Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 366. Riding The Wave: Embracing Life As A New Mom & How To Give 100% Of Whatever's In The Tank With Surfer Carissa Moore

Transcript

366. Riding The Wave: Embracing Life As A New Mom & How To Give 100% Of Whatever's In The Tank With Surfer Carissa Moore · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

0:00
Speaker 1: Being a mom shouldn't stop you from continuing to do
0:02
Speaker 1: what you love and what you are passionate about. Is
0:05
Speaker 1: just like, Okay, You've got to make little adjustments here
0:07
Speaker 1: and there and then keep forging forward.
0:24
Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, Emily Abodi here.
0:26
Speaker 3: You are listening to Hurdle a while this focused podcast
0:29
Speaker 3: where I talk to inspirational people about everything from their
0:32
Speaker 3: highest tides and toughest moments to essential tips on how
0:36
Speaker 3: to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all
0:40
Speaker 3: go through our fair share of hurdles. My goal through
0:43
Speaker 3: these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours
0:46
Speaker 3: and move with intention so that you can stride towards
0:49
Speaker 3: your own big potential and of course have some fun
0:53
Speaker 3: along the way. For today's conversation, episode three sixty six,
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Speaker 3: I'm chatting with Carissa Moore. She's an Olympic gold medalist,
1:03
Speaker 3: a two time Olympian as well as a five time
1:07
Speaker 3: world champion. This is her second appearance on Hurdle and
1:11
Speaker 3: the first time she's been on the show with her daughter.
1:16
Speaker 3: I say that very intentionally because I am not even exaggerating.
1:20
Speaker 3: She was baby wearing her daughter for this entire conversation
1:25
Speaker 3: and Olenna did not make a peep, but truly remarkable
1:30
Speaker 3: and also, let's go mom trying to get it all
1:34
Speaker 3: done at one, something I'm sure a lot of you
1:37
Speaker 3: listening can relate to now. Carissa, as I mentioned, is
1:40
Speaker 3: an Olympian. She's a world champion surfer, and last year
1:44
Speaker 3: she competed at the Paris Games while nine weeks pregnant
1:50
Speaker 3: with her daughter. We talk about how she felt when
1:52
Speaker 3: she got the news that she was expecting, how she
1:55
Speaker 3: was excited about this next chapter of life, but also
1:58
Speaker 3: coming to terms with what it would mean for her performance.
2:03
Speaker 3: She talks to me about what life's been like since
2:05
Speaker 3: stepping away from the tour and the legacy she hopes
2:08
Speaker 3: to leave behind above all else. I adore this episode
2:14
Speaker 3: because of her vulnerability and openness about what this new
2:18
Speaker 3: chapter of motherhood means to her, how special it is
2:21
Speaker 3: for her to nurture her inner child through raising her daughter,
2:25
Speaker 3: and what she's most looking forward to now that Olena
2:29
Speaker 3: is earthside.
2:30
Speaker 2: Also want to highlight upfront.
2:32
Speaker 3: We chat about an upcoming retreat she's doing without rigor.
2:35
Speaker 3: It's a mother a daughter surfing retreat. If this is
2:37
Speaker 3: something that excites you. You can find more info about
2:40
Speaker 3: that in the show notes. Make sure you're following along
2:44
Speaker 3: over on Instagram. It's at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at
2:47
Speaker 3: Emiliabadi and the weekly Hurdle Substack newsletter comes out every
2:50
Speaker 3: Friday directly in your inbox. It's absolutely free. The link
2:54
Speaker 3: to subscribe is in the show notes. With that, let's
2:58
Speaker 3: get to it. Let's get to herding.
3:09
Speaker 2: Today. I am sitting down with Charissa Moore.
3:12
Speaker 3: She's a two time Olympian Olympic gold medalist, a five
3:15
Speaker 3: time world champion surfer.
3:17
Speaker 2: How are you doing today, Chrissa, Welcome to Hurdle.
3:19
Speaker 1: I'm doing great. How are you?
3:21
Speaker 2: I'm so good. I'm so happy to have you back
3:23
Speaker 2: on the show.
3:24
Speaker 3: And I was supposed to tell you immediately from the
3:27
Speaker 3: get go that Talia Minsburg told me that I need
3:31
Speaker 3: to come to Hawaii specifically to have but non.
3:35
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, oh my gosh. Well tell Talia. I said, hello,
3:38
Speaker 1: and you must come and have this delicious frozen fruit
3:42
Speaker 1: sauce serve. It's amazing.
3:44
Speaker 2: So this is your husband's company.
3:46
Speaker 1: So yes, he started it with a couple of his buddies.
3:49
Speaker 1: He's not as involved anymore, but it is his. It
3:51
Speaker 1: was his passion project, and we have a lot He
3:54
Speaker 1: has a lot of good memories creating it from scratch
3:56
Speaker 1: with his best best friends from scratches.
3:59
Speaker 3: While I'm always so interested in founder stories, but that's
4:03
Speaker 3: a different podcast for a different time. For those that
4:07
Speaker 3: don't have the privilege of watching you right now, you
4:10
Speaker 3: are the first woman I've ever had on the show
4:13
Speaker 3: who is actively baby wearing.
4:17
Speaker 1: I am actively baby wearing. I am trying to put
4:20
Speaker 1: my daughter, she's five months, to sleep. Her name is Olena,
4:23
Speaker 1: and she's been a lot of fun. It's a lot
4:27
Speaker 1: of work, but the most rewarding job I've ever had.
4:30
Speaker 1: Like everyone has told me.
4:32
Speaker 3: A big transition for you, for sure, a lot of
4:36
Speaker 3: things shaken up in your life right now. Talk to
4:39
Speaker 3: me about how you're feeling right now.
4:43
Speaker 1: Right now, I feel really good. I feel really joyful.
4:48
Speaker 1: My life is full of joy. You know. It's been
4:50
Speaker 1: about a year and a half since I've left competing
4:53
Speaker 1: full time on the Championship Tour, which was a huge
4:56
Speaker 1: pivot for me and super scary and uncomfortable. But I
4:59
Speaker 1: just kept telling myself, I got to listen to that
5:02
Speaker 1: little voice inside my head that's telling me, Hey, I
5:05
Speaker 1: want to see what else is out there. I want
5:07
Speaker 1: to give myself the space and grace to start a family.
5:11
Speaker 1: And I think as human beings, it's important for us
5:14
Speaker 1: to keep evolving, Like I just you know, and it
5:17
Speaker 1: just felt like it was time for me. So as
5:19
Speaker 1: uncomfortable as it has been, I think it's brought me
5:22
Speaker 1: so much joy. It's been a time of learning and
5:25
Speaker 1: growing and becoming. And you know, there's still times it's uncomfortable,
5:31
Speaker 1: and still times that I second guessed myself. There's a
5:33
Speaker 1: lot of that in motherhood. I'm just I am really
5:36
Speaker 1: proud of myself. Like I can, you know, say that
5:38
Speaker 1: out loud today, Like this is probably the thing in
5:42
Speaker 1: life that I'm most proud of.
5:44
Speaker 3: I love to hear that, and it's really special to
5:46
Speaker 3: hear that considering how accomplished that you are as a
5:51
Speaker 3: surfer within your sport. I want to dial us back
5:54
Speaker 3: a little bit and talk to when you found out
5:57
Speaker 3: that you were pregnant leading up to this major moment
6:01
Speaker 3: during last year's Olympics.
6:03
Speaker 2: Where were you when you got the news?
