Ben Schuck spends most of his day in pain.

The aches in his hips, feet, and knees are caused by chronic arthritis, and Schuck, who will turn 80 next month, must avoid painkillers due to his history of kidney disease.

Instead, Schuck seeks treatment in a certain kind of homeopathy. Every day, Schuck drives from his home in Ventura, California, to the local beach, where he dons a wetsuit and steps into the Pacific Ocean with his kiteboarding gear. For an hour or two, he zips through the breaking waves, pulled along by the offshore breeze.

“I never think about the pain out there,” Schuck told�����ܳٲ������.��“I feel the presence of God Almighty when I’m in the water. I always have.”

Schuck speeds along the coastline, over whitecaps and sand bars. He then returns toward the shore and rides breakers as they tumble toward the beach. From the shoreline, you’d never guess that he was born during the final months of World War II.

“It’s exhilarating and it’s a bit scary,” he says. “So you get that pleasure that comes from doing things that are fast and also are a little bit dangerous.”

Schuck has no idea if he’s the oldest kiteboarder in California, but he’s pretty sure he’s the most senior rider in Ventura. Last year he retired from his longtime career as a real estate lawyer, and since then he’s been able to kiteboard four or five days a week, depending on conditions. Some of his kiteboarder buddies are in their mid-sixties, he says. Yep, they’re just whippersnappers.

He found the sport later in life, at the tender age of 68. Schuck grew up surfing, and spent 56 years riding waves along the California coast. But hip surgery and a shoulder replacement left him unable to paddle his board through the choppy water. After his shoulder operation, he spent several months feeling discouraged and depressed.

From the back window of his house, Schuck can gaze down at Ventura’s famed Surfer’s Point at Seaside Park. And on breezy days after his operation, he’d see kites flitting in the sky. He was intrigued by the scene, and spent a few afternoons at the beach, chatting up local kiteboarders. They told him that it was never too late to learn.

“Some were very encouraging to me,” Schuck says. “So in my late sixties I decided to take a lesson.”

It took Schuck a few months to get the hang of flying a kite, and a few years to feel confident riding a board. Over time, kiteboarding became his passion. He traveled to Maui, Mexico, Florida, and all across California to hunt for the best breeze.

The sport filled the void in Schuck’s life that was once taken up by surfing. kiteboarding, he says, has several advantages over surfing. You never have to wait for a ride, or deal with bad vibes in the lineup.

“When you go surfing, you’re competing with the other surfers for a wave. That sucks,” he says. “When you get old and there are young guys out there, the chances of you being able to compete with them for the waves gets a lot harder.”

“With kiteboarding you go fast the whole time,” he added.

He also learned that his new sport alleviated the aches in his hips and legs. When the flying kite tugs his body upward, it lessens the force of his body on his joints. The upward force—when combined with the thrill of the ride—makes the daily discomfort melt into the background.

But flitting across the water on a kiteboard also brings dangers that are not present in surfing. Over the years, Schuck has crashed into sunken rocks and sandbars, and been dragged like a rag doll across the ocean. He’s yet to break a bone riding his kiteboard, but he also knows that a wrong move could lead to a hospital visit. Since his shoulder operation, he’s also had his back fused and had a knee replaced.

“I know that if I fall and tear up my knee, that’s the end of kiteboarding for me,” he says. “I have to be extremely careful.”

So Schuck lives by a rigid set of guidelines that govern his kiteboarding. He goes out around midday, before the after-work crowds hit the ocean. If the surf is pounding, he stays home. He rarely attempts to jump when riding his board.

He lifts weights every day to strengthen his core muscles and legs. He maintains a strict diet, and tries to keep his body weight around 150 pounds. When wind speed surpass 25 miles per hour, he watches other riders from the safety of the beach.

“Other guys love it when the wind is that strong,” he says. “It might be great for them.”

