World Champ Surfer Carissa Moore Listens to Eminem, Bieber Like Other Teens

By Tetsuhiko Endo; photograph by Jason Kenworthy

Carissa Moore is the youngest woman to ever win the world championship of surfing. She’s the first Hawai’ian to do it in 30 years, first woman to grace the cover of Surfer magazine in over ten, and she has a diploma from the Punahou School in Honolulu, the alma mater of that other notable Hawai’ian, Barak Obama. Not bad for a 19-year-old.

Moore has been surfing’s golden child almost since she began riding waves in the mid-90s. After winning 11 junior world titles, she spent the latter half of her teens competing against boys until turning pro. I’ve had the pleasure of observing her surfing from the water on a couple of occasions this year. She exhibits a power and fluidity on waves rare among both men and women. It reflects not only intense training, but a once in a generation knack for the complexities of how to move over a constantly changing mass of water. Perhaps most tellingly, she retains a certain playfulness and spontaneity that is evocative of that other great competitive surfer ... Kelly Slater.

Whether her career will go on to mirror his, only time will tell, but Adventure was able to snag her for a short interview recently to see what keeps her running on all cylinders.

Adventure: Has it been hard to stay motivated after doing this for most of your life?
Carissa Moore: Not really. Both my love for the sport as well as my love of a challenge drives me to compete.

“Burn out” is often a problem for young athletes, how have you avoided it?
CM: With my balanced life. I was kept in high school full-time, and generally lived in a well-grounded atmosphere. Given my upbringing, it would have been almost impossible for me to burn out.

What’s the best part of your job?
CM: Spending time in beautiful places with awesome people.

What’s the worst part?
CM: I can't complain about a single thing.

Do you maintain a certain diet to help keep you in shape?
CM: I eat a lot of vegetables and protein, while staying away from too many carbs and sweets.

What made you want to finish high school?
CM: Not finishing high school was never an option for me. I look forward to one day attending college in order to kick start my second career. I’d like to be a teacher some day.

Do you think being a professional athlete from a young age makes you grow up faster?
CM: The life lessons that you learn on the road definitely contribute to an advanced maturity. You also learn a lot from both the sponsors and media that surround the sport.

What do you think should be the role of sex appeal in the way women’s surfing is marketed?
CM: If done the right way, I think sex appeal is just a bonus that would help market the sport.

What do you always take with you when you travel?
CM: My father.

What’s in your i-Pod right now?
CM: Eminem and Justin Bieber ... it's somewhat contradictory, but it works.

Favorite books?
CM: A book about long-distance swimmer Lynn Cox called Swimming To Antarctica.

When was the last time you were scared?
CM: When I had my ear pierced for the third time three days ago.

You are known for your sunny demeanor. Do you have any pet peeves?
CM: Whenever my little sister uses my clothes without asking.

Surfer Andy Irons' Toxicology Report Released: Death Caused By Cardiac Arrest, Evidence of Mixed Drug Use

By Tetsuhiko Endo, editor of The Inertia

On Friday, June 10th the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office released the toxicology report for Philip Andrew “Andy” Irons. It states that his primary cause of death was a sudden cardiac arrest associated with coronary artery disease with a 70-80 percent stenosis (abnormal narrowing) of one of his arteries. It further states that his secondary cause of death was “acute mixed drug ingestion.” According to the report, the following drugs were found either on his person or in his system: Alprazolam (Xanax), Zolpidem (Ambien), cannabinoids (marijuana), naproxen (anti-inflammatory), cocaethylene (a chemical produced in the body when cocaine and alcohol are mixed that’s linked to causing heart attacks in people under forty), methamphetamine, methadone, and cocaine. The report includes a lengthy “comments” section explaining how cocaine and methadone can impede the work of the heart—thereby making their presence in Irons’ body “significant.” It concludes with the following: “the primary and underlying cause of death is ischemic heart disease due to coronary artery pathology (heart disease). Drugs however, particularly, methadone and cocaine, are other significant conditions contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause.”