6:06
Speaker 1: Well, I was at home and I had just gotten
6:10
Speaker 1: back from a trip, a fun trip with my husband
6:13
Speaker 1: to visit some friends in Colorado, and before that, I
6:16
Speaker 1: was in Tahiti for a month. I was competing in
6:18
Speaker 1: the World Surf League's Tyahoo po Oh event as a
6:22
Speaker 1: wildcard and just training for the summer Olympics. And my
6:27
Speaker 1: husband and I have been talking about wanting to start
6:28
Speaker 1: a family for a while, and he was like, hey,
6:31
Speaker 1: let's try around this time. If it does happen, you
6:33
Speaker 1: could still compete because it would be early enough. And
6:36
Speaker 1: in my head I was kind of like, oh, yeah, shirts,
6:38
Speaker 1: it's going to happen. I mean, just with all the
6:40
Speaker 1: stress and stuff as a woman, you know, your cycles
6:43
Speaker 1: are really thrown off, so you I don't know. I
6:45
Speaker 1: just really didn't have faith that it was going to
6:47
Speaker 1: work out, but it did. So Universe had had other
6:51
Speaker 1: plans and a great blessing for us. So anyway, I
6:54
Speaker 1: just knew something was up because I felt like I was,
6:58
Speaker 1: you know, having some cramps and stuff, but nothing ever came,
7:01
Speaker 1: and so I took a test and then sure enough,
7:03
Speaker 1: there was a faint line, a faint double line. I
7:05
Speaker 1: was like, wait, is this for real? So I know,
7:09
Speaker 1: I just remember like thinking about it at that moment
7:12
Speaker 1: was really special for us because we've been My husband's
7:15
Speaker 1: wanted to be a dad for so long, and he
7:17
Speaker 1: was really just waiting for me to be ready.
7:19
Speaker 3: When you get this news, you're excited, obviously because you're
7:23
Speaker 3: looking forward to expanding your family, But is there any
7:27
Speaker 3: ounce or part of you that's a little concerned about
7:31
Speaker 3: the plans you have for the competition on deck?
7:34
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I mean, of course. I mean it's
7:36
Speaker 1: already a tall task going to the Olympics and trying
7:39
Speaker 1: to you know, we're all trying to meddle and for myself,
7:44
Speaker 1: like at one of the craziest, most insane, challenging surf
7:49
Speaker 1: breaks in the entire world. So it was kind of
7:51
Speaker 1: just like a triple whammy. There was just like so
7:53
Speaker 1: much going on right like the Olympics, then one of
7:55
Speaker 1: the gnarliest ways, and then add on like I'm pregnant,
7:58
Speaker 1: and you know, I didn't realize, like first trimester is rough,
8:02
Speaker 1: Like you know, I was dealing with morning sickness and
8:05
Speaker 1: just being really tired, and then you can't really tell
8:08
Speaker 1: anybody because you don't want to jinx it, and you also,
8:12
Speaker 1: you know, aren't showing, and so it was really just
8:14
Speaker 1: a big secret between my husband and I, but of
8:17
Speaker 1: course I was a little bit nervous, but talking to
8:20
Speaker 1: our doctors and stuff, you know, baby was really safe
8:22
Speaker 1: in there, and I just was like, hey, I get
8:24
Speaker 1: to surf for someone else right now, I have another
8:27
Speaker 1: little being with me. She's going to be my cheerleader,
8:30
Speaker 1: and yeah, I'm just gonna give it my best. And
8:33
Speaker 1: I think it was like a nice you know, leaving
8:35
Speaker 1: the tour, you know, putting all my energy into training
8:38
Speaker 1: for this summer Olympics. There was also that extra pressure
8:41
Speaker 1: that I was putting on myself, so it was kind
8:43
Speaker 1: of nice to have another distraction, something else to surf for,
8:47
Speaker 1: something else to focus on, and and just know like, hey,
8:49
Speaker 1: whatever happens in this event, there's something beautiful that's next.
8:53
Speaker 3: Definitely, and to keep it a secret, I'm sure was
8:56
Speaker 3: also something that came with its fair share of hurdles.
8:59
Speaker 2: Were you feeling like yourself at this time?
9:02
Speaker 3: I mean when you started the competition for the Olympics,
9:05
Speaker 3: you were something like maybe eleven weeks long.
9:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I was, like I think when I
9:11
Speaker 1: was at the Olympics, it was between nine and eleven weeks.
9:15
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's it was definitely not easy, but just
9:23
Speaker 1: so beautiful, and I just there was like I'm just
9:25
Speaker 1: used to, like I think as an athlete. Athlete mindset
9:28
Speaker 1: is like, hey, just get it done. You put your
9:29
Speaker 1: big girl pants on and you get out there and
9:31
Speaker 1: you do it. So that was that was definitely my mindset.
9:36
Speaker 1: It's just I was like, obviously super excited. This is
9:38
Speaker 1: a dream to be a part of a second Olympics.
9:40
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna shy away from you know, doing my
9:43
Speaker 1: very best here. And but then at the same time,
9:45
Speaker 1: if it doesn't work out, too, that's okay. What was
9:48
Speaker 1: so tricky is I thought there was going to be
9:51
Speaker 1: more information, especially for an athletic mom or someone who
9:56
Speaker 1: was pregnant who wants to be athletic and continue doing
9:58
Speaker 1: what she loves. I thought there would be more information
10:01
Speaker 1: on how to do it. And maybe I just was
10:03
Speaker 1: looking in the wrong places.
10:05
Speaker 2: I know.
10:05
Speaker 1: I definitely leaned on some of my surfing mother friends
10:09
Speaker 1: who have gone through it before and how did they
10:11
Speaker 1: navigate it, But like it did feel very new for me.
10:13
Speaker 1: But going through this whole process, I just feel like
10:16
Speaker 1: there can be more conversations around it, because it shouldn't
10:19
Speaker 1: being pregnant shouldn't stop you being a mom shouldn't stop
10:22
Speaker 1: you from continuing to do what you love and what
10:25
Speaker 1: you are passionate about. Is just like okay, Like you've
10:28
Speaker 1: got to make little adjustments here and there and then
10:30
Speaker 1: keep forging forward a little adjustments.
10:33
Speaker 3: And I would imagine that that could also be frustrating,
10:36
Speaker 3: right or in this place, you're trying to navigate something
10:38
Speaker 3: that's entirely new to you and do the things that
10:42
Speaker 3: you have previously done to feel.
10:44
Speaker 2: At home in your body.
10:46
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I have never felt so like out
10:51
Speaker 1: of my skin, so frustrated. It's like knock knock on wood.
10:54
Speaker 1: I have been injury free my whole career, so I've
10:58
Speaker 1: never had to really deal with with scaling back or
11:02
Speaker 1: bringing back my pace and taking things slow, being more
11:06
Speaker 1: intuitive with my body and how I train and how
11:09
Speaker 1: I surf, And so that was a huge awakening for me, like, hey,
11:13
Speaker 1: I can't do the things that I've always done in
11:16
Speaker 1: the same way. It's gonna look different and I may
11:20
Speaker 1: not be able to do it now, but this is
11:22
Speaker 1: just a season, like knowing like hey, this is just
11:24
Speaker 1: a certain time I'll get back there. I just have
11:27
Speaker 1: to trust and have faith and no I just remember
11:29
Speaker 1: there were multiple moments throughout my pregnancy where I had
11:32
Speaker 1: full meltdowns because I was like, wait, I can't do
11:35
Speaker 1: this anymore, or I can't go out and surf these
11:38
Speaker 1: big waves. I have to really like think about it. Yeah,
11:41
Speaker 1: so that was hard. And then watching myself gain weight
11:44
Speaker 1: and put on pounds. I've you know, I feel like
11:46
Speaker 1: I've been very honest and open about my relationship with
11:50
Speaker 1: food and dieting and all that kind of stuff, and
11:53
Speaker 1: it wasn't always this the most positive and so I
11:57
Speaker 1: really feel like having to like go let it happen.