And Schuck never takes a single ride for granted. Toward the end of each kiteboarding session, the aches and paints��return to his feet and legs. That’s when he knows it’s time to get out of the water, peel off of his wetsuit, and head home. Sometimes, Schuck says, he’s so sore at the end of a ride that he can barely walk out of the ocean.

“I don’t care,” he says. “I know it was worth it.”

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When he was 18 years old,����had a friend who gifted him his first fly rod. He’s been hooked ever since. Now, the Bend, Oregon–based angler is paying it forward by introducing his favorite pastime to roommate and friend��. A college student by day and DJ by night, Pasternak rarely gets time to spend in the great outdoors. It doesn’t take much convincing to lure him on a fishing trip to the Owens River, which snakes along the majestic foot of the Eastern Sierra.

While the escape from daily stressors is one thing, fishing together in such grandeur is another. Braving the elements, encouraging one another, and celebrating each other’s success makes this often solitary pursuit into a team sport, which adds a new dimension to their friendship.

“We get to bond in a new way,” Leonard says. “And it’s not like we’re bonding over music or something else. It’s something I’m truly passionate about and get to share with him.”

For Pasternak, the experience reignites a love for nature—one he plans to prioritize more frequently—while echoing Leonard’s perspective on a day that helps the duo “slow things down a little while, just get on the water and take a breath of fresh air.”

Nissan North America, Inc., headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, delivers innovative automotive products and services that inspire and move people. As a global leader in electric vehicles and advanced automotive technology, Nissan offers a full lineup of vehicles, highlighted by the new . Driven by a commitment to sustainable mobility and thrilling performance, Nissan aims to transform the way people live and drive. For more information, please visit .

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Matthew Bryce went surfing alone. Would he die alone, too? As he was riding waves, Bryce got blown out to sea. He had a wetsuit and a surfboard, and nothing else. No way to call for help, or signal to the rescuers that he could see searching for him in a helicopter. Alone and freezing in the ocean, how do you keep from giving up?

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Key West��

This fun and funky island, the southernmost point you can drive to in the United States, is the unofficial cultural hub of The Keys. It’s famous for its resident artists as well as its annual celebrations, like , which culminates in a parade on the last Saturday of October. A stop at the is a must; there you’ll learn about the author’s life on and off the island and have a chance to see one of Hemingway’s six-toed cats.

Key West’s Old Town, filled with an eclectic mix of more than 3,000 wooden buildings, is the largest historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Hop on the and you’ll be guided through highlights, from former cigar factories and speakeasies to the southernmost point in the United States and Harry S. Truman’s “Little White House.”

The Lower Keys

This tangle of quiet islands between Marathon and Key West offers a tranquil escape known for small-town vibes, scenic bridges, and preserved land and marine refuges. The Lower Keys are surrounded by pristine, protected waters—ideal conditions for exploring life beneath the surface. The 524-acre makes for an easy entry into snorkeling. You can rent all the gear you need from the local concessionaire and then enter the water directly from the beach to find coral heads, tropical fish, and conch close to shore in just a few feet of water.

If you’re seeking something more adventurous, set out nine miles west of Bahia Honda State Park for the , home to one of the world’s largest reefs and a variety of live corals you can explore. The marine life is diverse, with parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish, barracudas, and jacks all calling the ecosystem home. Local run trips to the reef daily.

Marathon

One of the greatest experiences you can have in The Keys is catching a fish in the afternoon, then having a professional chef cook it for you that very evening. Marathon is a great place to do exactly that, at , which specializes in cooking your very own catch, which the chefs will prepare either broiled, grilled, or fried and round it out with two sides.

The ten-mile-long community, made up of 13 separate islands, has plenty of other options if you’re not an angler but still want fresh fish. Hit , which offers a variety of prepared local seafood as well as fresh ceviche and sushi. Need a burger instead? serves its burgers above an active marina with a coastal view that stretches for miles.

