The Tour

forty-five / quit your day job

The whole "see you as soon as possible" thing could have gone better. I mean, there was plenty of seeing each other through a screen. But by the time that I got home months later, Will was in full swing back at college. He made an effort to come home occasionally and see me, but his school life demanded a lot between classes and academics.

I couldn't blame him for everything either- I had been called to the neighboring island of Kauai by Rip Curl to do a photoshoot before the winter swim line launched. Currently, I was seated on a bench at the end of the Hanalei pier, waiting for the interviewer from some surfing publication to arrive. Couples pushed their toddlers into the small waves that rolled onto the beach, and small groups of tourists snapped photos of the large mountain range in the background. This beach had been Bethany Hamilton's stomping grounds growing up, and I smiled thinking about all of the times that I had been inspired by her story as a little kid.

A young woman holding a camera and backpack ran up the pier, grabbing her sun hat to keep it from slipping off her dark hair. I raised my eyebrows at the chaotic scene before she looked up and smiled. "River, it's great to see you, I'm so sorry that I'm a few minutes late."

I relaxed, realizing that she wasn't, in fact, a tourist. "Oh, that's okay, it's a nice view anyway."

She arranged her equipment next to her and pulled out a recording device, but before she pressed play she realized her error. "I'm Mahina, I'll be doing the interview. Sorry I completely forgot to introduce myself," the woman laughed.

Her Hawaiian name matched her dark hair and tan skin, and I immediately wondered if she grew up surfing in the area. "Great, it's nice to meet you. Have you ever surfed on this island? I'm always looking for new spots," I asked.

Mahina laughed again and looked over at the small kids wiping out. "I'd probably be about as good as them, unfortunately. I didn't grow up surfing and now I'm just a big fan who also happens to be a writer. Your sponsors probably know more about the breaks than I do, although I could potentially offer some inside information from other interviews I've done."

I nodded and noticed her nervous fidgeting with the recorder. "All good, and feel free to start recording or asking questions whenever. I won't get you off topic anymore."

She nodded and pressed a button before crossing her legs and shifting to a more professional expression. "So River, how does a third place finish on the tour this year feel after earning Rookie of the Year last year?"

Mahina was not one to shy away from the big questions. "Well, I'm happy to finish in a good position and improve from last year. I would never want to let myself or others down when they clearly expected a lot after last year, and I don't think that a third place finish was a letdown on any level. On the other hand, I know that I can compete at the highest level and the ultimate goal is to become a World Champion, so I don't plan on stopping short of that goal."

She smiled understandingly and took a moment before formulating her next question. "You're going into this offseason with the same goal of becoming a World Champion, but is there anything that you will change in order to reach your goal next year?"

"I've started working with my coach on a new plan for the offseason, and a large portion of it includes getting in the water and working on new skills. I also want to take advantage of the talent around the islands and run some mock heats so that I'm prepared to use any new maneuvers in a competitive setting. Many athletes that make it to this level have a lot of drive, and personally working hard has never been a problem for me. I always thrive off of the grind, and sometimes to the degree where I forget about other aspects of life. I know that I'll work hard this offseason, but I need to figure out how to avoid spending time on things that won't make much difference in my performance."

"You mentioned how you occasionally have difficulty balancing non-surfing parts of your life. We saw your performance level increase, but how did your second year on tour compare to your first in terms of general life?"

"It was different. There were some personal things that happened on tour that distracted me from competing, and it was a relief when those were resolved. Some of the glitter from my rookie year was gone, and it felt more like a competition than before. I think the second year also caught up to me in terms of missing my family and friends, and it took time to adjust to life on the road again. On the bright side, it was interesting to get a second look at some of the locations that I hadn't visited much before, like France. I think by next year I'll be much more comfortable on those waves than I was last year."

"That makes sense, thanks for giving us a look into your world on tour. I'm sure that you get this question a lot, but do you have any advice for young girls that are looking to compete professionally?"

"Quit your day job," I said, causing Mahina to laugh.

I looked at her seriously. "It sounds like a joke, but in my experience, there is no way to catch enough good waves without moving to online school. It's a huge sacrifice, and it reduced most of my social life to other surfers and my family friends, but it's the way that it is. The best gymnasts spend all day in the gym, and surfing is the same way because of the specific timing of swells. You have to be in the lineup when the waves are best and fit your schoolwork in around that. I know that's not a helpful answer to most kids, but it takes a lot of sacrifice to make it here."

Mahina nodded. She had probably made her own sacrifices to get into the cutthroat field of sports journalism, and I didn't envy her path.

"Thank you for your honesty and time. I hope that you have a great offseason that includes improvements in the water, along with some catching up with some social time that you missed as a kid."

"Thanks Mahina, I'm definitely looking forward to it. Thanks so much for the interview."
She looked down at her recorder and turned it off, a curtain of dark hair falling down as she did so. A shy expression danced over her face when she looked up after signaling that it was off. "So, I do have a slightly more personal question if you don't mind..." she trailed.

"Shoot," I laughed, uncrossing and re-crossing my legs.

"I know from your social media that you're dating a guy from UH, have you gotten to see him much since you've been home? I was just curious after you talked about work-life balance but I didn't want to bring it up during the interview."

I smiled and glanced at the mountains in the distance. "He's been pretty busy at school, but I should see him in a few weeks at Christmastime. Some of it has been my poor tour-life balance, and the other half is his own commitments. Division 1 baseball is a lot of work."

Mahina grimaced in sympathy. "That's hard. You've been dating for awhile though right?"

I nodded. "Around a year I think, but I'm not great at keeping track of that stuff. It happened last offseason, but I've known him forever. I love him a lot."

"Distance is always hard, but it's worth it. I wondered about your relationship because I have a bit of experience in that realm myself" Mahina flashed a ring on her finger, "I know that you can stick it out."

"But for now, I think that there is a photographer waiting for you at a nearby beach to get some pictures for the article. Rip Curl is supposed to text you the details and they have all of your bathing suits and equipment there."

"Ah, a nice ad for the new swimwear," I mused as I packed up my stuff.

"It seems that way," Mahina laughed. "It was great meeting you, good luck!"

I waved and thanked her before running off to the next thing on the schedule. 

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About 3 chapters left before the end (but don't quote me on that)! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for some action ahead ;)