12:01
Speaker 1: Know that, like my changes were for a reason, was
12:04
Speaker 1: to create this life. It's made me fall in love
12:06
Speaker 1: with my body in a whole new way and appreciate it.
12:09
Speaker 1: Like I am, like, I look back, I'm like, how
12:10
Speaker 1: was I ever? How did I ever talk to myself
12:15
Speaker 1: like that? You know, look what my body can do,
12:17
Speaker 1: like even to like now when I'm able to fill
12:20
Speaker 1: a bottle of milk for my child, I'm like, holy crab, Like,
12:23
Speaker 1: great job, buddy, I'm so proud of you, Like we're
12:26
Speaker 1: keeping this little human alive together. And so yes, maybe
12:30
Speaker 1: I do have a few more pounds on me right
12:31
Speaker 1: now a few more roles, a few more stretch marks,
12:35
Speaker 1: but I'm really like they're badges of honor. I'm really
12:38
Speaker 1: proud of them.
12:39
Speaker 2: As you should be.
12:40
Speaker 3: And it's so speful to hear that stands that feedback
12:45
Speaker 3: that position. Knowing what you've been through and seeing you
12:49
Speaker 3: with your daughter. I know there are also so many
12:52
Speaker 3: women that can really relate to what you're saying about
12:58
Speaker 3: this sense of both this deep appreciation for what your
13:02
Speaker 3: body can do and what it's done, and also recognizing
13:06
Speaker 3: that that doesn't mean that that can't come without challenge,
13:10
Speaker 3: without sadness, without frustration.
13:13
Speaker 2: You're still you at the end of the day.
13:15
Speaker 3: Just because you're adding the title mom onto your lengthy
13:19
Speaker 3: list of accolades and hyphens doesn't mean that it will
13:24
Speaker 3: be easy to mentally navigate the hardships that come with
13:28
Speaker 3: earning that title.
13:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, and I really appreciate that. No, thank you
13:33
Speaker 1: so much. And yeah, I just have a whole new
13:38
Speaker 1: perspective appreciation for mothers. I think for a really long
13:41
Speaker 1: time I had this narrative in my head that if
13:44
Speaker 1: I become a mom, I have to, you know, give
13:46
Speaker 1: up what I love doing, and I can't do both
13:50
Speaker 1: and in a sense, it's really hard to do it all.
13:53
Speaker 1: Like I was like, no, I'm going to have a baby,
13:55
Speaker 1: I'm going to keep doing all the things. And what
13:58
Speaker 1: I have found is like, you can't and you can
14:00
Speaker 1: do it all, but it's it's I think one of
14:02
Speaker 1: the most challenging things for me is like I'm used
14:04
Speaker 1: to showing up one hundred ten percent in everything that
14:07
Speaker 1: I do, and now it's about eighty to ninety. I'm
14:11
Speaker 1: able to just do my best in everything, but maybe
14:14
Speaker 1: it's not one hundred and ten percent like it used to.
14:16
Speaker 1: And I'm learning how to give myself grace and be
14:19
Speaker 1: okay and be like, hey, I'm trying my best and
14:21
Speaker 1: that's that's awesome, and I'm learning. I'm learning a lot.
14:25
Speaker 3: I think it's recognizing, though, on the days when you
14:28
Speaker 3: only have say eighty percent to give, Okay, today is
14:32
Speaker 3: an eighty percent day, do I have the bandwidth to
14:34
Speaker 3: give one hundred percent of eighty percent? And having really
14:37
Speaker 3: used to compassion with yourself, knowing that it's okay if
14:41
Speaker 3: you don't have the hundred, just give a hundred of
14:44
Speaker 3: the eighty.
14:45
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, that is perfect. You said it perfectly.
14:48
Speaker 3: As you navigate this transition. Recently, on Instagram, you wrote
14:53
Speaker 3: at four and a half month's postpartum, things are starting
14:56
Speaker 3: to feel semi normal again, pushing a little harder, react better,
15:00
Speaker 3: not getting absolutely winded after every wave. I don't want
15:05
Speaker 3: to jump too far ahead and skip around, but I
15:07
Speaker 3: need to know knowing that you've had this journey to
15:11
Speaker 3: get back to where you are.
15:12
Speaker 2: How are you feeling back in the water today.
15:16
Speaker 1: I'm feeling good. I'm feeling like, I don't know. It's
15:20
Speaker 1: really cool because there are moments that I see glimpses
15:23
Speaker 1: of like how I was surfing before, and it just
15:26
Speaker 1: really excites me because I missed it. I missed those feelings.
15:29
Speaker 1: It's I feel most myself in the water, most confident,
15:34
Speaker 1: most empowered when I am able to like push a
15:37
Speaker 1: turn or feel the speed or you know all those things.
15:40
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, like, I don't know. It just gives me.
15:42
Speaker 1: I have a new, like just sense of gratitude for
15:45
Speaker 1: being in the water every day, even if the surf
15:47
Speaker 1: is bad, just catching a couple of ways, but I'm like, no,
15:50
Speaker 1: it feels it feels so good and it's nice to
15:53
Speaker 1: have something to like work towards again. That's just mine.
15:56
Speaker 1: You know, obviously I love being a mom, and she's
15:59
Speaker 1: my number one priority in my family's my number one priority.
16:02
Speaker 1: But it is nice to have something that's that's.
16:05
Speaker 3: Just mine, yeah, just yours to have, and something that
16:08
Speaker 3: I'm sure is a bit challenging to make the time
16:12
Speaker 3: for amidst all of these things. Talk to me about
16:15
Speaker 3: how you prioritize or make the time for yourself when
16:19
Speaker 3: there is just so much going on.
16:21
Speaker 1: I feel really, really fortunate for an amazing village and
16:25
Speaker 1: an amazing husband that allows me to have those pockets
16:29
Speaker 1: of time. You know, I have a husband that, like
16:31
Speaker 1: I mentioned before, it has always wanted to be a dad.
16:33
Speaker 1: So he's super present, superhands on. If I want to
16:37
Speaker 1: go jump in the water, he's like, okay, well I'll
16:39
Speaker 1: take Olena and we'll go for a walk with the
16:41
Speaker 1: dogs in a swim somewhere. But then also just you know,
16:45
Speaker 1: my whole family lives within a small radius of where
16:48
Speaker 1: we're at, So whether she's at Tutu's house or Grammy's
16:51
Speaker 1: or Grandpa's, you know, there's someone who's always willing and
16:53
Speaker 1: excited to watch her, which is just great to have
16:56
Speaker 1: that support and love. And so yeah, if it's getting
17:00
Speaker 1: in the water, getting a training session in sweating, Like
17:03
Speaker 1: movement for me has always been my safe haven, been
17:07
Speaker 1: a way to like get my feelings out and work
17:09
Speaker 1: through everything. And sweating is just like after even if
17:13
Speaker 1: I just go for an hour and I just sweat,
17:15
Speaker 1: I'm like, Okay, I can be a better mom. Now.