Islamorada��

Known as the sportfishing capital of the world, the six islands that make up Islamorada boast fast access to some of the most fertile fishing waters in North America, with anglers reeling in the most sought-after game fish in the world, from tarpon to bonefish. There’s so much fishing surrounding Islamorada, it can be hard to know exactly where you should focus your efforts. First, pick your fish, then home in on a location. If you’re looking to catch wily redfish, snook, or trout, you’ll want to head to Florida Bay’s backcountry, where you can hunt for these feisty species using light tackle and fly rods on small boats that can cruise through shallow water. can put you in the right place with the right gear to land the fish you’re looking for.

Want to catch a big one (or two)? Head to deeper water, specifically the Islamorada Hump, an underwater mountain that rises to within 290 feet of the surface, attracting massive tuna and mahi mahi. to get you there for the best chance to land that big fish of your dreams.

Key Largo��

The first island you reach from the mainland, Key Largo acts as a gateway to the greater Keys and is renowned in its own right for its lush, tropical forest and public land, boasting two state parks as well as portions of a national park and national marine sanctuary.

In fact, you could spend your entire trip to Key Largo bouncing from one outdoor adventure to the next. If you’ve always dreamed of the open sea, spend three days learning to sail a Catalina 22 at the , then borrow one of the school’s boats for your own adventure after completing the course.

Amateur botanists and animal lovers should hike the trails of , home to a West Indian hardwood hammock that protects more than 80 protected species, from wild cotton to the American crocodile. And no trip to Key Largo is complete without paddling , where you might spy manatee, turtles, and stingray from the deck of your paddleboard.��With such a close connection between land and sea, it’s no surprise Key Largo is home to dolphin therapy, one of the most unique wildlife experiences in the world. The nonprofit provides therapeutic encounters for military vets and people with special needs, as well as experiences for all visitors. Every morning, guests have a chance to meet the pod of dolphins that live in the center. You can even sign up for a yoga class with the dolphins.

Most people know the�� as a great escape to one of the most unique places on earth. Calm. Serene. Laid back. Just the right setting to recharge your batteries and rejuvenate your spirits. But a getaway to the Florida Keys and Key West is much more than peace and quiet. And not just because of the legendary fishing and the world’s most spectacular dive sites. The Keys mean history. Art. Theater. Museums. Shopping. Fine dining. Entertainment. And much more. All told, 120 miles of perfect balance between natural beauty and extra-ordinary excitement.

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Gary Kristensen dipped his double-bladed paddle into the Columbia River and pulled as hard as he could. The effort felt fruitless—it was like he was paddling through peanut butter. Kristensen, 46, had expected a gentle tailwind for his boating journey, but gusts were cresting 35 miles per hour, sending waves splashing onto him. Next to Kristensen, a support kayak was having to paddle backward just to keep even with his sluggish pace.

Kristensen’s journey would have been easier, of course, if not for his chosen watercraft: a 950-pound pumpkin.

From October 12 to 13, Kristensen, a real estate appraiser from Happy Valley, Oregon, spent 26 hours paddling his enormous gourd down the Columbia River. He completed 45.67 miles, which the as the new record for a category titled “longest journey by pumpkin.” Kristensen told ���ϳԹ��� that the arduous journey was a true test for any paddler—especially when gusting winds kicked up.

“Water was coming over the top constantly,” Kristensen told ���ϳԹ���. “It was like paddling a bowl of soup.”

Kristensen is no stranger to using enormous gourds as boats—he’s been growing massive pumpkins since 2011 and paddling them since 2013. He’s raced pumpkins in the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, an annual festival for seaworthy gourds held in the coastal town of Tualatin, every year since 2013, and has won the event four times since 2018.

Until this year, the standing record for longest pumpkin paddle was 39 miles, set last October on the Missouri River by Steve Kueny and his pumpkin, Huckleberry. But as he watched his own pumpkins grow this season, Kristensen thought he might have one that could rival Huckleberry. He dubbed this challenger “The Punky Loafster,” partly as an ode to the eighties sitcom, but also because he’d jammed wooden boards next to the pumpkin as it formed, so that it would grow in long and skinny, like a loaf of bread.

