaker 1: you know, female sports right now is on fire, but
- 5:06Speaker 1: also women's surfing is on fire, and it was just
- 5:08Speaker 1: like the cast we got together for this film is
- 5:11Speaker 1: so incredible and I can't believe we got everyone together,
- 5:14Speaker 1: Like it seems so simple, like, oh yeah, just get
- 5:16Speaker 1: all your surf like the surfer girls together and go
- 5:19Speaker 1: on surf trips you guys did all the time, but
- 5:20Speaker 1: it's actually like so hard to get us all on
- 5:23Speaker 1: the same trip. We all are from different countries, we
- 5:25Speaker 1: all have crazy schedules, and we are also each other's
- 5:28Speaker 1: biggest rivals. So maybe not some of them even wanted
- 5:30Speaker 1: to do that, you know what I mean, But yeah,
- 5:32Speaker 1: it's it's it's been really cool and as we've been
- 5:34Speaker 1: doing this film, like I won the world title in
- 5:37Speaker 1: the gold medal, then Kayln Simmers won the world title,
- 5:39Speaker 1: and then Molly Pickham won world title. So it's just
- 5:41Speaker 1: like the film is called nowadays, like the time is
- 5:44Speaker 1: happening now.
- 5:45Speaker 3: Yeah. I guess that just highlights that, like the results.
- 5:47Speaker 1: We've gotten, and that's kind of like the story the
- 5:49Speaker 1: film tells, which is really cool.
- 5:51Speaker 2: Were the vibes changing as the season went on for
- 5:54Speaker 2: all of you, because obviously at different points each of
- 5:57Speaker 2: you were thriving or maybe not performing how you wanted to.
- 6:01Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's like being kind of more
- 6:04Speaker 1: experienced on tour now. I think it's like we all know,
- 6:06Speaker 1: sometimes you can start the season really hot and then
- 6:09Speaker 1: towards the backcuft you can kind of finish not so hot,
- 6:12Speaker 1: or vice versa. You know, it's just like every season
- 6:14Speaker 1: so different, and surfing there's a lot of things that
- 6:16Speaker 1: are very out of your control and you just have
- 6:18Speaker 1: to be.
- 6:18Speaker 3: Really good at going with the flow.
- 6:19Speaker 1: So yeah, I feel like it's you know, obviously, when
- 6:22Speaker 1: you're not doing as well, it's hard to have, like,
- 6:24Speaker 1: you know, a good mindset. But I think the real
- 6:26Speaker 1: champions that can just keep an even killed mindset all
- 6:29Speaker 1: year are the ones that kind of finish on top.
- 6:31Speaker 1: And I feel like all the girls in the film
- 6:33Speaker 1: are pretty good at that because we've all we've.
- 6:36Speaker 3: All been doing pretty good the last couple of years.
- 6:37Speaker 3: So it's been good.
- 6:38Speaker 2: You said the magic M word, which is mindset, something
- 6:42Speaker 2: that you yourself have had to work through in various capacities,
- 6:45Speaker 2: as with any athlete throughout your career. Before we talk
- 6:49Speaker 2: about how your mindset has evolved over time, let's dial
- 6:53Speaker 2: it back and talk a little bit about your inspiration
- 6:56Speaker 2: to get into surfing In the first place. I know,
- 6:59Speaker 2: coming from a family with two brothers, right, four brothers,
- 7:02Speaker 2: four brothers, Yeah, yeah.
- 7:04Speaker 4: Two of them surfing.
- 7:04Speaker 1: Yeah, two surf, two older brothers, like my two oldest
- 7:08Speaker 1: brothers surf. That's like why I got into surfing. Yeah,
- 7:10Speaker 1: and but yeah, I used to ride horses like I
- 7:12Speaker 1: used to want to be a veterinarian, like way different path.
- 7:15Speaker 1: And my two older brothers just really inspired me, mainly
- 7:18Speaker 1: my oldest brother. He competed a lot, and I just
- 7:21Speaker 1: really wanted them to think I was cool, and they
- 7:23Speaker 1: thought surfing was cool. So I was like, all right,
- 7:24Speaker 1: I gotta do what they think was cool. And that's
- 7:26Speaker 1: really when I started surfing. And I think they saw
- 7:29Speaker 1: my potential more than I saw my potential. They were
- 7:32Speaker 1: pushed me really hard, and then as I got all
- 7:34Speaker 1: I was like, oh, this might work out for me,
- 7:36Speaker 1: Like this seems like a pretty good it's working out
- 7:38Speaker 1: pretty good.
- 7:39Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 7:39Speaker 1: I'm glad I took that step because surfing's been the
- 7:42Speaker 1: greatest thing ever.
- 7:43Speaker 2: So it's really special to hear that they saw so
- 7:47Speaker 2: much greatness in you. Why do you think that that
- 7:50Speaker 2: was Why do you think that they maybe were more
- 7:52Speaker 2: cognizant of what you had to offer when it came
- 7:55Speaker 2: to this sport specifically.
- 7:57Speaker 1: Well, I think they're just older and they like, you know,
- 8:00Speaker 1: we're around longer. And my oldest brother, Luke, he also
- 8:03Speaker 1: is like, you know, he's already had like years of competing,
- 8:06Speaker 1: and I've always looked up to him. So I think
- 8:07Speaker 1: him just seeing other girls and then like watched me
- 8:09Speaker 1: surf and he was like, oh, like she's got you know.
- 8:11Speaker 3: She's pretty good. So I think that.
- 8:14Speaker 1: And sometimes you know, other people know you better than
- 8:16Speaker 1: you know yourself. And I'm really close to my family,
- 8:19Speaker 1: so I feel like when things get when things get hard,
- 8:22Speaker 1: I feel like I always lean on them for like
- 8:24Speaker 1: advice and stuff like that. But I think when I
- 8:25Speaker 1: was just younger, they just kind of more experienced and
- 8:28Speaker 1: we're like, you should keep doing this. You might might
- 8:30Speaker 1: work out for you. And I'm glad they they pushed
- 8:32Speaker 1: me in that direction for sure.
- 8:34Speaker 2: So successful from an early age, so much so that
- 8:37Speaker 2: your family supported you in moving to California. Talk to
- 8:42Speaker 2: me about that transition for you, and would you say
- 8:44Speaker 2: that that's when it got really real for sure.
- 8:46Speaker 1: I mean, like my family made a massive sacrifice to
- 8:49Speaker 1: move to California for surfing. And I think when you're younger,
- 8:53Speaker 1: you don't really realize. You just think like, yeah, my family,
- 8:55Speaker 1: we're moving across the country from Florida. But now that
- 8:58Speaker 1: I'm a little bit older and just like wow, like
- 9:01Speaker 1: that's amazing, like that they made that sacrifice, and I'm
- 9:04Speaker 1: super thankful for them. Like if it wasn't for my
- 9:06Speaker 1: family and my brothers, like I don't think i'd be
- 9:08Speaker 1: in the position I am today, So really grateful for that.
- 9:11Speaker 1: And yeah, for sure, when I moved to California and
- 9:13Speaker 1: started surfing more and surfing good waves and just around
- 9:15Speaker 1: really there's a lot of professional surfers that live in
- 9:18Speaker 1: sychomenty like the town that I live in, and it
- 9:21Speaker 1: just pushes your surfing. And there's world class waves there too,
- 9:24Speaker 1: which helps a lot. So yeah, when I moved to California,
- 9:27Speaker 1: I was definitely like, oh, this is like this is real,
- 9:29Speaker 1: Like I'm really going for it.
- 9:30Speaker 3: So pretty cool.
- 9:31Speaker 1: And I love California, love Florida and love California, so
- 9:34Speaker 1: it's a pretty easy move.
- 9:35Speaker 2: A lot of world class surfers. So does that come
- 9:38Speaker 2: hand in hand with a certain amount of intimidation.
- 9:41Speaker 1: I mean, I think when you're younger for sure, like
- 9:43Speaker 1: doing anything that you're new to and you're young, Like
- 9:46Speaker 1: looking at you seeing your peers in the water, you're
- 9:47Speaker 1: kind of like, whoa, it's nerve racking. But now they're
- 9:50Speaker 1: like my friends. It's like a funny switch up, you know,
- 9:52Speaker 1: like you have posters on your wall of people and
- 9:55Speaker 1: then like a few years later you're like in a
- 9:56Speaker 1: heat with them and you're like trying to beat them.
- 9:58Speaker 1: It's like a crazy like mindset shift, you know. But
- 10:02Speaker 1: I feel like for me, that wasn't I don't know,
- 10:04Speaker 1: like I think when I'm in the water, I just
- 10:05Speaker 1: like turn into a different person in a sense where
- 10:07Speaker 1: it was wasn't really hard for me to shut that off,
- 10:09Speaker 1: you know, and be like and then on the land,
- 10:12Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, you're my best friend again, which is
- 10:14Speaker 1: pretty cool.
- 10:14Speaker 2: So let's unpack that a little bit. I turn into
- 10:17Speaker 2: a different person. Elaborate on that for me.
- 10:19Speaker 1: I mean, I just think different person might sound a
- 10:23Speaker 1: really extreme. I just think more like, yeah, you just
- 10:26Speaker 1: go into savage mode, like I'm trying to win. And
- 10:28Speaker 1: I think we all have a really mutual respect for
- 10:30Speaker 1: each other knowing that, and it's almost a compliment. I
- 10:32Speaker 1: think when someone tries really hard against you and you know,
- 10:36Speaker 1: tries to surf their best, and that are aggresive because
- 10:38Speaker 1: it's almost a compliment in saying like how good you are,
- 10:41Speaker 1: so yeah, like yeah, when you're in the water. Its
- 10:43Speaker 1: surfing's an individual sport. It's pretty cutthroat and you just
- 10:46Speaker 1: gotta you're there to win. I think everyone knows that.