17:17
Speaker 1: My other tools is I have a sports psychologist that
17:19
Speaker 1: I talk to whenever I need. I really enjoy journaling.
17:22
Speaker 1: If I get a quiet moment to myself, I try to,
17:26
Speaker 1: you know, if I really see myself like spiraling or
17:29
Speaker 1: like getting too overwhelmed, like making sure that I don't
17:32
Speaker 1: go on my phone and I'm not on Instagram scrolling
17:35
Speaker 1: because I can find I find that that adds to it,
17:37
Speaker 1: and that's just another another thing where my energy doesn't
17:40
Speaker 1: need to go. So just simplifying and finding those things
17:43
Speaker 1: that really ground me.
17:45
Speaker 2: Simplifying is so important.
17:47
Speaker 3: And I know that this is a tool and a
17:49
Speaker 3: strategy that you've used in the past when you've been overwhelmed.
17:54
Speaker 2: Where did you learn that from?
17:56
Speaker 3: Was that from speaking with your sports psychologist or was
17:59
Speaker 3: that truely just of doing an inventory and being like,
18:02
Speaker 3: you know what, actually, this is where I'm finding this
18:06
Speaker 3: stress and this tension.
18:07
Speaker 1: I think it was a combination of a few things. Definitely,
18:10
Speaker 1: my sports psych is someone who has validated that simplifying
18:13
Speaker 1: is a great way to ground yourself and helps you
18:16
Speaker 1: to prioritize and make sure your energy is going into
18:19
Speaker 1: the right places and not overextending yourself. But from a
18:22
Speaker 1: really young age, my dad was like, hey, like, if
18:24
Speaker 1: you want to be the best in the world, you
18:26
Speaker 1: kind of have to make sacrifices. You can't be everywhere
18:29
Speaker 1: at once, and it's like, you got to pick where
18:31
Speaker 1: you want to put your energy because it's so important
18:34
Speaker 1: to have a balance. You can't just work, work, work
18:38
Speaker 1: or play play play. There has to be a moment
18:40
Speaker 1: of pause and break and rest so that you can
18:44
Speaker 1: come back even stronger. So I think being in the
18:48
Speaker 1: pursuit of wanting to be the best has really taught
18:50
Speaker 1: me how to like simplify, compartmentalize, prioritize, and the journey
18:54
Speaker 1: of surfing has helped me define my core values so
18:58
Speaker 1: that when things get dick ar chaotic, I can really
19:01
Speaker 1: return to those and ask myself the right questions to
19:03
Speaker 1: be like, Okay, is this fitting for me right now?
19:06
Speaker 1: And is this worth my energy and my time.
19:09
Speaker 2: I want to talk about your core values.
19:12
Speaker 3: That's such a helpful tidbit and something that so many
19:15
Speaker 3: people can really benefit from articulating for themselves. What did
19:21
Speaker 3: articulating your core values? And if you would like to
19:24
Speaker 3: share them, I would love to hear them. What did
19:26
Speaker 3: that do for helping you figure out what's important in
19:30
Speaker 3: your life?
19:33
Speaker 1: Oh? My gosh. Well, obviously there's so many things that
19:37
Speaker 1: are important to me, but at the top of my
19:38
Speaker 1: list is obviously family, then community, you know, sharing love
19:43
Speaker 1: and giving back to other people, like those are the
19:47
Speaker 1: things that I feel like really ground me when I
19:49
Speaker 1: am in a hole and everything seems dark. Reach out
19:53
Speaker 1: to my family, go and connect with my community, or
19:57
Speaker 1: do something kind for somebody else. Those are the things
20:00
Speaker 1: that bring me back to myself. And I really feel
20:03
Speaker 1: like those things have developed over time through my experiences
20:07
Speaker 1: on the road. Really early on, I think it was
20:09
Speaker 1: my yeah, it was my rookie year. I learned very
20:13
Speaker 1: quickly how to. I was just really caught up in
20:17
Speaker 1: the pressure and what everyone wanted for me and what
20:20
Speaker 1: their idea of success was, and just I did not
20:23
Speaker 1: serve how I knew, how knew I could so you know,
20:27
Speaker 1: my dad encouraged me to connect with a local board
20:30
Speaker 1: riding club in New Zealand and we spent time with them.
20:34
Speaker 1: We went surfing outside the contest, we ate meals, we
20:38
Speaker 1: created memories and friendship, and their support ended up helping
20:42
Speaker 1: me win my first event on tour. And so that
20:45
Speaker 1: was one of like that was a very pivotal moment
20:48
Speaker 1: for me because it was like, oh wow, look what
20:50
Speaker 1: the power of love can do, you know, and what
20:54
Speaker 1: being of service can do to for myself. So little
20:57
Speaker 1: moments like that or big moments like that have really
21:00
Speaker 1: affected the way that I have competed and approached my
21:03
Speaker 1: career in my life. One of the things that these
21:06
Speaker 1: values have led me to is starting my own foundation
21:09
Speaker 1: called Morloha, And at any of our events, I really
21:13
Speaker 1: try to encourage the girls or women to spend time
21:17
Speaker 1: to define their core values, to write down their goals
21:21
Speaker 1: to you know, get to know themselves. I think in
21:25
Speaker 1: this day and age, there's so much being thrown at
21:27
Speaker 1: us all the time that can distract us from what
21:31
Speaker 1: is really important to us, and we need to just
21:34
Speaker 1: like find that space and that time to really clarify
21:38
Speaker 1: so that we can move forward with clear intention.
21:40
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Speaker 3: what it was like for you the first time that
25:30
Speaker 3: you gathered with women from your foundation.
25:32
Speaker 2: I know you did it recently as well.
25:34
Speaker 1: I remember the first time. So I started back in
25:38
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. It hit the mission and the vision has
25:41
Speaker 1: really morphed since then, but in the beginning, it was like, hey,
25:44
Speaker 1: I was I was in a really low, low, low
25:47
Speaker 1: point in my career and in my personal life, and
25:49
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, I need to give back. I
25:52
Speaker 1: need to find that way to connect to my community.
25:55
Speaker 1: And so I started the foundation and I saw that
25:57
Speaker 1: there was a whole for opportunity for young girls and surfing,
26:01
Speaker 1: and so I was like, hey, like, I just want to,
26:04
Speaker 1: you know, share any tools, any resources from my experiences
26:08
Speaker 1: with these girls to help them on their journey. And
26:12
Speaker 1: it was a two day, two night camp on the
26:14
Speaker 1: North Shore with twenty four girls. I planned the whole thing,
26:18
Speaker 1: organized all the little details. It was so like grassroots,
26:22
Speaker 1: but it was so special, and I just I just
26:26
Speaker 1: remembered the joy, how stoked they were, how wide eyed
26:31
Speaker 1: and ready they were to just soak in anything that
26:34
Speaker 1: I could share. And they left with friendships and they
26:39
Speaker 1: took home something and like for me, that was just like, oh,
26:42
Speaker 1: I want to do more of this. That really fed
26:44
Speaker 1: my fed my soul. And I know that when I
26:46
Speaker 1: was a little girl, getting to spend time anytime with
26:49
Speaker 1: my heroes was so inspiring, you know. It was getting
26:55
Speaker 1: to spend time with Rachelle Ballard or Melanie Bartel's or
26:58
Speaker 1: Kyla Kenneley. The are pro surfers from my home talent.