“If you’re going to race a pumpkin, you want a smaller pumpkin, like around 700 or 800 pounds,” Kristensen said.

Growing pumpkin watercraft is a science, Kristensen explained. For a long distance paddle, on a river like the Columbia, with boat traffic, wind, and waves, you want a larger gourd, to give yourself more space to stretch, and more room to take on water without sinking. You also want the pumpkin to be as long and symmetrical as possible, with a flat bottom and smooth skin.

Kristensen trained for his journey with daily runs, and long weekend paddling trips with pool noodles wrapped around his kayak, to simulate the drag he’d experience with the pumpkin. Punky Loafster—which measured 14 feet around—weighed 1,224 pounds before Kristensen hollowed it out, and it still weighed in at a monstrous 950 pounds before he hopped into it and began paddling. Compare that to the average canoe or kayak, which might run anywhere from 30 to 50 pounds, and it’s easy to see why manning the Loafster was so arduous.��“You paddle, and it just doesn’t move,” he said.

When Kristensen hopped into the Loafster on October 12, he carried a small pump to bail water and a yoga mat to sit on. Aside from that, it was just him, a pumpkin, and a paddle.

Even by pumpkin paddling standards, Kristensen had a rough go. Previous record holder Kueny averaged around 3.5 mph on the Missouri River inside Huckleberry. Kristensen and Punky Loafster recorded an average speed around 1.7 mph. “It was pathetic,” he joked. “At best we had a half mile per hour current. But at times I think the current was even flowing backward, because of the tide.”

The strong winds, which began hammering him when he was only five miles down the river, made things particularly tough. “These were pretty big waves. They’d be a lot for any boat,” he said.�� Kristensen tried to stop paddling to pump water, but battered by the waves, without his paddles to balance the pumpkin, he was at constant risk of capsizing. It took an hour for him to get to shore, drain his pumpkin, and let the winds die down, but he managed to do it without sinking.

That evening, disaster struck again. The electric lights strung up on his friend’s support pontoon boat caught fire and were destroyed. “We were trying to use those lights to help us find a beach and a safe place to park the pumpkin,” Kristensen explained. Without the lights, they continued paddling through the night—17 hours of continuous paddling in total—until the sun rose and they could safely dock the pumpkin.

Finding a gentle beach, Kristensen moored his pumpkin and climbed out to take a nap. He woke an hour later to find tides had left the Loafster high and dry on the beach. “I tried to get it back in the water, and I couldn’t budge it at all,” he said. “It would not move an inch.” His friend, David, furiously began digging the pumpkin out, but the pair soon discovered that the beach had been used to moor barges, and there were large industrial cables underneath the ground. Gingerly rolling the 950-pound watercraft around this minefield of cables, it took three hours for Kristensen to get the Punky Loafster back in the water. Kristensen paddled the remainder of the day to finish out his 46-mile trip.

Despite all the obstacles, Kristensen didn’t didn’t end his paddle because his pumpkin sank or broke apart, or because he was too exhausted to continue. The Punky Loafster was still riverworthy, but as darkness fell on their second day of paddling, he and David decided to end their journey. It was Sunday, and they had to go back to work the following day. “I felt strong,” Kristensen said, “but we were running out of weekend.”

Kristensen may have entered the annals of Guinness World Record fame, but there will be no floating off into the sunset for the Punky Loafster. Kristensen left his craft lying on the banks of the Columbia River next to the boat ramp where he put out. “I’m sure it rotted away long ago,” he told me. He plans to return next year with another pumpkin, and see how much farther he can go.

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Professional surfer Keala Kennelly was sipping her morning cappuccino at home in Hawaii on October 13 when she received a text from a friend. The message said that the World Surf League, organizer of competitive surfing’s Championship Tour, was planning to hold a 2025 competition in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Kennelly, who came out as gay two decades ago, was outraged. UAE laws .