Some, like Dr. Vincent Di Maio, an award-winning forensic expert and media stalwart hired by the Irons family, believe that drugs did not contribute to Irons’ death. Others, like the numerous doctors anecdotally consulted for this piece, side with the medical examiners in Tarrant County citing the myriad and well-documented ways that prolonged drug use can debilitate the heart. In life, Irons’ rock star combination of savant surfing and personal brashness polarized the surfing community like few other public figures, so it is grimly fitting that his death should do the same.

The premature death of a famous and monetarily influential person is always a tragedy, but never just a tragedy. It is many things to many people: a PR nightmare, the scoop of a lifetime, an inconvenience for a tour that seeks legitimacy, the instant canonization of his legend, a damning comment on celebrity culture, a cautionary tale, the tragic loss of a father, brother, husband and son, an ode to self destruction, an episode better left forgotten, an opportunity to change.

What makes Irons unique is not that he self-destructed; it’s that he did so in full view of his sponsors, the media, and his fans—while he was still one of the best surfers in the world. His story presents an interesting study in the way the surfing world, and action-sports cultures in general, function as they mature into full-blown consumer industries.

Continue reading this story on The Inertia >>

Surfer Shane Dorioan Fuels No Jet-Ski Trend With Record-Setting 57-Foot Wave

By Tetsuhiko Endo

The Billabong XXL awards took place last weekend and its big winners reflected the surfers who have forsworn jet skis over the last few years to catch waves the old fashioned way—one hefty stroke at a time. The coveted ride of the year award went to Brazilian paddle surfer Danilo Couto, who rode his fateful wave at Jaws off Maui. Perennial Hawaiian standout Shane Dorioan also nabbed two awards and broke the existing record for “largest wave ridden without a jet ski” by paddling into a 57-foot wave at the same spot.

To put this all into perspective, big-wave surfers started using personal water crafts (PWCs) in the late 90s as a way to catch waves that were considered too large and too fast-moving to catch using the power of two arms. The upper limit of what was considered “paddleable” at that time was around 35 feet. When Jaws first came into the media spot light, it was said to be impossible to ride without the aid of jet skis. How far back to the future we have come. Although PWC assisted surfing hasn’t lost favor among the small group of men and women who chase big waves (read: 30-foot plus) around the world, the last four years have seen a resurgence in eager paddlers due to the overcrowding of big-wave spots with watercrafts, and also a simple change in mind set. By paddling into his 57-foot foot wave, Dorian has added considerable fuel to the fire of what can now undoubtedly be called a full-blown surfing movement.

Most of the award winners, including the Hawaiian siren Keala Kennely (whose barrel at Mexico’s Puerto Escondido was arguably the biggest ever ridden by a women) pledged to give their money to the widow and children of Sion Milosky, their brother in arms who died surfing California’s infamous Mavericks in March. Check out Surfline.com for the videos of the award winning waves.

For World's Coldest Surf Competitions, Surfers Take on Frigid Swells in New Zealand, Scotland

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photograph courtesy Cory Scott, O'Neill

When you hear the term “surfing competition” what images come to mind? California, palm trees, tropical blue water, guys with blonde hair who begin every sentence with “dude...”? That’s pretty spot on. However, wetsuit company O’Neill works on a slightly different paradigm.

Every year they run the O'Neill Cold Water Classic Series. It features the most southerly competition in the world in Gisborn, New Zealand, the most northerly in Thurso, Scotland, and the most flannel-shirted in Santa Cruz. Last week, Australian Adam Melling took home top honors in New Zealand, beating out a cadre of two of his countrymen and one Brazilian—proving that warm water surfers can adapt to colder temperatures if they have the right motivation ($20,000 and the trophy, a hand-carved Maori weapon called a Tewhatewha).

Although the water in New Zealand was only 68 degrees, necessitating no more than a three millimeter wet suit, the surfers will have to bring their thickest neoprene to Scotland where a cold winter has left the water temps hovering at a frigid 45 degrees. That means five millimeters covering your entire body—feet, hands, and even head. It's worth it though: the prize is a medieval sword, a la William Wallace. If you want to watch the frigid action, tune in to the web cast of the Scotland leg April 13th through the 19th.