27:01
Speaker 1: Seeing them in the water, it was like, oh my gosh,
27:03
Speaker 1: there's my dream that it's tangible. You know, these women
27:06
Speaker 1: are on the world stage, chasing waves and doing what
27:09
Speaker 1: they love and they're right there, you know. So I
27:11
Speaker 1: really wanted to create, you know, that space that's intimate
27:15
Speaker 1: that they could get to know me, that they could
27:17
Speaker 1: ask the questions. And it's been a beautiful, beautiful journey
27:21
Speaker 1: with Marloha. I'm really excited to see how much it's
27:24
Speaker 1: blossomed and grown and I think right now, you know,
27:27
Speaker 1: surfing is definitely a big part of our events and programs,
27:31
Speaker 1: but we use it more as a tool to encourage
27:34
Speaker 1: girls to step outside their comfort zones. We really try
27:37
Speaker 1: to focus on mental health and wellness and sharing those
27:40
Speaker 1: tools and resources that I have learned along my journey
27:43
Speaker 1: to help them create a life of positivity and purpose.
27:46
Speaker 3: I love to hear that, and it's very clear through
27:49
Speaker 3: your passion for this that it's so important to you
27:53
Speaker 3: to provide these resources.
27:55
Speaker 2: Is this because.
27:56
Speaker 3: Large in part, you didn't necessarily feel like you had
27:59
Speaker 3: resources like this for yourself.
28:01
Speaker 1: Growing up, I just felt like there were Like I've mentioned,
28:05
Speaker 1: it's just like it can feel really overwhelming growing up
28:07
Speaker 1: in this world, and especially as a young girl, Like
28:10
Speaker 1: I think I always found myself comparing myself or chasing
28:15
Speaker 1: outside validation or you know, I struggled with self worth,
28:19
Speaker 1: with body image, and I was like, well, I just
28:21
Speaker 1: want these Every human being on this planet is an
28:25
Speaker 1: absolute miracle, you know, and I just want to help
28:28
Speaker 1: them reconnect with themselves and know that they are put
28:33
Speaker 1: here for a beautiful reason, they are unique, and to
28:36
Speaker 1: embrace their imperfections. To also lift others up, that this
28:40
Speaker 1: doesn't need to be a constant competition with the ones,
28:43
Speaker 1: you know, our peers, like let's lift each other up.
28:45
Speaker 1: We're stronger together. And to go out there and like
28:48
Speaker 1: go for it. Like I think that that was a
28:50
Speaker 1: big thing for me, And sometimes I see in young
28:53
Speaker 1: girls is like when you're out there testing the waters
28:57
Speaker 1: and going after it and being fearless, like that super
28:59
Speaker 1: empowering gave me a lot of gave me a lot
29:01
Speaker 1: of confidence.
29:02
Speaker 2: Yeah.
29:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think it's really special that you also
29:06
Speaker 3: leaned into that competitive mindset when there was so much
29:10
Speaker 3: unknown by competing at the Olympics.
29:13
Speaker 2: When you were there, did you feel like.
29:16
Speaker 3: The unknown made the competition more difficult or did you
29:22
Speaker 3: feel like it added something special, a little bit of
29:25
Speaker 3: a special sauce to what you were doing in the water.
29:29
Speaker 1: Oh, it's something that I still really struggle with because
29:32
Speaker 1: I feel like I am a bit of a control freak.
29:35
Speaker 1: Like I try my best to control everything and then
29:39
Speaker 1: I'm really working on letting go. But yeah, I mean,
29:43
Speaker 1: that's that is surfing, Like there's so much out of
29:46
Speaker 1: your control. There's so many variables and just learning how
29:49
Speaker 1: to like give yourself the best chance of success, but
29:51
Speaker 1: learning how to let go and trust the universe and
29:54
Speaker 1: trust that the wave is going to come, and if
29:56
Speaker 1: it doesn't, then you take what you can, process it
29:59
Speaker 1: and move forward for the next time. You know.
30:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, How would you say that your relationship with surfing
30:05
Speaker 3: has evolved since you've stepped back from the competitive tour.
30:08
Speaker 3: Are you finding new ways to enjoy the sport or
30:11
Speaker 3: is it really just you trying to get back into
30:13
Speaker 3: the sport period.
30:15
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I've loved being a fan, like I
30:19
Speaker 1: one of my really good friends. Is I mean I'm
30:22
Speaker 1: very good friends with a lot of the girls on tour,
30:24
Speaker 1: but there's a few of them that are extra special
30:26
Speaker 1: to me, so I follow the tour pretty religiously and
30:29
Speaker 1: cheer them on. It's been cool to take a step
30:31
Speaker 1: back and just I think it's been really healthy for me,
30:35
Speaker 1: because when you're in something sometimes it's hard to see, hey, wait,
30:39
Speaker 1: there's other stuff out there, and like, you'll be okay
30:41
Speaker 1: without this. It's been really good for me, I think,
30:44
Speaker 1: because I have never known anything else, you know, and
30:48
Speaker 1: to just take a little bit of time away to
30:50
Speaker 1: be at home, to immerse myself in a home routine
30:54
Speaker 1: and be a family and friends. I have the luxury
30:56
Speaker 1: to like stay up late or go grab a coffee
30:58
Speaker 1: on a whim, or sit at the beach with my
31:00
Speaker 1: daughter and play in the sand and be able to
31:03
Speaker 1: appreciate surfing and competitive surfing as a dream. But know
31:07
Speaker 1: that like I'll be okay, like if I go back
31:10
Speaker 1: or if I don't go back. Life is wonderful. There's
31:13
Speaker 1: so much to be grateful for, and it's also there's
31:16
Speaker 1: so many different chapters in our lives right, Like there's
31:19
Speaker 1: so many different versions of us, which is really cool
31:22
Speaker 1: and to just like embrace it. It's hard, though, Like
31:26
Speaker 1: we've were just talking about that unknown, that uncertainty is
31:30
Speaker 1: really scary, you.
31:31
Speaker 3: Know, Yeah, it's definitely scary, and to your point of
31:34
Speaker 3: like when you're in it, I can really relate. Like
31:37
Speaker 3: last weekend, I'm I'm a runner and I'm training for
31:42
Speaker 3: a marathon, and I am always training for a marathon.
31:44
Speaker 3: There's always something else on the docket, right, and so
31:47
Speaker 3: that means that a lot of Saturdays are long runs
31:50
Speaker 3: for me. And last Saturday, I did my long run
31:53
Speaker 3: the day before and I woke up and I was like,
31:55
Speaker 3: I now have an entire day that like usually I'm
31:59
Speaker 3: doing something else and wow, like life could be really
32:02
Speaker 3: good if I didn't do this other thing.
32:05
Speaker 2: But I'm so in the mix, Like I'm so this.
32:08
Speaker 3: Is what I do, this is how I identify, this is
32:10
Speaker 3: what happens every single Saturday. And you have to get
32:13
Speaker 3: outside of your bubble, outside of your box to realize like, hey,
32:16
Speaker 3: like there are benefits to not only mixing up your routine,
32:19
Speaker 3: but being like nope, like life could be fine another way.
32:23
Speaker 1: No, totally, and like that doesn't take anything away from
32:27
Speaker 1: like how important and how awesome it is to be
32:30
Speaker 1: passionate about a dream. Like I encourage everybody to totally
32:34
Speaker 1: commit to something and go all in when you love something,
32:37
Speaker 1: you know, but it's also great to keep an open
32:40
Speaker 1: mind to falling in love with something else, to have
32:42
Speaker 1: that learning mindset that when you step away from something
32:46
Speaker 1: you've gotten really good at and really comfortable with that,
32:48
Speaker 1: you're going to be on the ground again, like working
32:51
Speaker 1: yourself back up and like being okay with that, you know.