- 10:48Speaker 1: But then of course, like on land, you're like cool,
- 10:50Speaker 1: you know, we're friends again, It's all good, like, you know,
- 10:53Speaker 1: we're not competing on land, so whatever. I think it's
- 10:56Speaker 1: really important to like be able to balance that. And
- 10:58Speaker 1: it's also really hard, you know, obviously you're competing against
- 11:00Speaker 1: these people all year. But I think for me it's
- 11:03Speaker 1: it's a healthy balance because if I'm all all the time,
- 11:06Speaker 1: it's can be pretty exhausting. So I do my best
- 11:08Speaker 1: to turn it on and off. And I feel like
- 11:10Speaker 1: as as I've gotten older and more experience on the
- 11:12Speaker 1: world tour, it's been easier to find that balance.
- 11:15Speaker 2: Talk to me a little bit about when you first
- 11:17Speaker 2: became cognizant of that mindset shift getting into the water,
- 11:22Speaker 2: because you not only realize that, hey, I kind of
- 11:25Speaker 2: turn it up a little bit when I get here,
- 11:27Speaker 2: but you began to get to a place where you
- 11:30Speaker 2: could use that to your advantage, which is really helpful.
- 11:32Speaker 1: I don't know, honestly, I feel like the way I
- 11:34Speaker 1: was raised really helped me, Like in this. My dad
- 11:36Speaker 1: was always like or you know, both my parents were
- 11:39Speaker 1: always like, hey, if someone beats you, like, tell them
- 11:41Speaker 1: good job. Like don't ever have like a chip on
- 11:43Speaker 1: your shoulder and think you're better than anyone.
- 11:44Speaker 3: Like everyone's good, you know.
- 11:46Speaker 1: And I think knowing that from a young age really
- 11:48Speaker 1: helped me just naturally grow into that. Obviously, when you're
- 11:51Speaker 1: younger and you're you know, from fifteen to like twenty,
- 11:55Speaker 1: i'd say, you're just like, you don't even you're just
- 11:57Speaker 1: so obsessed with winning that you don't even like care
- 12:00Speaker 1: about anything else.
- 12:00Speaker 3: And then when you know, when you get a little
- 12:03Speaker 3: bit more experience.
- 12:03Speaker 1: You're like, oh, like I can be nice to people,
- 12:05Speaker 1: and when like it's okay, you know. But like I think, yeah,
- 12:08Speaker 1: when you're younger, you just you just have your guard
- 12:10Speaker 1: up and you're like, I don't want anyone in I
- 12:11Speaker 1: don't want anyone to distract me. And I'm really glad
- 12:14Speaker 1: I found that balance because some of my great. You know,
- 12:16Speaker 1: I have great friends on the tour and I see
- 12:18Speaker 1: them more than my family all year. So it's like
- 12:20Speaker 1: it makes the whole experience more enjoyable when you're friends
- 12:22Speaker 1: with people that you're with all the time.
- 12:24Speaker 2: So, and it's so complicated because maybe for people listening
- 12:27Speaker 2: they don't know this, but a lot of women that
- 12:29Speaker 2: are thriving and surf, you know, maybe they finished high school,
- 12:32Speaker 2: maybe they don't, and most don't go to college. Right,
- 12:35Speaker 2: So you're at such a young, impressionable age to not
- 12:39Speaker 2: only be in this place where you're learning who you are,
- 12:42Speaker 2: but you're learning just how to interact and then how
- 12:44Speaker 2: to compete all simultaneously.
- 12:46Speaker 1: Yeah, it's super funny to be like, you know, age wise,
- 12:49Speaker 1: really young, but you're living like an adult life, you know,
- 12:51Speaker 1: like you gotta you do have to grow up really fast.
- 12:53Speaker 1: But then there's other things like you obviously, you know,
- 12:56Speaker 1: I graduated high school on the road like online and
- 12:59Speaker 1: I and which is fun like I would serve my
- 13:00Speaker 1: heats and come home and do my schooling still, which
- 13:02Speaker 1: is like a funny thing, you know. But yeah, it's
- 13:05Speaker 1: definitely a different lifestyle. But I wouldn't change it for
- 13:07Speaker 1: the world. Like, I love it so much, and you know,
- 13:09Speaker 1: we're always growing and learning as humans, like no matter
- 13:11Speaker 1: what you know, and that's the beauty of life. You
- 13:14Speaker 1: just keep evolving and growing and it's fun. You's got
- 13:17Speaker 1: to ride the roller coaster.
- 13:18Speaker 2: Got to the wave, right, Dave, ride the wave. You
- 13:22Speaker 2: know you said have to grow up really quickly, right.
- 13:27Speaker 2: What was the most challenging part of that for you?
- 13:29Speaker 1: I think just like a lot of expectation from a
- 13:32Speaker 1: very young age. I think that was probably the hardest part.
- 13:35Speaker 1: Looking back, I think like when I was younger, like
- 13:39Speaker 1: when I first qullfed for the tour when I was fifteen,
- 13:41Speaker 1: I you kind of like you just think you're invincible
- 13:44Speaker 1: at that age, and then I think a few years
- 13:46Speaker 1: down the road, I was kind of like it kind
- 13:48Speaker 1: of caught up to me and I was like, whoa,
- 13:49Speaker 1: Like I'm like nineteen, and if I don't win the
- 13:52Speaker 1: world title this year, then I'm a failure, which is
- 13:54Speaker 1: so crazy to think about, you know, and that's so wild.
- 13:57Speaker 1: But I think when you are so good at such
- 13:59Speaker 1: a young age, that expectations on you. And I'm also
- 14:03Speaker 1: really hard on myself, so I think that all kind
- 14:05Speaker 1: of caught up to me, and I think having really
- 14:07Speaker 1: good people around me was very helpful to kind of
- 14:10Speaker 1: get over those barriers and stuff like that. But I
- 14:12Speaker 1: think that was the hardest part, just all the pressure
- 14:14Speaker 1: and knowing how to handle it and being expected to
- 14:17Speaker 1: just handle it, you know what I mean, and just
- 14:19Speaker 1: being expected to be okay all the time. You know,
- 14:22Speaker 1: like at the end of the day, like you're on
- 14:24Speaker 1: you know, people are watching you on the screen from
- 14:26Speaker 1: home or across the world, and you know, no one
- 14:28Speaker 1: cares if you had a bad day or if you're
- 14:29Speaker 1: going through something in your personal life, Like they just
- 14:31Speaker 1: want to see you surf good and win, and you
- 14:33Speaker 1: just have to be able to compartmentalize and handle that.
- 14:35Speaker 1: And so yeah, I feel like I don't know, Yeah,
- 14:38Speaker 1: having good people around me has been really helpful with
- 14:40Speaker 1: all that.
- 14:41Speaker 2: You said that you have high expectations for yourself also
- 14:45Speaker 2: reference people watching you on television. Where do you think
- 14:49Speaker 2: that the weight of the expectations was the heaviest.
- 14:54Speaker 3: I don't know.
- 14:54Speaker 2: That's a great question, like is it coming from you
- 14:57Speaker 2: or is it coming from them?
- 14:59Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean a little bit of bold.
- 15:01Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's funny because like it's a compliment
- 15:03Speaker 1: when people have high expectations for you, and I'm grateful that,
- 15:06Speaker 1: like people do have that because that's like what you
- 15:08Speaker 1: want because they believe in you. They think you're real,
- 15:10Speaker 1: recognizing real. Yeah, like we love that. So maybe myself then,
- 15:15Speaker 1: you know, obviously, like you just you want to be
- 15:17Speaker 1: really good and that's what makes you so good is
- 15:19Speaker 1: you're like not satisfied. You're like, I just want to,
- 15:22Speaker 1: you know, push myself and keep getting better. So probably
- 15:25Speaker 1: on myself. Yeah, probably on myself.
- 15:27Speaker 2: And those expectations worked for you, and that they brought
- 15:31Speaker 2: you all the way to the inaugural surfing Olympics moment.
- 15:36Speaker 2: Talk to me about what that looked like for you
- 15:40Speaker 2: and how you felt getting in the water on that
- 15:43Speaker 2: world stage.
- 15:44Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean the Olympic experience was one of the
- 15:47Speaker 1: best experiences of my life. Like it's it's hard to
- 15:49Speaker 1: kind of put it all into words because everything's cool,
- 15:52Speaker 1: like Tokyo twenty twenty, which ended up being twenty twenty one. Right,
- 15:55Speaker 1: I was so oblivious at that Olympics, Like I growing up,
- 15:59Speaker 1: surfing wasn't Olympics, so I didn't even like know that
- 16:01Speaker 1: was a possibility, and so growing up I obviously knew
- 16:05Speaker 1: what the Olympics was, and I did watch it, but
- 16:06Speaker 1: not as closely as I do now. Now I'm the
- 16:08Speaker 1: biggest fan ever of the Olympics. I just watched surfing
- 16:11Speaker 1: because that's what I cared about. So I remember the
- 16:13Speaker 1: moment I qualified. I was seventeen. I remember my whole
- 16:16Speaker 1: family was there. It was a really special moment. We're
- 16:18Speaker 1: in Maui, Hawaii, and my parents were like, I don't
- 16:20Speaker 1: think you understand how big of a deal this is.
- 16:22Speaker 1: Like this is so cool, Like you know, they've been
- 16:24Speaker 1: watching the Olympics for forever and they're right, Like, I
- 16:27Speaker 1: had no idea how cool it was. Yeah, Tokyo was
- 16:31Speaker 1: an interesting experience obviously because you know, it was during
- 16:34Speaker 1: a pandemic, but it was still like the coolest experience ever.
- 16:36Speaker 1: We had an amazing team as well. My fellow teammate CHARRISA.
- 16:40Speaker 1: Moore won the gold medal, which was pretty amazing. That
- 16:43Speaker 1: was amazing to witness, and for me, it was kind
- 16:46Speaker 1: of like a tough one result wise.
- 16:48Speaker 3: I came up.