Australia Adventure Guide: The Gold Coast's Surfing, Hiking, and Creeping "Fellas"

A longboarder in Queensland along Australia's Gold Coast; Photograph by Ben Moon/Aurora Photos. See more Australia photos

By Tetsuhiko Endo

When Australia appears in the news, chances are you are seeing Queensland. Cyclones, crocodiles, floods, and an encyclopedic list of venomous creatures make it an easy place to deride. But a place with this many hazards is also a place that remains fundamentally untamed and the rewards it holds for the savvy adventure traveler are second to none.

I’ve come to the Gold Coast, the Southeast corner of Queensland, to try to pack as much excitement into one week as I can, and have not been disappointed. I begin my stay at the Swell Resort in Burleigh Heads —a complex of holiday apartments that come with all the comforts of hotel rooms (towels linens, soap), but also include full kitchens, living areas, and central air conditioners that can conquer even the balmiest sub-tropical days.

From this base, I spend a few days surfing from Burleigh’s eponymous headland, the cradle of modern Australian professional surfing, to Snapper Rocks, one of the world’s most prized high performance waves, to Byron Bay, the hippy enclave that thumbs its nose at any hint of commercialism. Though not as teeming with venomous beasties as the coast farther north, certain winds and currents will sweep pseudo jelly-fish called Blue Bottles into the waters of the Gold Coast. Their stings aren’t dangerous, but they are painful enough that I complain to a fellow surfer.

“Awe, they’re not that bad, mate.” He responds. “Just make sure you avoid the Purple People Eaters. Those fellas really hurt.”

Snowboarder Jeremy Jones on the Rebirth of Free-Riding and His New Film, Deeper

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photography by Dan Milner

It’s while you’re watching the footage from the tenth day of a 12-day Alaskan snowstorm in the new snowboarding movie Deeper, that you realize Jeremy Jones is a bit of an eccentric. Jones and a crew (that includes fellow Adventure favorite Travis Rice) have been stuck in their tents for over a week straight, and they are slowly going bananas. Of course, they wouldn’t be there at all if Jones hadn’t decided that helicopter-accessed snowboarding was unfulfilling, so he dedicated himself to hiking and climbing all the mountains he rode.

At 35 years old, Jones is bringing a bit of maturity to snowboarding, a rare thing in the world of action sports. His ethos of hiking into the backcountry and spending days or weeks to get to a certain line that he wants to ride is in stark contrast to the hit-and-run missions that most professional riders employ, in part, to bring images of snowboarding to mass media outlets. You don’t need money, connections, or big name sponsors to ride like Jones. You just need a split snowboard (one that separates down the middle to become a pair of alpine touring skis), a bit of climbing know-how, and a lot of endurance. It’s not the fastest or most efficient way to get to the top of a slope, but if Deeper is anything to go by, it’s pretty near the most exciting thing to happen to snowboarding since the invention of bindings. Adventure caught up with Jones at the New York premiere of his movie to get some upfront views on the backcountry.

Ace Freeskier Grete Eliassen on the Her New Film, the Future of Women's Skiing

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photograph courtesy of Stan Evans

This week, Adventure got a chance to chat with one of the best women’s freeskiers of the last decade, Grete Eliassen. What’s that? You’ve never heard of freeskiing? Sure you have, you just didn’t realize it. Think massive snow-park jumps. Think rail sliding. Think back flips off back-country cliffs. Think half pipes, and quarter pipes, and three sixties, and baggy snow pants, and loud music and all those other things that used to attract young people to snowboarding, but think of them on a pair of wide, double tipped skis.