32:55
Speaker 1: And that's so fun is to know, like, hey, like
32:58
Speaker 1: I was this, I'm a student again.
33:01
Speaker 3: Being a student again exactly. I know that you find
33:05
Speaker 3: the simple joys of going to a coffee spot near
33:08
Speaker 3: you and getting a muffin there. What are some of
33:10
Speaker 3: the other simple joys that you've rediscovered now that you've
33:13
Speaker 3: gotten a little bit of your time back.
33:16
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. I love walking the dogs with my husband.
33:20
Speaker 1: I love scrapbooking. I love a nap when Olena lets me.
33:25
Speaker 1: I love waking her up in the morning and seeing
33:27
Speaker 1: her smile and taking her in our room and rolling
33:30
Speaker 1: around with her on the bed. It's so silly, but
33:33
Speaker 1: I love like organizing my house and putting the laundry away,
33:37
Speaker 1: and like I don't know, just being home and having
33:40
Speaker 1: the luxury of not having a set schedule all the
33:43
Speaker 1: time or the pressure to be somewhere. Yeah, it's been
33:46
Speaker 1: really nice.
33:47
Speaker 3: I was just talking with a girlfriend the other day
33:49
Speaker 3: about how we need more hobbies.
33:51
Speaker 2: Adults need more hobbies.
33:53
Speaker 3: Like it doesn't need to be anything earth shattering, but
33:57
Speaker 3: maybe it's pottery, or maybe it's reading, or maybe it's crocheting,
34:00
Speaker 3: or maybe it's I don't know, walking and listening to
34:03
Speaker 3: a podcast. Like trying more things is something that I
34:07
Speaker 3: am dialed in on doing for the rest of twenty
34:10
Speaker 3: twenty five.
34:11
Speaker 1: I love that. And then I don't know where I
34:13
Speaker 1: came upon this, but the whole idea of like let
34:16
Speaker 1: yourself get bored, because that's when the cool stuff happens.
34:19
Speaker 1: That's when your wheels start turning. That's when you figure
34:21
Speaker 1: stuff out. Like don't feel like, oh, like I am
34:25
Speaker 1: such a doer. I feel like I always need to
34:27
Speaker 1: be like getting something done or checking off something on
34:31
Speaker 1: my list. But it's okay to just like sit still
34:34
Speaker 1: for a second and like listen to the valley or
34:37
Speaker 1: like the wind blow through the trees and the birds
34:40
Speaker 1: and see what comes up.
34:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm sure that doing that easier.
34:44
Speaker 3: Said than done for someone who is a self proclaimed
34:48
Speaker 3: perfectionist likes to control everything, super competitive.
34:53
Speaker 1: Seriously, it's it's one of the harder things I have
34:56
Speaker 1: had to do is learn how to just you have
34:58
Speaker 1: no idea. I tried so hard to get her to
35:00
Speaker 1: come out when it was time. I was like walking
35:03
Speaker 1: the curbs, I was doing squats, I was doing everything,
35:07
Speaker 1: and everyone like, just take a nap, just lie down,
35:11
Speaker 1: let her come when she's ready, And I'm like, no.
35:14
Speaker 2: I am so uncomfortable. Napping is not enjoyable for me.
35:19
Speaker 1: I know, but it's funny for me. That is a
35:22
Speaker 1: telling sign if I am in a great headspace going
35:24
Speaker 1: in a competition. If I can nap, I know that
35:26
Speaker 1: I'm relaxed. I'm in a good headspace. So that's always like, okay,
35:30
Speaker 1: if I can't nap, like, I got to call it
35:32
Speaker 1: my sports sic and work this through.
35:34
Speaker 2: How was your delivery? How did that go for you?
35:38
Speaker 1: Who that was wild? I'm not gonna lie. I You know,
35:44
Speaker 1: so many people tell you what it's like, what birth
35:47
Speaker 1: is like. They tell you it's painful, but I was like,
35:50
Speaker 1: you know, I'm sure it's painful. But I'm an athlete
35:52
Speaker 1: at GADSIS. I've been trained them for this. I've been
35:54
Speaker 1: taken all the classes and like, but nothing can can
35:59
Speaker 1: prepare you for it, because you really do have to
36:01
Speaker 1: be open and adaptable to whatever comes your way. I had,
36:04
Speaker 1: you know, we were envisioning it happening one way. We
36:07
Speaker 1: ended up in the hospital and we're there for three
36:09
Speaker 1: days and had to get induced. And you know, I'm
36:13
Speaker 1: super grateful both her and I were super healthy. But
36:15
Speaker 1: it was long, it was hard, and it was Yeah,
36:18
Speaker 1: I definitely want more kids.
36:19
Speaker 2: But you're like, we can take a beat before we
36:24
Speaker 2: do this thing.
36:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, well right now, I know that aside from getting
36:30
Speaker 3: back into the water as time allows, you have a
36:32
Speaker 3: lot of other exciting stuff on your plate. Talk to
36:35
Speaker 3: me about what you're doing with your retreat series.
36:40
Speaker 1: Well, so with my foundation Marloha, we have a really
36:45
Speaker 1: really fun second half of this year planned. We have
36:48
Speaker 1: several events planned on the Outer Islands. We have a
36:53
Speaker 1: Global Exchange happening with Japan in August. But the one
36:57
Speaker 1: that is coming up that I'm really really excited about
37:00
Speaker 1: is I'm hosting with the Outrigger and Khanapoli in Maui.
37:04
Speaker 1: For mothers and daughters. And this one really is special
37:08
Speaker 1: because I am a new mom and I'm just thinking
37:10
Speaker 1: about ways that I want to nurture our connection and
37:14
Speaker 1: our relationship. And so the theme of this event is
37:17
Speaker 1: focusing on self worth, something that I've kind of you know,
37:20
Speaker 1: struggled with and is something that I have to continue
37:24
Speaker 1: to work on every day. And obviously mothers for us
37:28
Speaker 1: are they we really there are role models. So I
37:32
Speaker 1: think it's a great day for daughters to appreciate their
37:35
Speaker 1: mothers and for mothers to share their stories. And it's
37:39
Speaker 1: a time for connection, for softness, for strength, for coming
37:44
Speaker 1: together and you know, moving forward together. So I really
37:48
Speaker 1: I'm really really excited.
37:49
Speaker 2: When is that retreat.
37:51
Speaker 1: August thirty and thirty first?
37:53
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, so soon.
37:55
Speaker 1: Yes, So if there are any mothers and daughters out
37:58
Speaker 1: there that want to sign up, you can go to
38:00
Speaker 1: morloha dot com and you just have to submit a
38:03
Speaker 1: short video answer to questions if you were a mother
38:07
Speaker 1: daughter team, what would your motto be and why? And
38:11
Speaker 1: then what is your favorite thing that you guys do together?
38:14
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, how cute. Now I'll link that in
38:17
Speaker 3: the show notes as well. I know that your daughter
38:19
Speaker 3: can't be a vocal participant in this question. But what
38:23
Speaker 3: would you say that your motto would be?
38:26
Speaker 1: You know, I think it would be anything as possible.
38:28
Speaker 1: I actually recently got a Hawaiian bracelet from Kiye Hawaii
38:33
Speaker 1: and it has her name on it, and inside I
38:36
Speaker 1: put anything as possible, love mom and Dad, and I
38:39
Speaker 1: just want her to always feel so loved that no
38:43
Speaker 1: matter what she does, she feels like she can do it.