- 16:48Speaker 1: Fourth and that's like probably like one of the hardest
- 16:51Speaker 1: results to get at the Olympics because you're so close
- 16:54Speaker 1: to that medal. And like it's literally like you have
- 16:56Speaker 1: one hand on it and you just like it slips
- 16:58Speaker 1: away from you. And it's crazy with surfing too, Like
- 17:00Speaker 1: I feel like I was had I feel like I
- 17:02Speaker 1: was surfing really good.
- 17:03Speaker 3: I felt like I was really on.
- 17:04Speaker 1: I felt like I had a lot of confidence that
- 17:07Speaker 1: I was just going to do really good and I
- 17:08Speaker 1: just had like one bad heat and just like mother
- 17:11Speaker 1: Nature and things like that, obviously, I you know it's
- 17:13Speaker 1: on me. Everyone has the same opportunity. But I just
- 17:15Speaker 1: had a bad heat and that's.
- 17:17Speaker 3: All it bad.
- 17:17Speaker 1: Thirty minutes on the water, and that's all it takes
- 17:19Speaker 1: for like that dream to be taken away from you.
- 17:21Speaker 1: So that was a hard pill to swallow. And I
- 17:24Speaker 1: think because you know, the Olympics is only every four years,
- 17:28Speaker 1: you know, you have to wait. It's not like you
- 17:30Speaker 1: have an event in another month and you kind of
- 17:31Speaker 1: forget about the last one, like number one. It's incredibly
- 17:34Speaker 1: hard to qualify for how good everyone is, and and
- 17:37Speaker 1: so yeah, I had to like sit there and think
- 17:39Speaker 1: about it for four years and that was a tough one.
- 17:41Speaker 1: But at the same time, my experience was still amazing
- 17:43Speaker 1: and that was my first Olympics, so that was really cool.
- 17:45Speaker 3: And then yeah, fast forward into Paris.
- 17:47Speaker 1: Obviously, winning the gold made it feel so much sweeter
- 17:50Speaker 1: because I'm like, I know what it's like to.
- 17:52Speaker 3: Just miss out.
- 17:52Speaker 1: And then I was able to have my family in
- 17:55Speaker 1: Paris too, yeah, or in Tahaiti, which which made it
- 17:57Speaker 1: so much you know, that's what makes our journey so special,
- 17:59Speaker 1: sharing with people you love, and I didn't have one,
- 18:02Speaker 1: wasn't allowed to have any family and friends in Tokyo
- 18:04Speaker 1: because of the pandemic.
- 18:05Speaker 3: So it all worked out the way it was supposed
- 18:07Speaker 3: to do, and I'm just really thankful.
- 18:09Speaker 4: You know, so whole journey and that journey, right, But.
- 18:11Speaker 1: It's hard to think that way when you're like just
- 18:13Speaker 1: missing out on a spot. You're just thinking like, oh
- 18:15Speaker 1: my gosh, like it's the end of the world, like whatever.
- 18:18Speaker 1: But now looking back, I'm like, oh my gosh, Like
- 18:20Speaker 1: it just made that moment of winning the gold that
- 18:23Speaker 1: much sweeter and it was just incredible, best best time
- 18:26Speaker 1: of my life for sure.
- 18:27Speaker 2: Of course, she says, that's twenty four years old. You know,
- 18:31Speaker 2: far far, so far, so far. You know, so many
- 18:34Speaker 2: things to double click on. The first thing that I
- 18:36Speaker 2: want to touch on is you said, I got into
- 18:39Speaker 2: the water and I just had so much confidence. And
- 18:41Speaker 2: you say that even though you acknowledge that you got
- 18:44Speaker 2: to the Olympics and you're like, I have no idea
- 18:46Speaker 2: of what we are dealing with here. Where does that
- 18:49Speaker 2: confidence come from? Where do you garner that and build
- 18:54Speaker 2: that up?
- 18:55Speaker 1: I think it was just a lot of really good preparation,
- 18:59Speaker 1: like knowing. I think for me, when I know I
- 19:01Speaker 1: put like one hundred percent of effort into something, I'm like,
- 19:04Speaker 1: whatever the result is, I know, I'm not going like
- 19:07Speaker 1: to bed at night going I could have done one
- 19:08Speaker 1: percent more like that's the worst. I don't ever like,
- 19:11Speaker 1: looking back on my whole career, I don't ever want
- 19:14Speaker 1: to feel that way. And I think that just breeds
- 19:17Speaker 1: confidence for me. And you know, I also had a
- 19:19Speaker 1: great batch of boards, great equipment. I felt like I
- 19:21Speaker 1: was in a really good headspace, which is really important,
- 19:23Speaker 1: and I just felt like I was surfing really good.
- 19:25Speaker 3: And that just gives you confidence right there, and that's.
- 19:28Speaker 2: Something to be so proud of, right that all knowing
- 19:30Speaker 2: like I am doing truly the best I can here
- 19:34Speaker 2: with what I have. But then, as we know, you
- 19:37Speaker 2: come up just short. I want to hear about what
- 19:41Speaker 2: the aftermath looks like of coming up just short.
- 19:45Speaker 3: Yeah, it was tough.
- 19:46Speaker 1: Like like I said, it was kind of a caerd
- 19:48Speaker 1: day because like I cam up just short, but I
- 19:52Speaker 1: don't think I really realized, like it didn't really hit
- 19:54Speaker 1: me till later, Like I came up just short, and
- 19:56Speaker 1: then like an hour later, my teammates winning a gold metal.
- 20:00Speaker 1: We're celebrating her kind of like distracted me from what
- 20:02Speaker 1: I was doing. And surfing's an interesting sport too, because
- 20:05Speaker 1: a lot of Olympic sports have, you know, team metals
- 20:08Speaker 1: multiple divisions.
- 20:09Speaker 3: Surfing's one. It's like very like either win or you don't.
- 20:12Speaker 1: There's like one person that's on top, which makes it
- 20:15Speaker 1: a lot sweeter but also makes it a lot harder.
- 20:17Speaker 3: There's no second chances, you know. So we celebrated her.
- 20:20Speaker 1: I went home, and I think like a couple weeks
- 20:23Speaker 1: later it really set in for me, just going damn
- 20:25Speaker 1: like and I just kept like and honestly like I
- 20:28Speaker 1: had moments like up until the Paris Olympics and winning
- 20:30Speaker 1: goal that it like really like haunted me in a
- 20:33Speaker 1: way where I was like, oh my gosh, like I
- 20:35Speaker 1: just know what it feels like to get to come
- 20:36Speaker 1: up short. So yeah, but at the end of the day,
- 20:39Speaker 1: you can't dwell on the past too much, like you
- 20:41Speaker 1: got to just like, you know, learn from your mistakes,
- 20:44Speaker 1: move forward, and just get better for it. You know,
- 20:47Speaker 1: otherwise it'll just eat you alive.
- 21:06Speaker 2: You made that decision then after that first games to
- 21:10Speaker 2: take a step back and take a break. Talk to
- 21:12Speaker 2: me about the decision to take a break and how
- 21:15Speaker 2: you knew that that was going.
- 21:17Speaker 4: To be right for you.
- 21:18Speaker 1: I actually didn't really know, Like I mean, I just
- 21:21Speaker 1: knew I wasn't in a good headspace. I knew that
- 21:23Speaker 1: my priorities were pretty off. Like I know what it's
- 21:26Speaker 1: like to just like be in a great headspace and
- 21:28Speaker 1: things are flowing, and I know it won't always feel
- 21:30Speaker 1: like that, but I just, yeah, I felt off. I
- 21:33Speaker 1: didn't feel healthy, and I think having like those feel
- 21:37Speaker 1: good people around you to lean on and be like,
- 21:39Speaker 1: what do I do?
- 21:39Speaker 3: Like, I just felt really lost.
- 21:40Speaker 4: To be honest, what did not feeling healthy feel like?
- 21:43Speaker 4: For you?
- 21:44Speaker 3: Oh?
- 21:44Speaker 1: I mean it was tough because that was my first
- 21:45Speaker 1: time feeling like in that position. And that's I think
- 21:48Speaker 1: when I talked about previous like everything catching up to
- 21:51Speaker 1: me with the pressure and the expectation, and just like
- 21:54Speaker 1: you know, like our lives very busy. We're constantly looking
- 21:57Speaker 1: forward to dates and stuff like that. Would like dates me,
- 22:00Speaker 1: like competition.
- 22:01Speaker 4: Dates and not romantic dates.
- 22:03Speaker 3: Competition dates, stuff like that.
- 22:05Speaker 1: You know, So I think you sometimes I don't even
- 22:08Speaker 1: have time to think. You just like go, and then
- 22:10Speaker 1: all of a sudden, when there is a moment to pause,
- 22:11Speaker 1: you're like, whoa, you know what I mean totally so yeah,
- 22:15Speaker 1: I think having an amazing support crew really helped me
- 22:18Speaker 1: like be like hey, like again, like that's when my
- 22:21Speaker 1: family I kind of really leaned on them because I'm like,
- 22:23Speaker 1: you guys know me better than I know myself right now,
- 22:24Speaker 1: Like I feel really lost and I want to do
- 22:26Speaker 1: I just don't feel like myself.
- 22:28Speaker 3: And as hard as it was to step away, it
- 22:30Speaker 3: was really uncomfortable.
- 22:31Speaker 1: All I've ever known was surfing and it's just been
- 22:34Speaker 1: brought me so much joy and happiness, and to kind
- 22:36Speaker 1: of get all that ripped away from you is really hard.
- 22:39Speaker 1: And I was kept telling myself, like, you know, it's
- 22:42Speaker 1: not a sprints of marathon, like I want to do
- 22:43Speaker 1: this for a lot more years, and I you know,
- 22:46Speaker 1: I want to do. I want to enjoy it. And
- 22:47Speaker 1: that's why I started surfing, is because I enjoy it
- 22:50Speaker 1: so much. I was only nineteen at the time. I'm like, what, Yeah,
- 22:53Speaker 1: what's one year when I have my whole life ahead
- 22:54Speaker 1: of me, right, and and the moment is the.