Also known as “freestyle” or “new school” skiing, the sport was developed by the frustrated racers and mogul riders of the late 90s who gradually moved away from their well-established disciplines and into the then snowboard only snow-parks. Among them was a young girl of Norwegian and American parents called Grete Eliassen (pronounced “Gretta”). Growing up between Minnesota and Lilihammer, Norway, Eliassen became a decorated junior ski racer (what else would you do with those two hometowns?). She threw herself into freeskiing full time not long after her father escorted her into her first snow park. Since then, she has gone on to become one of the most decorated women in her sport with four U.S. Open wins, and numerous gold and silver medals in both the half pipe and slope-style X events of the Winter X games. As she has gotten older, she’s pushed into the back country while simultaneously pursuing a degree in Business Management at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

At the ripe old age of 24, Eliassen is probably staring down the barrel of the latter half of her professional skiing career. But as Adventure found out, that doesn’t mean she’s lost a step. After watching her aptly titled movie, Say My Name at the New York City Snow Film Festival this past weekend, we got her on the phone to get the scoop on sexism, business, core strength workout, gangsta rap, and the future of women’s skiing. Luckily, she had just stepped out of class.

Swedish Free Diver Annelie Pompe on What She Loves About Oxygen Deprivation (Interview)

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photograph by Stephane Bailliez

The Scandinavians have long been known for their polar exploration so it came as a surprise to us when a Swedish woman named Annelie Pompe snatched the new free diving world record in the Variable Weight Apnea class in October. The smiley 29-year-old rode a weighted sled 126 meters down into the Red Sea, then ascended back to the surface along a line. That’s 413 feet, underwater, with nothing but a mask and some flippers.

 And it doesn’t stop there. An accomplished mountaineer, Pompe is planning to take on Mount Everest in May. Assuming all goes well, she’ll then set her lungs to the task of breaking Nat Geo Adventure favorite, Tanya Streeter’s No Limit class free-dive world record. (For an explanation of the different competitive classes, check out the free diving wikipedia page.)

Clearly, we had to talk to this lady and figure out what she loves so much about oxygen deprivation. We tracked her down to her home in Sweden this week for a few questions. English may not be her first language but she had a lot of interesting things to say.

When people think of free diving, Sweden isn’t the first country that springs to mind. How did you get into the sport?

There's actually quite a lot of divers in Sweden. I grew up close by the sea and I've always felt at home in the ocean. I don't think that feeling has any continental boundaries.

Since I loved being in the sea I got a scuba certification as soon as I was allowed to—and I really enjoyed it. Though I realized after a few years that the best feeling was diving in the water without any clumsy equipment. So I took up free diving and found a free-diving course. I was immediately captured by the challenge of diving as deep as possible on one breath. It's not only a physical challenge. For deep free diving you have to take your mind and mental strength to new levels.

Champion Surfers Stephanie Gilmore and Kelly Slater on Books, Travel, and Losing Andy Irons

By Tetsuhiko Endo, reporting from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico for the Rip Curl Pro Search competition 

Last week was one of the most momentous in the history of competitive surfing. In seven wild days near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, 22-year-old Stephanie Gilmore claimed her fourth world title in as many years (a feat unequaled in the history of both the men and women’s tours), three-time world champ Andy Irons withdrew citing illness and later died of unconfirmed causes, and 38-year-old Kelly Slater cemented his reputation as one of the greatest athletes ever with a electrifying tenth world title. Your humble correspondent hopped a last minute flight to be on hand for history.

Adventure in 60 Seconds: Ultraraces, an Uber-Climber, and the Mother of Paleontology

By Tetsuhiko Endo

The problem with many adventurers is that they don’t know when to say when. Climbed Everst? Why not climb it without supplementary O2? You like to ski and BASE jump? Try combining the two, and why not add a wingsuit for kicks? You might call this the Mallory Paradox, named for the man who’s reason for obsessively trying to climb Everest was simply “because it’s there.” Well, folks, the challenge is always there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should take it.

Questions of advisability aside, runners of all ages put the Mallory Paradox to practice this week when, in an apparent ode to all those “when I was your age stories.” They ran a marathon up Mt. Lemmon, near Tuscon, Arizon, starting at 3,000 feet above sea level, ending at 8,000 feet above sea level and, you guessed it, going uphill the entire time. As the New York Times reported, “They did it for the bragging rights, for the challenge, for the health benefits, for the pure absurdity of it all.” In other words, “because it’s there.”