I've been in a poor physical shape many times in my career and I've had some of my best results. My best performances happened because my mind was in the right place. The mind is definitely stronger than the body.
I feel like an ambassador for surfing at this point. I'm happy to go and play that role and share that where I can in certain areas of the mainstream media that doesn't get the surfing attention.
Big waves are a whole different ball game. You're riding a wave with an immense amount of speed and power, generally over 10 meters. On the face of the wave, obviously life and death thoughts start to happen.
It's a perfect wave when small and the most beautiful and scary wave on Earth when it's big, as the swell from deep water hits the shallow reef ledge. A ten-foot high wave and a 30-footer break in the same depth of water.
I surf more now for other people than myself. I feel a lot of support from people wanting me to do well, and I feed off that. I can send a positive message to people from what I do.
There are so many different elements to surfing. Small waves, big waves, long boards, short boards. This makes it a sport you can share with people. It's not just a solitary thing - it's become a family thing, too. It's about exercising and passing something on from father to son, and from mother to daughter.
A lot of times I'll see guys who are nowhere near the level of the board they're riding. They might love surfing and love how it looks, but you really have to work your way up. It takes eating a little humble pie at first, and stepping back to equipment that might be a bit slow, but do it.
My belief is that 'heaven' and 'hell' are metaphorical terms for what you make of your life. In any instant, you have the ability to make your life total pleasure or total hell.