38:46
Speaker 1: And if it doesn't work out, we will be there.
38:48
Speaker 1: We will be there, They'll love her no matter what.
38:50
Speaker 1: So that would definitely be our motto.
38:52
Speaker 3: Why is this chapter of motherhood so important to you?
38:56
Speaker 2: Carisa?
38:58
Speaker 1: I really feel like motherhood and having a family that's
39:02
Speaker 1: our legacy, right, Like all the other stuff is wonderful.
39:05
Speaker 1: But when I'm old and gray and I'm looking back
39:08
Speaker 1: at my life, like that's you know, all the other
39:11
Speaker 1: stuff is going to fade. Someone's going to throw my
39:13
Speaker 1: world title trophy in the dump one day, you know,
39:15
Speaker 1: like just being honest, it's going to happen. I hope
39:18
Speaker 1: she keeps a gold medal, but those are just things.
39:21
Speaker 1: Those are material things. But the way you touch people,
39:24
Speaker 1: the way that you make people feel those memories, those stories,
39:28
Speaker 1: that's what's going to live on. How you affect someone's life,
39:30
Speaker 1: like the things that you take from a relationship, the
39:34
Speaker 1: love that you share, like, those are the things that
39:37
Speaker 1: are going to last forever, even when we're long gone.
39:39
Speaker 1: So how I raise my daughter and hopefully to be
39:42
Speaker 1: a good human being that contributes to society and shares
39:46
Speaker 1: light wherever she goes, that's I think our purpose. That's hope.
39:48
Speaker 1: I think that's how I see my purpose, you know,
39:50
Speaker 1: And that's why it's so important to me.
39:52
Speaker 3: I know that you've been really outspoken about how your
39:56
Speaker 3: father has framed the way that you've come up within sports,
40:00
Speaker 3: a huge rule model for you within surfing. If you
40:04
Speaker 3: feel comfortable, I'd love to hear a little bit about
40:06
Speaker 3: the relationship that you had with your mom.
40:09
Speaker 1: My relationship with my mom when we were younger was
40:12
Speaker 1: a little bit strained. I think it definitely got to
40:15
Speaker 1: a point where we weren't seeing eye to die, especially
40:18
Speaker 1: through like the teenage years when I started wanting to
40:20
Speaker 1: pursue professional surfing, and I didn't really understand why she
40:26
Speaker 1: didn't back me one hundred percent, or it didn't feel
40:29
Speaker 1: like she backed me one hundred percent. As I've grown
40:32
Speaker 1: and become a woman and become a mother myself, I've
40:36
Speaker 1: gotten to actually have a different perspective on where she
40:40
Speaker 1: was at the time, you know, and she was super
40:43
Speaker 1: she was a young mom kind of growing up herself
40:45
Speaker 1: with me, and I think it's just given me a
40:48
Speaker 1: deeper appreciation for her, and we have gotten closer. It's
40:52
Speaker 1: really really come full circle having my daughter, and it's
40:56
Speaker 1: brought us together and really opened up the room conversation,
41:01
Speaker 1: and I'm really really happy with where we're at now.
41:05
Speaker 3: I feel like that must be so healing, Like this
41:08
Speaker 3: whole journey now, to be in this place and to
41:12
Speaker 3: have your daughter and to be able to have these
41:14
Speaker 3: conversations with your mother, it must be so special.
41:20
Speaker 1: So special. I mean, there were definitely times that we
41:23
Speaker 1: didn't talk and we weren't as close, and I always
41:27
Speaker 1: wanted that, and so it's really nice to have that
41:29
Speaker 1: now and just to have that respect for each other
41:33
Speaker 1: in a new light, you know.
41:35
Speaker 2: Yeah, one hundred percent.
41:37
Speaker 3: So as you're walking forward now on this journey, we
41:41
Speaker 3: talked about the events in August and beyond that the
41:44
Speaker 3: Japan Exchange, But what are you most looking forward to
41:48
Speaker 3: over the next few months.
41:49
Speaker 1: I am looking forward to dressing her up for Halloween.
41:54
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to having to stand to come and
41:57
Speaker 1: visit at Christmas. I'm excited about traveling and taking her
42:01
Speaker 1: to places and visiting our family and friends all over
42:04
Speaker 1: the world. And just like I'm excited about sharing more
42:07
Speaker 1: waves with her. We've gotten gone surfing a few times already,
42:10
Speaker 1: but she loves the water.
42:12
Speaker 3: She oh my gosh, I need to hear about how
42:14
Speaker 3: this works. So someone that is not like close enough
42:17
Speaker 3: to the sport to understand how one surfs with of child.
42:20
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. Well, like I said, I am a
42:23
Speaker 1: very calculated risk taker, so I wouldn't be doing anything
42:26
Speaker 1: that it doesn't make sense. But because I have done
42:29
Speaker 1: this my whole life, we were like, okay, let's take her.
42:32
Speaker 1: So we took her like three months and it was
42:35
Speaker 1: a very very very small day. It was literal ripples,
42:38
Speaker 1: and my husband paddled out. We had a huge board,
42:40
Speaker 1: so just in case she rolled, there was enough time
42:42
Speaker 1: to react, and he pushed us. I got up onto
42:46
Speaker 1: my knees and then I picked her up and so
42:47
Speaker 1: she could stand up, and so yeah, and she just
42:51
Speaker 1: had a big smile on her face, and.
42:53
Speaker 2: So, oh my god, how did that feel for you?
42:56
Speaker 1: Best waves of my life for sure, best waves for sure.
43:00
Speaker 2: Just so crazy. It's so crazy now.
43:02
Speaker 3: I mean, even if I were to tell you when
43:04
Speaker 3: we first sat down for hurdle in twenty twenty one,
43:06
Speaker 3: that you would be sitting here in twenty twenty five,
43:09
Speaker 3: wearing a baby talking to me again.
43:12
Speaker 2: What comes up for you when I say that?
43:14
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I think what comes up when you
43:18
Speaker 1: say that is like, this is what I have always
43:21
Speaker 1: dreamed of, you know, And like there are moments where
43:24
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm always I find myself chasing the
43:26
Speaker 1: next thing, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is
43:29
Speaker 1: literally what you always dreamed of, you know, is like
43:33
Speaker 1: having a family. And so I'm just really really grateful.
43:37
Speaker 1: It's crazy that it all has come together when it did,
43:39
Speaker 1: and I just thank the universe for a daughter, a beautiful,
43:43
Speaker 1: healthy daughter, and for the opportunity to be a mom.
43:46
Speaker 2: Practically speaking, how do you slow down?
43:52
Speaker 3: How have you slowed down in a way that feels
43:56
Speaker 3: good for you? Because I hear you when you say
44:00
Speaker 3: I am competitive, I like to stay busy. I'm a perfectionist.
44:03
Speaker 3: I totally identify with all of these things, and slowing
44:07
Speaker 3: down can then have its fair share of challenges. So
44:11
Speaker 3: how have you slowed down?
44:14
Speaker 1: Uh? Well, she definitely makes me slow down because she
44:18
Speaker 1: takes intention, She takes me to be present with her.
