Shortboarders prefer to surf further up the point, while.Izumi is a Japanese surfer girl from Yokohama, Japan. I'm super excited to share my story with everyone.This right hand point break is a long, beautiful wave that attracts surfers from all over the island. Nique Miller: Thank you so much for having me. If the claims are verified, it will mean that McNamara, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts but whose family moved to Hawaii’s North Shore. The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara is said to have broken his own world record for the largest wave surfed when he caught a wave reported to be around 100ft off the coast of Nazar, Portugal.
They were not very good at all. So how did you get into surfing?NM: So I lived in Michigan and Texas growing up and then I got into surfing on the Texas side with my friends. MC: You didn't grow up in Hawaii.
I was just like, "Oh, awesome. I mean, at that time, I didn't know any better. And so we went out and it was a disaster. I always love to try new things. Why not?" I was pretty adventurous.
I want to get better."I've always been a pretty competitive person growing up and I've always done a lot of sports. And I just remember being like, "Wow, I just really want to keep doing this. But I just remember being so excited that I finally caught a legit wave and just feeling so happy and such a sense of accomplishment. I remember in that moment being like, "Oh, okay, this is what it's supposed to feel like." And when I was actually riding on the wave, I tried to stand up and I stood up for a second or maybe two seconds at the most and I fell down. And I remember I was out there for probably like an hour and probably towards the end of the session, I caught a wave and the wave just was pulling my board along. Paddle, paddle." So I'd paddle and I'd try to stand up and I'd fall.
So that was my main focus but I just kind of just started falling out of love with it a little bit. You're not here to go do all these other things. If you're here for running or volleyball or whatever, you know you're there for that sport. When I first came here, I was more focused on running because being at a school that's in the NCAA Division One that's really strict, and when you're here on scholarship, they're pretty focused on you concentrating on that sport. I want to go out every day until I get better and better." And when I moved to Hawaii, I actually got a scholarship to run cross country and track at University of Hawaii.
And then I would kind of just copy them and just try to do what they did. So I would just watch people in the lineup and just try to pick out the best surfer and just kind of watch where they sat and kind of watch what they did on the waves or what waves they try to catch. And I remember when I started coming out here, like I said, I still pretty much was a beginner. And that's how I got a lot better too, because many people ask me like, "Oh, do you have a coach? Now you compete on the World Tour, all this stuff." And I credit most of it to being here in Hawaii and just the competition level is so high. So I would just go out and practice surfing anytime I had a chance to. And I just remember after class or when I had longer breaks in between, I would go down to Waikiki Beach and I started getting to know the beach boys down there and hanging out with them and they would let me use surf boards for free.
But just coming here, I was quiet. Don't be thinking you're entitled and you get this and that. Don't be throwing your trash over everywhere. You have to be respectful on the beach. If you want people, the locals to be nice to you, you have to show respect to them. That's what I tell a lot of people that come to Hawaii.
Like, "Oh, you're not that good of a surfer compared to the other people." But in my heart, I know that—and I was raised this way—if you work really hard at something, you can be whatever you want to be. Go surf over there." I know that does happen but luckily for me, it didn't and everyone was really kind.And like you were saying, some people might get really intimidated. People being like, "Oh my God, beat it. I don't remember having any bad experiences. And I think that encouraged me to get out there because people in the lineup are really nice to me, too. And so I felt really welcomed here.
I'll practice harder than anyone else out there. Maybe I might suck now, but the more practice I put in and the more. As long as you work hard and give it your all and believe in yourself, the sky's the limit.
I would go out in the evening. So I just kept practicing and practicing and I would go out in the morning. I just wanted to be so good. I'm going to be right at your level, if not better.So I knew that I wasn't that good at the beginning, but I was just so determined. Like I said, I might suck now, but just wait a couple months. And that's how my mindset always was.
It's more like you're attacking the wave. They're smaller little boards and it's much more of an aggressive type of surfing. You can surf on a shortboard, which I think most people generally visualize when they think of surfing. So there's a couple different categories of surfing. What is it that brought you to that type of surfing over the standard surfing that most people would imagine when you said surfing?NM: Yeah.
It's just so classic and pretty. So it's a hard skill, but when you master it, it's one of my favorite things because you feel like you're defying gravity to be able to balance on the wave, on your surfboard, but on the very tip of your board. And one of the main moves we do is walking to the very end of the board to the nose of the board and hanging 10. And like you said, dancing on the board and it's about just being stylish. For us, it's more about grace. Most women who compete on the longboard tour with me ride between nine foot boards and nine, six, nine feet, six inches.
It's given me so much more confidence, too. What else have you learned about yourself from surfing or living in Hawaii?NM: Oh gosh, it's taught me a lot. So it just kind of makes me want to get on my longboard more just so I can keep up with them and try and outdo them if I can.LA: Surfing clearly brings out your competitive side. There's some of the best longboarders here in Waikiki. And plus too, in Waikiki where I live, there are so many good longboard women that I actually compete with on the tour.
So growing up, I just always felt out of place. So back then there just wasn't as much representation in a lot of things and it just wasn't as open. I feel like our country has come a long way, especially now we have the first female vice president that's of color.
But when moving here, it's so much more diverse and people are just more accepting of different cultures and who you are. I'd try to stay out of the sun so I could be as light as possible. I never had it curly and poofy.
And not so concerned I don't look perfect or I don't fit this stereotype, like I need to change. I could be my actual self and not be so worried what other people are thinking about me. So coming here, I just felt like I could be more free.
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