- 22:56Speaker 3: Worst thing ever.
- 22:57Speaker 1: But looking back, I'm glad it happened to me because
- 23:00Speaker 1: I'm pretty stubborn, so I almost needed to hit like
- 23:02Speaker 1: that rock bottom, you know, for me to really be
- 23:06Speaker 1: like all right, Like I got to get my stuff together.
- 23:09Speaker 4: Yeah, thanks for sharing that.
- 23:11Speaker 2: It's so commendable to be in this place where you
- 23:16Speaker 2: can vocalize, hey, I'm not okay. And especially when we
- 23:21Speaker 2: talk about mental health, that is something that is so
- 23:25Speaker 2: challenging to confront because it's not like you're on the
- 23:28Speaker 2: water and you caught a bad wave and you fell
- 23:31Speaker 2: and you broke something like a brain injury for lack
- 23:34Speaker 2: of a better term.
- 23:35Speaker 1: It's so different, very different, and I like to be honest,
- 23:38Speaker 1: I didn't really know too much about mental health until
- 23:41Speaker 1: I was going through it, and I was like, WHOA,
- 23:43Speaker 1: Like so many people can relate to this, and some
- 23:45Speaker 1: of my favorite athletes have taken a break and come
- 23:48Speaker 1: back even stronger, and those those are really inspiring stories.
- 23:53Speaker 3: But you're so right.
- 23:53Speaker 1: It's not like, oh I broke my col just got
- 23:55Speaker 1: to heal and fix it. It's like, you know, yeah, having
- 23:58Speaker 1: mental health times or issue or whatever like that's it's
- 24:01Speaker 1: it's difficult for sure. And yeah, it's tough because you
- 24:05Speaker 1: kind of feel lonely, like oh, no one else feels
- 24:06Speaker 1: this way. But then I think as I started to
- 24:08Speaker 1: become more vulnerable, it's like, oh, okay, like this is
- 24:11Speaker 1: it's okay to not be okay sometimes and yeah, and
- 24:15Speaker 1: so I I it took me a while to get
- 24:17Speaker 1: there though, Like.
- 24:17Speaker 2: I was gonna say, so, what did the what did
- 24:19Speaker 2: the healing if we're gonna use air quotes, like what
- 24:21Speaker 2: did the healing process look like for you?
- 24:22Speaker 4: In practice?
- 24:23Speaker 1: I think, just yeah, surrounding myself with good people, kind
- 24:26Speaker 1: of finding that joy I didn't serve for a few months,
- 24:28Speaker 1: Like just finding that, which is like rare for me,
- 24:30Speaker 1: Like I love, I love. It's hard for me to
- 24:31Speaker 1: stay on the water for a few days.
- 24:32Speaker 3: So like I think, just.
- 24:34Speaker 1: Kind of peeling everything back and being with my family
- 24:37Speaker 1: and you know, I you know, I live in California,
- 24:39Speaker 1: but I went back to my hometown just like went
- 24:40Speaker 1: back to my roots and really like did things. I'm
- 24:43Speaker 1: not gonna go into like every detail, but like did
- 24:45Speaker 1: things to obviously, like you know, get me in the
- 24:47Speaker 1: best mental space I could be in. And yeah, but again,
- 24:51Speaker 1: I know I keep saying this, but I think just
- 24:53Speaker 1: surrounding myself with really good people, people that you know,
- 24:56Speaker 1: will tell me like constructive criticism but also like really
- 25:00Speaker 1: build me up. I think was my family really like
- 25:02Speaker 1: they're they're a huge support in that.
- 25:05Speaker 2: I've heard so many times this saying, you don't take
- 25:08Speaker 2: criticism from someone that you wouldn't seek advice from. Yeah,
- 25:11Speaker 2: And so being in this place where we know that
- 25:13Speaker 2: we are the sum of the people that we surround
- 25:15Speaker 2: ourselves with at any given moment, what a beautiful opportunity
- 25:18Speaker 2: for you to lean into that support system for sure percent.
- 25:23Speaker 4: So spoiler alert, it it does you really well.
- 25:27Speaker 2: It does you really well, because not only have we
- 25:30Speaker 2: already referenced walking away from Paris with that gold medal,
- 25:34Speaker 2: but also a world champion talk to me about getting
- 25:37Speaker 2: back into the water and how it felt those first
- 25:42Speaker 2: few times.
- 25:43Speaker 3: That's so funny.
- 25:44Speaker 1: The other day I was talking to my coach and
- 25:46Speaker 1: he actually mentioned he's like it's crazy, like some of
- 25:49Speaker 1: the best, like the best things in my career happened
- 25:51Speaker 1: after I took time away, which is so wild to
- 25:54Speaker 1: think about, and like in that moment, I never would
- 25:56Speaker 1: have thought, like I was like, am I ever going
- 25:58Speaker 1: to be back to that person I was before? Like
- 26:00Speaker 1: that girl just grew up that love surfing and just
- 26:02Speaker 1: loved competing. And yeah, it's been a really fun journey
- 26:06Speaker 1: so far, which is amazing. But yeah, I mean I
- 26:10Speaker 1: started this season I won the world title twenty twenty three.
- 26:12Speaker 1: I actually started this season like just super uncomfortable and
- 26:15Speaker 1: like vulnerable. I'm like, okay, I just took the most
- 26:16Speaker 1: time I ever have off a competition, Like you know,
- 26:21Speaker 1: I'm surfing. I'm excited about it, but like, you know,
- 26:23Speaker 1: where am I going to fit in? I was like
- 26:25Speaker 1: it was just kind of weird, you know, and like
- 26:27Speaker 1: the first half of the season, like yeah, I was
- 26:29Speaker 1: just kind of like like a little vulnerable, kind of
- 26:31Speaker 1: like nervous to kind of get back into it. And
- 26:33Speaker 1: as the year went on, I just kept building confidence.
- 26:35Speaker 1: And that's when like I kept telling you myself, I
- 26:37Speaker 1: was like, oh, I can't expect myself to just feel
- 26:39Speaker 1: one hundred percent perfect, you know, like I just it's
- 26:42Speaker 1: all good, like I'm gonna get through it. And yeah,
- 26:44Speaker 1: as the season went on, I just kept building confidence, and.
- 26:46Speaker 4: That's what I keep telling myself.
- 26:48Speaker 2: So tell me a little bit more about that inner
- 26:51Speaker 2: dialogue because that is so interesting. Right, You're probably not
- 26:54Speaker 2: performing exactly how you want to, yet you keep showing
- 26:58Speaker 2: up anyway, which is so challenging.
- 27:00Speaker 4: Whether we're talking about sirfinger, we're not talking about the.
- 27:02Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, self belief and courage is huge, like
- 27:06Speaker 1: and things like aren't just like always going to be perfect,
- 27:09Speaker 1: you know, you just got to be like all right,
- 27:11Speaker 1: like sometimes you just got to get through it and
- 27:13Speaker 1: just like have that self belief and that also gives
- 27:15Speaker 1: you confidence. Like I was kind of like whoa, okay,
- 27:18Speaker 1: Like I wasn't you know, in my best mental state.
- 27:20Speaker 1: But then I still, you know, kind of like talking
- 27:24Speaker 1: like sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it.
- 27:25Speaker 1: I don't know, like tell yourself, I got this, and
- 27:27Speaker 1: then like you know, it worked out, and then it
- 27:29Speaker 1: almost gives you confidence like okay, like you can do
- 27:32Speaker 1: it if you have self belief. But yeah, as the
- 27:34Speaker 1: season went on, I started just like really clicking to
- 27:36Speaker 1: myself and it was like, you know, the second half
- 27:39Speaker 1: of the season, I had a really strong second half
- 27:41Speaker 1: of the year and I felt like I was surfing
- 27:42Speaker 1: really good. Everything was clicking, just felt like myself again.
- 27:45Speaker 1: And yeah, I mean that winning role title has been
- 27:48Speaker 1: the biggest dream mind since I've been a little girl,
- 27:50Speaker 1: like ever, and the way it all happened to, you know,
- 27:53Speaker 1: I my whole family there, it was at Lower Trestles,
- 27:55Speaker 1: which is like in my backyard. It was just incredible,
- 27:58Speaker 1: like the most magical moment ever.
- 28:00Speaker 3: So cool.
- 28:01Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's so special to hear that, and
- 28:04Speaker 2: especially your acknowledgement that this really great thing happened for
- 28:09Speaker 2: me when I allowed myself to take a step back.
- 28:11Speaker 2: So often we are going and going and going and going,
- 28:14Speaker 2: and to your point about like I'm always just thinking
- 28:16Speaker 2: forward to the next date that I have to go to, right,
- 28:19Speaker 2: like we turn on autopilot. But when you take that
- 28:22Speaker 2: time to sit with yourself, as uncomfortable as it can be,
- 28:25Speaker 2: it can also be a game changer for sure.
- 28:28Speaker 1: Yeah, And that was my first time obviously doing that,
- 28:31Speaker 1: so like it was weird.
- 28:33Speaker 3: I was like Okay.
- 28:34Speaker 1: I was like learning like so many things about myself,
- 28:36Speaker 1: and like it's sometimes scary to sit in your feelings
- 28:40Speaker 1: and like, you know, like it's a lot of times
- 28:42Speaker 1: you want to distract yourself and make your schedule busy.
- 28:44Speaker 1: Just to like not think and to really like dive
- 28:47Speaker 1: deep and to really get to know myself was pretty cool.
- 28:50Speaker 1: It's scary, though, but it was like, looking back, you know,
- 28:53Speaker 1: it's really cool.
- 28:54Speaker 4: And yeah, someone says.
- 28:57Speaker 2: That you really got to know yourself, tell me a
- 29:01Speaker 2: little bit more about that, Like what did you learn
- 29:03Speaker 2: about yourself?
- 29:04Speaker 3: I just think, like, I don't know, that's a really
- 29:07Speaker 3: deep question.