44:22
Speaker 1: Otherwise I think there's a disconnect, right, and then you
44:24
Speaker 1: have a fussy, upset baby. So she's actually a very
44:28
Speaker 1: She's a really good dial of like where I'm at
44:32
Speaker 1: on slowing down. But I have to like when I
44:36
Speaker 1: start to feel the shallow breaths, when I start to
44:42
Speaker 1: feel like I need to look at my phone all
44:45
Speaker 1: the time, or like I have to just say no, no,
44:47
Speaker 1: I am not doing that, and it's uncomfortable. I almost
44:50
Speaker 1: have to get uncomfortable for a second and just like
44:54
Speaker 1: just put everything aside and just sit down. And that
44:57
Speaker 1: helps me to go like redirect. But it's like I'm
45:01
Speaker 1: still figuring it out. I don't have any answers for you.
45:04
Speaker 2: No answers. You're still figuring out how to slow down.
45:07
Speaker 3: And one day we will swap stories on what's worked
45:10
Speaker 3: as you are in this transition of slowing down. What
45:14
Speaker 3: would you say has been perhaps the most surprising impactful
45:19
Speaker 3: aspect of this shift for you.
45:23
Speaker 1: I really just think it's really given me a deeper
45:27
Speaker 1: sense of gratitude for things, because when I'm moving so fast,
45:31
Speaker 1: I don't actually get to stop and smell the roses,
45:33
Speaker 1: or in Hawaii we say stop and smell the pooor
45:37
Speaker 1: so it's really allowed me to be grateful for everything
45:42
Speaker 1: that I have and everything that I've gotten to do
45:44
Speaker 1: and all.
45:45
Speaker 3: Of that you've You've mentioned Chris wanting to show the
45:50
Speaker 3: true journey of postpartum comebacks in sports. Can you elaborate
45:54
Speaker 3: on what you mean by that and what message you're
45:56
Speaker 3: really hoping to convey to other mothers when it comes
45:59
Speaker 3: to within athletics or beyond.
46:02
Speaker 1: I highly just want to like encourage and empower women
46:05
Speaker 1: to reach out to other women, Like I didn't realize
46:09
Speaker 1: how isolating motherhood can be. And I look around and
46:15
Speaker 1: I'm like, wow, every every woman has gone through something.
46:18
Speaker 1: Every woman has a story that has a child. So
46:21
Speaker 1: and in those conversations when I've had the courage to
46:24
Speaker 1: reach out and ask, I have found honesty and vulnerability
46:29
Speaker 1: that has given me comforts that I can move forward
46:32
Speaker 1: with strength and knowing like I'm not alone. And so
46:36
Speaker 1: I think just knowing that it's not perfect. That your
46:40
Speaker 1: one hundred percent eighty percent is great, and you know
46:44
Speaker 1: there is no everyone's timeline is different to getting back,
46:49
Speaker 1: and maybe there is no back. Maybe it's just a
46:51
Speaker 1: new version of yourself that's even better and stronger and
46:55
Speaker 1: more powerful, and that there is a morning in like
46:59
Speaker 1: your old life. If there are aspects that I really
47:01
Speaker 1: really miss, but then there is also so much beauty
47:04
Speaker 1: so they can coexist, which I is so conflicting. There
47:08
Speaker 1: is no right or wrong way to raise a child
47:11
Speaker 1: as long as there's just a lot of love there.
47:14
Speaker 1: I think love is the answer. So at least that's
47:17
Speaker 1: what I feel like I'm picking up.
47:19
Speaker 2: You're like, that's what I feel like. It's working for me.
47:22
Speaker 3: Well, right now, when you look in the mirror, Carissa,
47:25
Speaker 3: what do you see looking back at you? Someone comes
47:28
Speaker 3: to your Instagram page, they see five time world champion,
47:32
Speaker 3: a two time Olympian, a gold medalist.
47:34
Speaker 2: And now a new mom.
47:35
Speaker 3: But when you look in the mirror, what is it
47:37
Speaker 3: that you see looking back at you?
47:39
Speaker 1: I just I see a woman who's been through a lot,
47:46
Speaker 1: I think, who's worked really hard, who's pushed through some
47:50
Speaker 1: really challenging moments, but has a big heart and wants
47:54
Speaker 1: to continue to share that love and compassion with other people. Yeah,
47:58
Speaker 1: it's been hard to look at myself in the mirror
48:00
Speaker 1: for a lot of my life. You know, there's been
48:02
Speaker 1: only like moments, but I definitely like who I see
48:06
Speaker 1: staring back at me. Now. I feel more comfortable with
48:09
Speaker 1: my reflection, and I think my daughter's really brought the
48:13
Speaker 1: best out of me and helped me love myself.
48:16
Speaker 3: It's so beautiful and it makes me so happy to
48:19
Speaker 3: hear that you have some more peace now when you
48:23
Speaker 3: look in the mirror, especially because when so many of
48:26
Speaker 3: those people do go to your social media page, they
48:28
Speaker 3: see what they want you to see as well, Like
48:32
Speaker 3: they see this strong woman, this fierce competitor, this woman
48:36
Speaker 3: who like truly embodies love. And so to be in
48:40
Speaker 3: this place where you get to see that for yourself,
48:42
Speaker 3: it's unrivaled.
48:44
Speaker 1: Well, thank you you made me. You know, you bring
48:48
Speaker 1: tears to my eyes. It's very kind of you to say.
48:50
Speaker 1: And yeah, like I just I'm just me. I'm just
48:53
Speaker 1: myself and I'm living my life and I'm trying to
48:55
Speaker 1: figure it out and sharing it along the way.
48:58
Speaker 2: Sharing it along the way. Well, the last question we
49:01
Speaker 2: ask hereon hurdle.
49:02
Speaker 3: Right now, you have an opportunity to give yourself a
49:04
Speaker 3: piece of advice. Let's go going back into that Olympic Games,
49:09
Speaker 3: that the summer of twenty twenty four. Knowing what you
49:13
Speaker 3: know now, what piece of advice would you offer your
49:16
Speaker 3: younger self?
49:18
Speaker 1: Know that everything happens for a reason. Every little moment
49:21
Speaker 1: is going to lead you to exactly where you're supposed
49:24
Speaker 1: to be. And I've really truly believe every moment, every
49:30
Speaker 1: experience up until this point has helped me to become
49:33
Speaker 1: the mom I'm supposed to be. For this little person,
49:36
Speaker 1: like I'll be able to look back and use what
49:39
Speaker 1: I've learned to hopefully help her navigate her life and
49:42
Speaker 1: be the best version of herself. So I think just
49:45
Speaker 1: taking the good the bad, ebb and flow and surf
49:51
Speaker 1: every wave. Whether you fall, get back up, try again,
49:55
Speaker 1: and just make sure to have a lot of fun,
49:57
Speaker 1: have a lot of fun. Don't be so hard on yourself.
49:59
Speaker 2: Don't be so hard on yourself.
50:00
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, Well, I'm so happy that we were
50:02
Speaker 3: able to reconnect here, Christopher. Those that aren't following along
50:06
Speaker 3: with you just yet, how do they keep up with you?
50:08
Speaker 2: Where can they find you?
50:09
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, well, thank you so much. I've really
50:12
Speaker 1: enjoyed this conversation. You can keep up with me at
50:15
Speaker 1: riskmoreten on Instagram and my charitable foundation at Morloha on
50:20
Speaker 1: Instagram and morloha.
50:21
Speaker 3: Dot com amazing, and I'll link all of that in
50:24
Speaker 3: the show notes. I'm over at Emily A Badi and
50:26
Speaker 3: at Hurdle Podcast Another Hurdle conquered.
50:29
Speaker 2: Catch you guys next time.