- 29:08Speaker 2: No, I mean it is, because I think that's so often,
- 29:11Speaker 2: you know, maybe you're listening to a podcast or whatever
- 29:13Speaker 2: you're doing and someone's saying, like, I just really took
- 29:15Speaker 2: the time to like get to know who I am,
- 29:17Speaker 2: and it's like, well, who are you? Like when you
- 29:20Speaker 2: I usually say this question for the end, but I
- 29:21Speaker 2: think it's a really good time to go there. Like
- 29:23Speaker 2: when you look in the mirror, what is it that
- 29:26Speaker 2: you see looking back at you?
- 29:28Speaker 3: WHOA?
- 29:29Speaker 1: I don't know, Like I think I'm you know, I
- 29:32Speaker 1: look at myself A couple of years ago to now
- 29:34Speaker 1: and like you know, when I was sixteen to twenty
- 29:36Speaker 1: to twenty to just turn twenty four, like on Valentine's
- 29:38Speaker 1: Day actually recently, and I think, you know, obviously, I
- 29:44Speaker 1: am a very like I do see myself as a
- 29:46Speaker 1: driven person that's like passionate about what they love to do.
- 29:51Speaker 3: That hasn't changed.
- 29:52Speaker 1: And I'm proud of that for sure, and that comes
- 29:53Speaker 1: from for sure, like my whole families like that, and
- 29:56Speaker 1: you are a lot of who you surround yourself with.
- 29:58Speaker 1: But I yeah, I do, I will say, like a
- 29:59Speaker 1: passion a person. But I'm totally still learning about who
- 30:03Speaker 1: I am and it's fun and I love it, I think,
- 30:05Speaker 1: just like sometimes it can be scary, but I've just
- 30:07Speaker 1: learned to embrace it.
- 30:08Speaker 2: And seeing so much more like beyond who you are
- 30:11Speaker 2: as a surfer for sure.
- 30:13Speaker 1: For sure, and I think, like you know, you start
- 30:15Speaker 1: to like find joy in other things too, you know,
- 30:17Speaker 1: it's like you live, breathe, eat surfing, but you also can,
- 30:20Speaker 1: like I don't know, like my friends make me really happier,
- 30:23Speaker 1: like you know, going to a fun restaurant with my friends,
- 30:26Speaker 1: like things I used to never think about or think
- 30:28Speaker 1: that I couldn't do because I was like letting my
- 30:29Speaker 1: guard down, Like you can.
- 30:31Speaker 3: Totally do that.
- 30:32Speaker 4: It's like letting my guard down.
- 30:35Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
- 30:36Speaker 1: So I think like that stuff, I'm like, okay, I
- 30:38Speaker 1: can be do all those things. And I'm like, a really,
- 30:41Speaker 1: I feel like I'm a pretty simple person, like going
- 30:44Speaker 1: to like a fun coffee shop or you know, trying
- 30:47Speaker 1: my favorite food, or going to see like the sunset.
- 30:48Speaker 1: Like I've seen a bazillion sunsets around the whole world. Yea,
- 30:51Speaker 1: and I still love seeing the sunset, I might, you know,
- 30:54Speaker 1: like I still love it every time. Like that brings
- 30:56Speaker 1: me joy, and like just little things like that filling
- 30:59Speaker 1: my cup and other areas you know, helps me like
- 31:02Speaker 1: perform better because like it's not like so just like
- 31:05Speaker 1: one thing all the time.
- 31:07Speaker 3: You know.
- 31:07Speaker 2: That's entirely how flow state works, and that's how alignment works, right.
- 31:10Speaker 2: It's like when you feel good in one aspect of
- 31:13Speaker 2: your life, it starts to rub off on other things
- 31:16Speaker 2: that you care about. So for me, for instance, when
- 31:18Speaker 2: I'm in a place where I'm like really dialed in
- 31:20Speaker 2: with something as simple as my morning routine, I take
- 31:24Speaker 2: care of myself and my mental health in the morning,
- 31:26Speaker 2: and then I start to see that, like my work
- 31:27Speaker 2: feels better. I feel like I'm more present in my conversations,
- 31:30Speaker 2: and that presence, that presence is truly what really trinks
- 31:34Speaker 2: up the volume for almost everything for sure.
- 31:37Speaker 1: I mean, like, yeah, you made a great point, like
- 31:39Speaker 1: doing things that you know will make your day better,
- 31:41Speaker 1: like finding sometimes if you don't feel like it, whether
- 31:44Speaker 1: that's like even like I know a lot of people
- 31:46Speaker 1: are into like ice bath or whatever whatever that is
- 31:48Speaker 1: for you, Like you know, like that sometimes just like
- 31:50Speaker 1: sets your day up to be like really good. I
- 31:52Speaker 1: mean for me, like it's cool to say surfings like that.
- 31:55Speaker 1: For me, like it's my release, Like just getting in
- 31:56Speaker 1: the water. It like even if you don't have a
- 31:59Speaker 1: good session sometimes like you're just it's so therapeutic to
- 32:01Speaker 1: me in the ocean. I know my days can better
- 32:03Speaker 1: because I'm like, okay, like got in the water, Like
- 32:05Speaker 1: you know, you're into mother nature, you're exercising.
- 32:07Speaker 3: It feels good, you know.
- 32:09Speaker 2: I want to now segue us into that Paris conversation
- 32:13Speaker 2: because you talked about how difficult it was for you
- 32:17Speaker 2: to recover after that fourth place finish. Now back at
- 32:21Speaker 2: the Olympics, where is the mental state going into those
- 32:25Speaker 2: first competitions.
- 32:27Speaker 1: I think for Paris, I just tried to like not
- 32:30Speaker 1: look too far ahead, which is like very hard to
- 32:32Speaker 1: do because like you're obviously there to win the goal medal,
- 32:34Speaker 1: and that's like but that's like a given. Like if
- 32:36Speaker 1: someone's like, oh, what's your goal, it's like, well, duh,
- 32:39Speaker 1: Like I'm not here to get second, you know, like
- 32:40Speaker 1: who's gonna say that, you know, were there to win.
- 32:42Speaker 1: But I think I was really trying to focus on
- 32:45Speaker 1: all the details and like how to into get getting there,
- 32:48Speaker 1: and you know, like I said before, we were competing
- 32:50Speaker 1: in Tahiti, which is a way called Chopu, which is
- 32:53Speaker 1: one of the most incredible waves in the world but
- 32:54Speaker 1: also one of like you know, can be heavy, scary.
- 32:56Speaker 1: It's over you know, comes from deep water on a
- 32:58Speaker 1: shallow reef, which makes the way so powerful and intimidating.
- 33:02Speaker 1: It's also a wave that you know, if you're ten
- 33:05Speaker 1: ten feet away to the ride, a little bit can
- 33:07Speaker 1: me the difference between like the.
- 33:08Speaker 3: Best way of your life or the worst wipe of
- 33:10Speaker 3: your life.
- 33:10Speaker 1: So I think I was really focused on just like
- 33:12Speaker 1: learning a lot about the wave and just like trying
- 33:15Speaker 1: to trying to focus on, you know, having good equipment,
- 33:18Speaker 1: like getting a good lineup spots, surfing good. I think
- 33:21Speaker 1: when I focus on like myself surfing good and just
- 33:24Speaker 1: being happy is when things.
- 33:26Speaker 3: Just start to flow.
- 33:27Speaker 1: And I was just also like I just want to
- 33:29Speaker 1: enjoy the whole experience, because the Olympic experience is so cool,
- 33:32Speaker 1: Like you're with a team, which you know, and surfing
- 33:34Speaker 1: it's very rare to get that. It's you're not usually
- 33:36Speaker 1: staying with your other you know, competitors, and so I
- 33:39Speaker 1: was just trying to enjoy the whole thing, you know,
- 33:41Speaker 1: enjoy all like the whatever, whether it was like you
- 33:44Speaker 1: get like merch bags, you know, from your sponsors.
- 33:46Speaker 3: Like stuff like that. Just trying to enjoy like every moment,
- 33:48Speaker 3: you know.
- 33:50Speaker 1: And so yeah, I think just being in the moment
- 33:52Speaker 1: helped me get to the moment I.
- 33:53Speaker 3: Wanted to get to. I don't know how to explain,
- 33:55Speaker 3: you know, like I don't know.
- 33:56Speaker 2: That presence again, Yes, it's allowing yourself to be like
- 34:00Speaker 2: this is where I'm going to be.
- 34:02Speaker 4: Right now, Yeah, be where your feet are exactly, I guess.
- 34:05Speaker 3: So, yeah, and you pull out.
- 34:08Speaker 2: With the gold with a very small margin Oh my goodness.
- 34:12Speaker 3: Yeah, it gives me anxiety looking bad.
- 34:15Speaker 2: This brings us into a conversation about befriending fear. What
- 34:21Speaker 2: has your relationship been like over the course of your
- 34:25Speaker 2: career thus far with learning how to befriend fear anxiety?
- 34:31Speaker 2: Maybe the worry that comes up with getting out there
- 34:34Speaker 2: and surfing some of the biggest waves in the world.
- 34:37Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there's you know, there's times where I'm
- 34:39Speaker 1: scared all the time. Of course, like fear comes up,
- 34:41Speaker 1: whether it has to do with surfing or not even
- 34:43Speaker 1: do it surfing, just in life. I think just knowing,
- 34:46Speaker 1: like really good things happen outside of your comfort zone,
- 34:49Speaker 1: that's what's like exciting to me, you know. Yeah, yeah,
- 34:52Speaker 1: Like I don't know, like it's not that comfortable to
- 34:54Speaker 1: be in like a situation. Yeah, like even like riding
- 34:58Speaker 1: waves that intimidate you or or you know, being in
- 35:00Speaker 1: those really high pressure situations at the Olympics, Like that's
- 35:04Speaker 1: not comfortable, but like good, Like the best moments of
- 35:08Speaker 1: my life have been from when I've been uncomfortable and
- 35:10Speaker 1: knowing that it just motivates me.
- 35:13Speaker 4: Isn't it so funny though?
- 35:14Speaker 2: Because it's you're on the edge of something so frightening,
- 35:18Speaker 2: and I know there have been times where it hasn't
- 35:22Speaker 2: gone your way right, and so to then be able
- 35:26Speaker 2: to say, I'm not gonna let that one wipeout or
- 35:29Speaker 2: that one negative experience be the thing that guides me
- 35:32Speaker 2: or dissuades me from going after what I want.
- 35:35Speaker 4: That takes tenacity.
- 35:37Speaker 3: For sure, one hundred percent.
- 35:38Speaker 1: Then again, that's like where the self belief really comes
- 35:40Speaker 1: in and things aren't part Like there's been times where
- 35:43Speaker 1: you know, fear overtakes your mind and whatever, But as
- 35:46Speaker 1: long as you learn from that and be better next time, Yeah,
- 35:48Speaker 1: that's what's important.
- 35:49Speaker 2: Talk to me about the self talk that allows you
- 35:51Speaker 2: to kind of befriend fear in a moment like that
- 35:54Speaker 2: gold medal moment.
- 35:55Speaker 1: Yeah, I think just like I said before, like just knowing,
- 35:58Speaker 1: like really good things happen outside your comfort zone.
- 36:01Speaker 4: What are you literally telling yourself in that moment?
- 36:04Speaker 2: I have my own little like things that oh she's
- 36:06Speaker 2: keeping it a secret.
- 36:07Speaker 1: Sorry, I can't give away all my Yeah, everyone has
- 36:13Speaker 1: their own thing that makes them click. Yeah you know,
- 36:16Speaker 1: uh so I just have my own thing. Yeah, yeah,
- 36:20Speaker 1: just cagy about her inner dialogue.
- 36:22Speaker 2: It's okay, I understand for me, I'm this is like
- 36:26Speaker 2: so lam and I think I forget what, like, yeah,
- 36:28Speaker 2: what's it like for you? I mean for me, for instance,
- 36:30Speaker 2: like my version of getting on a big wave, my
- 36:33Speaker 2: gold my own moment, at least up until this point
- 36:35Speaker 2: in my career is getting on stage and maybe being
- 36:38Speaker 2: in front of thousands of people.
- 36:41Speaker 3: That's scary, yes.
- 36:42Speaker 4: Exactly, And it could be a moment like it could
- 36:44Speaker 4: be just.
- 36:44Speaker 2: Like this, you and me, except we're on a stage
- 36:46Speaker 2: and it's consumer facing, and I have this opportunity to
- 36:50Speaker 2: not only show people that I'm capable of being in
- 36:53Speaker 2: the host seed of carrying on a good discussion, but
- 36:55Speaker 2: also my job is to make you look good. Right,
- 36:58Speaker 2: And so I get up there and I feel the
- 37:00Speaker 2: sweat on the back of my neck, and I'm like,
- 37:02Speaker 2: I just want to.
- 37:03Speaker 4: Do this as good as possible.
- 37:04Speaker 2: When I'm in that moment, my thing is what I
- 37:07Speaker 2: like to call I am statements. So it could be
- 37:10Speaker 2: something like I'm just telling myself all the things I
- 37:13Speaker 2: know to be true before I walk up on that stage.
- 37:16Speaker 2: I know that I am capable, and I am confident,
- 37:19Speaker 2: and I am good at what I do, and I
- 37:21Speaker 2: have done this before, right, and that's where I go
- 37:24Speaker 2: because then it squashes maybe the thoughts that aren't truth
- 37:29Speaker 2: and I can.
- 37:30Speaker 4: Just look at the facts.
- 37:32Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm an I AM statement person. If you
- 37:35Speaker 2: had to give me five I am statements.
- 37:38Speaker 3: Well thank you. I just learned a lot from you.
- 37:40Speaker 4: I mean that's my goal.
- 37:41Speaker 3: Wait really quick.
- 37:42Speaker 1: Yeah, I had a teacher tell me when I took it,
- 37:44Speaker 1: like whenever I get nervous about taking a test in
- 37:46Speaker 1: school or whatever, like they would aways just say like
- 37:50Speaker 1: like just tell yourself, I know something like even like
- 37:52Speaker 1: saying that like, oh I know something like helps a lot.
- 37:56Speaker 1: I know it sounds so like maybe it might sound
- 37:57Speaker 1: like so simple, but you know.
- 37:59Speaker 4: What it reminds me of.
- 37:59Speaker 2: It reminds me of that same mentality, well, that same
- 38:02Speaker 2: mentality of like I make my bed first thing in
- 38:05Speaker 2: the morning, and it's because I like my room to
- 38:07Speaker 2: like look a certain way, but it's also because it's
- 38:10Speaker 2: something I can do that's productive, that takes four seconds
- 38:12Speaker 2: and reminds me that I am.
- 38:14Speaker 3: I love.
- 38:14Speaker 1: Making my bed in the Morning's huge for me, Like
- 38:16Speaker 1: I I have to do it, Like it just sets.
- 38:18Speaker 3: Up I don't care how early it is, like, it's
- 38:20Speaker 3: just it's so worth it.
- 38:21Speaker 4: I have a confession.
- 38:23Speaker 3: Okay, let's hear it.
- 38:24Speaker 2: Sometimes I make my bed in hotel rooms. Okay, yeah,
- 38:28Speaker 2: I don't judge you for that. No, I don't judge.
- 38:30Speaker 4: I don't be a perfect like hotel room talk.
- 38:32Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not.
- 38:33Speaker 4: I love a hotel room talk.
- 38:35Speaker 1: I'm not like it's funny for me if it's like
- 38:36Speaker 1: an Airbnb, I'm like gonna make my.
- 38:39Speaker 4: Bed, oh, but not in a hotel room.
- 38:40Speaker 3: Hotel room, I'm not. You know, I'm not.
- 38:43Speaker 4: No one's going to make your bed.
- 38:45Speaker 3: So I know, and I know, like.
- 38:46Speaker 1: This morning, I made my bed and then I just
- 38:48Speaker 1: went back before I came here and room services there
- 38:51Speaker 1: making my bed.
- 38:51Speaker 3: So I was like, I don't even need to do that.
- 38:53Speaker 4: But what I'm hearing he says, you've also made your
- 38:55Speaker 4: bed in a hotel room.
- 38:56Speaker 3: I did it this morning. See that makes me feel like,
- 38:57Speaker 3: no judgment.
- 38:58Speaker 1: Yeah, my heart's just like a habit, you know what
- 39:01Speaker 1: I mean.
- 39:03Speaker 2: I'm rerling you back to I AM statements now. So okay,
- 39:20Speaker 2: for instance, if I was to tell you, like, if
- 39:22Speaker 2: you do this, you're gonna win the gold medal, what
- 39:24Speaker 2: are like four or five I AM statements that you
- 39:27Speaker 2: would tell yourself in the water.
- 39:29Speaker 1: I think I'm brave, I'm confident, like I put the
- 39:34Speaker 1: work in. I'm powerful, I am doing what I love.
- 39:38Speaker 4: Oh, I love that one. I love that one.
- 39:40Speaker 2: I that not I am statement, but totally valid moment
- 39:44Speaker 2: there of I've put the work in. I believe that
- 39:47Speaker 2: that is the most powerful I am statement. Air quotes
- 39:52Speaker 2: here that you can say that you can reflect on.
- 39:55Speaker 2: It's something that for me, I like to run, and
- 39:59Speaker 2: if I show up to a marathon starting line, the
- 40:03Speaker 2: best thing I can do is reflect on how far
- 40:05Speaker 2: I've come, just like I'm sure for you when you
- 40:07Speaker 2: got to the Olympics, it was like, this is not
- 40:10Speaker 2: my first rodeo, Like I have put in the work
- 40:13Speaker 2: to get to this moment, and I'm back on this
- 40:15Speaker 2: stage because I deserve to be.
- 40:16Speaker 3: Here, for sure.
- 40:17Speaker 1: I definitely think the second time around, you know a
- 40:20Speaker 1: little bit more of what to expect, of course, because
- 40:22Speaker 1: even though it's not a completely different wave, you're more
- 40:24Speaker 1: like I've been here before, and like you do have
- 40:27Speaker 1: a little bit more confidence, Like I know, like I
- 40:29Speaker 1: knew more of what the pressure was going to feel like,
- 40:31Speaker 1: which I think obviously was helpful. I just knew how
- 40:35Speaker 1: to handle my emotions better, you know.
- 40:38Speaker 2: So, yeah, handling your emotions better. That's also something that
- 40:42Speaker 2: can be really challenging. And that goes back to the
- 40:46Speaker 2: why for me. Beyond the I am statements. It's like,
- 40:49Speaker 2: sometimes we have these moments where it just feels so
- 40:52Speaker 2: much bigger than us, right, Yeah, it just feels uncontrollable.
- 40:57Speaker 4: When was the last time you had a moment like that?
- 40:59Speaker 3: I mean maybe this film.
- 41:02Speaker 1: I honestly like I was just like, whoa, There's so
- 41:05Speaker 1: many like moving parts and like so much that I'm
- 41:07Speaker 1: just like, I don't know, Like I just think in
- 41:09Speaker 1: life in general, like there's just so much that's out
- 41:11Speaker 1: of your control, and you just like I think surfers
- 41:14Speaker 1: are pretty good at like letting it go because we
- 41:15Speaker 1: kind of have to be you know, we have to
- 41:17Speaker 1: be pretty chill with like life just because you know,
- 41:20Speaker 1: you're dealing with mother nature and like, yeah, the ocean
- 41:23Speaker 1: is the great equalizer, Like it's very it's humbling, you know,
- 41:27Speaker 1: and you just don't know what's going to happen ever,
- 41:29Speaker 1: But yeah, making this film, I think, just like getting
- 41:32Speaker 1: trying to get everyone together. Red Bull's been an amazing
- 41:35Speaker 1: like the team behind this project. Everyone from Red Bull
- 41:39Speaker 1: has just been so incredible. If it wasn't for them,
- 41:40Speaker 1: this project wouldn't happen. And just having really passionate people
- 41:43Speaker 1: behind the scenes that are going above and beyond of
- 41:46Speaker 1: what they even needed to do has made it like
- 41:50Speaker 1: be such an incredible film. So I think like there
- 41:52Speaker 1: was moments where I'm like, whoa, this feels so like big,
- 41:55Speaker 1: and people were even thinking bigger than I will, Like,
- 41:57Speaker 1: you know, people behind the scenes were thinking like than
- 42:00Speaker 1: I was, because I'm just thinking, like surf film, I
- 42:01Speaker 1: want to get all the best girls together and I
- 42:03Speaker 1: want to be inspiring, and some people have the scenes
- 42:07Speaker 1: were like, well, how about if we make it like mainstream,
- 42:09Speaker 1: like people had never heard about surfing, like make it huge,
- 42:11Speaker 1: And I'm like, yeah, like let's think about that, you.
- 42:13Speaker 2: Know, make it mainstream, which opens you up kind of
- 42:16Speaker 2: like we said about that New York premiere to new audiences,
- 42:20Speaker 2: which exactly a big part of the goal. Say someone
- 42:24Speaker 2: is exposed to you for the first time, what is
- 42:27Speaker 2: it that you want them to see in you?
- 42:30Speaker 1: Like I would just love for someone to watch the
- 42:33Speaker 1: film and be like wow, like they're such a bright
- 42:37Speaker 1: future and female surfing like that just looks so cool
- 42:39Speaker 1: and so fun, you know what I mean. Yeah, just
- 42:42Speaker 1: like in just I guess like inspiring. But hopefully people
- 42:45Speaker 1: watch it and they're like, I want to.
- 42:46Speaker 4: Try surfing beyond the film though, what about you?
- 42:51Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I hopefully like people walk away and
- 42:53Speaker 1: they're just like wow, like if you like having like
- 42:57Speaker 1: that self belief, like if you really want to achieve something, like.
- 43:00Speaker 3: Go after it.
- 43:01Speaker 1: You know, like hopefully I give off that vibe or persona.
- 43:06Speaker 2: I think you give off that vibe in that persona.
- 43:08Speaker 2: I think that there's just so much power in the
- 43:12Speaker 2: vulnerability of all of it. It's kind of going back
- 43:15Speaker 2: to your note about I didn't really understand a lot
- 43:18Speaker 2: about my own mental health when I realized that something
- 43:21Speaker 2: fell off and I was struggling. Vulnerability is relatable. Perfection
- 43:26Speaker 2: is not relatable. Yeah, it never will be.
- 43:28Speaker 4: For sure.
- 43:29Speaker 3: I think. Yeah, vulnerability is very powerful.
- 43:31Speaker 1: And that's like been a thing about social media that's
- 43:33Speaker 1: been tough, is because like we're all guilty.
- 43:35Speaker 3: You know, I'm guilty of it all.
- 43:36Speaker 1: Just raise my hand like it's a highlight reel of
- 43:39Speaker 1: your life and you're not like, you know, you're not
- 43:41Speaker 1: posting a photo. Dun't that like you're having that you
- 43:43Speaker 1: had a horrible week from It's like about a great
- 43:46Speaker 1: week and perfect sunsets and like your best angle whatever,
- 43:49Speaker 1: which is totally fine, we all do it, you know,
- 43:52Speaker 1: But I think, yeah, just like having that vulnerability too
- 43:55Speaker 1: mixed in with that is is like like I say, yeah,
- 43:58Speaker 1: people can relate to more.
- 43:59Speaker 4: For sure, your best angles brings me around.
- 44:03Speaker 2: Which is no problem with That's like great angles every
- 44:06Speaker 2: which way. However, I can't imagine having to be in
- 44:11Speaker 2: a bathing suit for my job. How has your relationship
- 44:16Speaker 2: with your body evolved over time?
- 44:19Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great question.
- 44:21Speaker 1: I mean it's super cool to like, you know, my
- 44:23Speaker 1: work outfit's ubikini. It's a really cool part. But it
- 44:26Speaker 1: also comes with a lot of like you know, obviously,
- 44:29Speaker 1: I think for me, like the hardest thing was like
- 44:32Speaker 1: growing up. You know, I've grown up on the tour
- 44:34Speaker 1: pretty much. Yeah, from like fifteen to twenty four now,
- 44:37Speaker 1: and like your body changes so much from fifteen to twenty,
- 44:42Speaker 1: you know, and then the twenty to twenty five or whatever.
- 44:44Speaker 1: Not twenty five yet, but like you know, you know
- 44:46Speaker 1: what I mean. And so I think, just like people
- 44:49Speaker 1: just on the internet have access to say whatever they want.
- 44:52Speaker 3: You know, anyone can say anything.
- 44:53Speaker 1: And I think sometimes seeing things about yourself, like there
- 44:56Speaker 1: can be a million comments about like po the things
- 45:00Speaker 1: about how you look, and then one bad one. It's
- 45:02Speaker 1: just like hard not to focus on the bad one.
- 45:03Speaker 3: Mm hmm.
- 45:04Speaker 4: Are you people.
- 45:06Speaker 3: No, I'm not a blocker.
- 45:09Speaker 4: Yeah, wow, you.
- 45:10Speaker 1: Can just do you I'm not gonna, I'm yeah, I'm
- 45:13Speaker 1: just like kind of maybe people pleaser, like, ah whatever,
- 45:16Speaker 1: you know now, I don't care.
- 45:18Speaker 4: Like you know, getting there is so hard.
- 45:21Speaker 1: Yeah, well not like you know, I'm not for sure,
- 45:23Speaker 1: Like there's some things I don't you know, I'm just
- 45:25Speaker 1: I care a lot less than I did when I
- 45:26Speaker 1: was younger, which I think just comes with maturity. You
- 45:29Speaker 1: become more secure in yourself. That's just growing up, you know.
- 45:33Speaker 1: But yeah, I think when I was younger, I definitely
- 45:35Speaker 1: struggle with it for sure. Likes, there's things that are
- 45:39Speaker 1: you know, it's kind of like you always want what
- 45:40Speaker 1: you can't have, you know, like you might be looking
- 45:42Speaker 1: at other, you know, people that you want to look like,
- 45:44Speaker 1: but then they there are people that might be looking
- 45:46Speaker 1: at you that they want to look like you. But
- 45:48Speaker 1: you don't think about that. You just think like, oh
- 45:49Speaker 1: if I just had this or that or whatever. I
- 45:52Speaker 1: think surfings really help me because I've always had something
- 45:54Speaker 1: to put my mind, like such a passion about being
- 45:57Speaker 1: so good at something. Yeah, that's helped me just like
- 46:01Speaker 1: I'm just like I love being strong for my sport,
- 46:03Speaker 1: like because it helps me win and that feels good
- 46:05Speaker 1: and that's what I want to do.
- 46:06Speaker 4: Yeah.
- 46:07Speaker 1: So I think, yeah, surfing and being so passionate about
- 46:10Speaker 1: being really good at something and being the best that
- 46:12Speaker 1: something has really helped me with a lot of body stuff.
- 46:14Speaker 2: You're like, no matter what my body looks like, it
- 46:17Speaker 2: empowers and enables me to do this thing that brings
- 46:19Speaker 2: me so much.
- 46:20Speaker 4: Joy for sure.
- 46:20Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think like at the end of the day,
- 46:22Speaker 1: like I've I guess I've just learned like everyone looks
- 46:26Speaker 1: so different, you know, like everyone's like body structure or
- 46:30Speaker 1: whatever it looks. It looks very different and that's cool.
- 46:32Speaker 1: That's what makes everyone so unique and beautiful in their
- 46:34Speaker 1: own way. And I think knowing like you're the only
- 46:37Speaker 1: one that's you, that's like a superpower, Like no one
- 46:40Speaker 1: can be you know, one can be me. Like that's
- 46:41Speaker 1: just how it is, and I love that, you know,
- 46:46Speaker 1: not saying every day is perfect at all.
- 46:48Speaker 3: Like you know, there's days you wake up and you're like.
- 46:49Speaker 1: Oh, I'm kind of bloated, like I don't feel like
- 46:52Speaker 1: and then there's days where you're like I'm looking snatched,
- 46:54Speaker 1: like hey, I look great, here's time for a carousel,
- 46:57Speaker 1: you know, like time for my you know, like that's
- 47:00Speaker 1: super normal, you know, like and we all go through that.
- 47:02Speaker 1: And I think sometimes like people might look at athletes
- 47:06Speaker 1: or like, I mean, I'm not a celebrity about any
- 47:08Speaker 1: means or celebrity. Like I've looked at celebrities and I'm like, oh,
- 47:10Speaker 1: like their life must be perfect, and it's like everyone's
- 47:14Speaker 1: you know, human, and there's there's days where you just
- 47:16Speaker 1: don't feel that great, and there's days where you feel amazing.
- 47:18Speaker 3: It's just like whatever, you know.
- 47:20Speaker 1: I think like the last couple of years, I'd say,
- 47:22Speaker 1: like about like two years ago, I found like a
- 47:27Speaker 1: healthy balance. So we're like, well, I'm like I feel good.
- 47:31Speaker 1: I Like I'm happy with how I look, and I
- 47:33Speaker 1: also can do my sport and it just that brings
- 47:35Speaker 1: me so much joy, like I'm proud of like yeah,
- 47:39Speaker 1: I'm proud of that, you know, I.
- 47:40Speaker 2: Like feel like I could exhale for you, Like that
- 47:42Speaker 2: must be such a liberating feeling. Yeah, And to your
- 47:47Speaker 2: point before saying, we often want the things that we
- 47:50Speaker 2: don't have, for instance, a little bit of a shift.
- 47:53Speaker 4: But your social media.
- 47:55Speaker 2: Following, right, someone might see, oh she has x amount
- 47:58Speaker 2: of social media followers, just like that must be.
- 48:00Speaker 4: So cool, so much opportunity, et cetera.
- 48:02Speaker 2: But then you're talking about maybe some of the downsides
- 48:05Speaker 2: that come with that too, all of that criticism, all
- 48:07Speaker 2: of those eyes. It's like you were saying even earlier,
- 48:10Speaker 2: like if people have a feeling that they like want
- 48:15Speaker 2: to criticize you or they have expectations of you, right,
- 48:18Speaker 2: then that's probably a good thing because you're doing something right.
- 48:20Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, and knowing that too, like also knowing
- 48:23Speaker 1: like usually when people don't have anything nice to say, it's.
- 48:25Speaker 3: Probably to do with their own insecurity.
- 48:27Speaker 1: And I just think knowing that you're just like well whatever,
- 48:31Speaker 1: like you know, just like you're like feel bad for
- 48:33Speaker 1: the person almost, you know, like yeah, and it but yeah,
- 48:36Speaker 1: for sure, like the more eyes on you, the more
- 48:39Speaker 1: people you got to impress, which is impossible to impress everyone. Yeah,
- 48:42Speaker 1: so which means you're probably going to get more criticism.
- 48:44Speaker 1: It definitely comes to a lifestyle. But yeah, it is,
- 48:48Speaker 1: it is what it is.
- 48:49Speaker 4: What's uh, what's changed for you as a gold medalist?
- 48:55Speaker 1: I think just like like out of the thing, the
- 48:58Speaker 1: things I've accomplished my career like that, that's definitely been
- 49:00Speaker 1: like I've gotten the by far the most attention from
- 49:03Speaker 1: that for sure, Like I was like, whoa, this is global,
- 49:05Speaker 1: like everyone knows what The Olympics.
- 49:07Speaker 4: Is even different than being a world champion for sure.
- 49:09Speaker 1: Like I think I definitely get more of like obvious
- 49:13Speaker 1: like I think in the surf world, I get more
- 49:14Speaker 1: like you're the world champ. But I think outside of that,
- 49:16Speaker 1: it's very like you're the Olympic gold medal. It's like,
- 49:19Speaker 1: oh my gosh, you know kind of thing, which is
- 49:20Speaker 1: super cool. I think with you know, sponsor opportunities, just
- 49:25Speaker 1: opportunities like like that I think have been been huge.
- 49:29Speaker 1: But I still like I still have this, you know,
- 49:31Speaker 1: same friend group, Like I have my people, I have
- 49:33Speaker 1: my family that I love, you know, I still put
- 49:37Speaker 1: my shoe on the same way.
- 49:38Speaker 4: Or whatever, you know, like whatever saying it is what
- 49:41Speaker 4: I'm trying to say.
- 49:43Speaker 1: But it is something that I think I'll always be
- 49:47Speaker 1: like to this day, I'm like, I can't believe that,
- 49:48Speaker 1: Like I can believe it happened, but I'm also like,
- 49:50Speaker 1: I can't believe it happened. It is a pinchy moment,
- 49:53Speaker 1: and it's just like it's brought me in a lot
- 49:55Speaker 1: of incredible opportunity.
- 49:56Speaker 4: For sure, you're also in the Hall of Fame.
- 50:01Speaker 2: When I say that, like, if you were to tell
- 50:04Speaker 2: your fourteen fifteen year old self that you were going
- 50:08Speaker 2: to be in that Hall of fame, what would she
- 50:12Speaker 2: even think about that?
- 50:13Speaker 1: It's crazy And to get into like that young too,
- 50:17Speaker 1: was like how I was like, are you guys sure
- 50:18Speaker 1: you're getting the right person?
- 50:19Speaker 3: Like you know what I mean?
- 50:21Speaker 1: I was like, okay, Like wow, I'm super honored. You know,
- 50:25Speaker 1: if you told my younger self any of this was
- 50:26Speaker 1: going to happen, I'd be just like what, Like, yeah,
- 50:29Speaker 1: are you serious? Like I'm just yeah, I'm so grateful
- 50:32Speaker 1: for everything surfing's brought in me. It's just been amazing,
- 50:36Speaker 1: Like all the best experiences of my life have been
- 50:37Speaker 1: through surfing, and some of my best friends are through surfing,
- 50:40Speaker 1: like it's just been so cool.
- 50:42Speaker 2: You know, last year I sat down with Gabby Thomas
- 50:44Speaker 2: and she talked really beautifully about the importance of being
- 50:48Speaker 2: a bit delusional.
- 50:50Speaker 3: Yeah, ignorance is blissed sometimes.
- 50:52Speaker 4: It's blessed sometimes.
- 50:53Speaker 2: Really speaking all of these big goals and do existence,
- 50:57Speaker 2: you're at this place now where you really check some
- 51:00Speaker 2: awesome stuff off the list. So if I was gonna
- 51:03Speaker 2: say to you, now, all right, get delusion, all what
- 51:07Speaker 2: happens next?
- 51:08Speaker 1: It's funny you asked that because I think after I
- 51:10Speaker 1: won the gold medal, everyone's like, well, what now, because like,
- 51:14Speaker 1: those are my two biggest goals in serving ever is
- 51:16Speaker 1: the world the world title in the gold medal, and
- 51:18Speaker 1: like doing both of those things at twenty two, it's
- 51:21Speaker 1: like kind of like whoa, okay, wait a second, that happened,
- 51:24Speaker 1: Like wow, you know.
- 51:25Speaker 3: What I mean, Like crazy, Yeah, it's crazy.
- 51:28Speaker 1: I think, like it's funny because I know, like I'm
- 51:32Speaker 1: so proud of doing those things, but I want more
- 51:34Speaker 1: of those things, Like I want I would love to
- 51:37Speaker 1: be in as many Olympics as possible. I would love
- 51:39Speaker 1: to win wor moral titles and just to like really
- 51:42Speaker 1: inspire this next generation and that's like I'm so proud
- 51:45Speaker 1: of this film because like I've never dealt like I've
- 51:47Speaker 1: always been so focused on competing and that's all I've
- 51:50Speaker 1: cared about. Is just like winning this film is something
- 51:53Speaker 1: that I just kind of jumped out of my comfort
- 51:55Speaker 1: zone of doing. Yeah, And I think that's why I'm
- 51:57Speaker 1: like super proud of it is because like I'm like,
- 52:00Speaker 1: this is so new for me. I think I got
- 52:02Speaker 1: a little delusional there. And also including all my biggest
- 52:08Speaker 1: rivals was kind of like crazy to like think about,
- 52:11Speaker 1: like to like just I've battled with it personally because
- 52:14Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, like I could selfishly do something about myself,
- 52:18Speaker 1: or I can include my biggest rivals, which I know
- 52:20Speaker 1: will get more attention and like it'll just be so
- 52:22Speaker 1: good for the sport, you know, Like I have chills.
- 52:25Speaker 4: That's so cool though.
- 52:27Speaker 1: No, but like it's it's just like it's funny. I
- 52:29Speaker 1: was talking to the girls about this morning, like I've
- 52:30Speaker 1: totally bout like I don't know. I was like, I
- 52:32Speaker 1: don't know how you girls feel. Well, like it's been
- 52:33Speaker 1: hard for like I've battled with it myself, but now
- 52:37Speaker 1: that it's done and I've seen it and we're enjoying
- 52:40Speaker 1: like the fruits of our labor. Now I'm super proud
- 52:42Speaker 1: of it. Yeah, you know, but that was a moment
- 52:45Speaker 1: where I think I got a little delusional.
- 52:47Speaker 4: Not anymore, We're not a delusion.
- 52:49Speaker 2: Put it aside, because it is here and it is done.
- 52:53Speaker 2: I am so happy that we were able to sit
- 52:55Speaker 2: down today. And again, I'm so stoked on the film.
- 52:58Speaker 2: I got the opportunity to watch it earlier today. I
- 53:00Speaker 2: know after our conversation, you're doing a showing here in
- 53:04Speaker 2: Los Angeles tonight.
- 53:05Speaker 4: So best of luck with that.
- 53:07Speaker 3: Thank you so much, thanks for taking the time.
- 53:09Speaker 2: Of course, of course, now before I let you go though,
- 53:13Speaker 2: right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself a
- 53:15Speaker 2: piece of advice. Let's go back to after twenty twenty one.
- 53:19Speaker 2: Let's go to twenty twenty two. We decide that we
- 53:21Speaker 2: need to take a step back and do something really
- 53:25Speaker 2: hard and get really uncomfortable and prioritize figuring out why
- 53:29Speaker 2: everything feels a little bit off. Knowing what you know, now,
- 53:33Speaker 2: what would you tell your younger self.
- 53:36Speaker 3: Girl, You're going to get through it.
- 53:40Speaker 1: Girl, you got a lot of fun ahead of you.
- 53:43Speaker 1: You got this, You got this you're stronger than you think.
- 53:47Speaker 1: And yeah, I think you're stronger than you think because
- 53:50Speaker 1: in those moments you feel so broken. So I think,
- 53:52Speaker 1: just like, if I can tell myself, like, you're stronger
- 53:54Speaker 1: than you think, you're going to get through this, I
- 53:57Speaker 1: would tell myself that the.
- 53:58Speaker 2: Ultimate pep talk, you are the best. Tell us how
- 54:01Speaker 2: do we follow you on social media?
- 54:05Speaker 4: Caroline?
- 54:06Speaker 1: So my Instagram is Caroline Underscore Marks with two s's.
- 54:10Speaker 1: I think Caroline Marx has taken so TikTok, I think
- 54:15Speaker 1: it's Caroline Marks one. Those are like the two platforms
- 54:17Speaker 1: I mainly use Amazing.
- 54:19Speaker 2: Yeah I'm over at Emily a Badi and at Hurdle
- 54:22Speaker 2: Podcast Another Hurdle Conquered.
- 54:24Speaker 4: Catch you guys next time