“I felt sick to my stomach,” Kennelly told ���ϳԹ���. “How can WSL expect an LGBTQ+ athlete to travel and compete in a country where their very existence is illegal?”

Kennelly, one of the most decorated women’s surfers ever, wrote a scathing note about the WSL’s decision and . She wrote that hosting events in countries that have documented human rights violations should be unacceptable. She expressed concern for Australian surfer , a two-time world champion, who is openly gay and is slated to compete in the WSL 2025 Championship Tour.

“I decided to make the post to raise awareness, hoping that using my social media platform would outrage people like hearing the news outraged me,” Kennelly said. “I also wanted to show support for Tyler so she knows she is not alone and that she has people backing her.”

Kennelly wasn’t the only person from the surfing community to comment on the decision. While Wright did not comment, her wife, Lilli Wright, . “Tyler has competed on this tour for over 14 years and has had the pride flag on her jersey since 2020,” Lilli wrote. “Even after winning 2 world titles she is still not valued enough by the WSL to be considered when they sold this event.”

Lilli penned her note under a photo of Tyler ��jogging down the beach with a surfboard underarm, next to a pinned post of the couple’s striking wedding portraits from 2022. “WSL have the duty of care to their athletes to not put them in potentially life threatening circumstances like this,” she added.

���ϳԹ��� reached out to the WSL for comment, but we did not receive a response.

The Abu Dhabi leg of the Championship Tour will take place February 14-16, 2025 at the Surf Abu Dhabi artificial wave pool on Al Hudayriat Island, a stretch of sand just south of the city where officials have constructed a BMX park, road cycling track, and water park, among other attractions. According to the WSL’s press release, the surfing venue features groundbreaking wave-making technology from the Kelly Slater Wave Company and is home to the world’s largest and longest human-made wave.

The WSL is not alone in staging events in the UAE—nor is it the only league to receive criticism for doing so. Every February, the world’s best cyclists line up for the UAE Tour, the opening event of the sport’s UCI WorldTour, the highest category of competition. Since 2009, auto racing league Formula One has staged the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a state-of-the-art auto track. Abu Dhabi hosts some of the best tennis players of the year in an event called World League, and even the National Basketball Association stages an exhibition event in the UAE, called the Emirates NBA Cup. The UAE hosts other major international events for beach volleyball, soccer, and sailing.

Critics have called this practice “sportswashing”—when repressive countries attract international sports to seem more in line with Western ideals. The New York Times of holding sporting events like NBA preseason games in Abu Dhabi, citing Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute: “When you think of the U.A.E., they want you thinking about tennis. They would love for you to think about the N.B.A. [. . .] much rather have you thinking about that than all the bad things that are also part of their reputation.”

In her Instagram post, Kennelly specifically called out the UAE’s track record on human rights, specifically for LGBTQ+ people and women. “Emirati women live under male guardianship,” she wrote. “Honor Killings can go unpunished, as the victim’s family can pardon the murderer.”

According to , an advocacy and research group based in New York City, authorities in the UAE can also arrest people for a variety of vaguely defined “flagrant indecent acts” including “public displays of affection, gender nonconforming expressions, and campaigns promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.”

On October 16, the Queer Surf Club, an international organization that coordinates meet-ups for like-minded surfers, to urge the WSL to remove Abu Dhabi from its World Championship tour calendar.

“The WSL have chosen to support a government that criminalizes LGBTQIA+ people and discriminates against women, and in doing so are choosing to place their athletes, support teams, and spectators at risk,” reads the opening paragraph to the petition.

More than two-dozen organizations, ranging from London Surf Film Fest to Surf Queer Mexico to Trans Cyclist Collective, have taken up the cause, promoting it on their own social networks.

Kennelly told ���ϳԹ��� that she would “Absolutely not” travel to Abu Dhabi. “Some of the comments on my post said things like “get over it, just don’t do gay things while you are there,’ she said. “But even if I traveled there without my wife, I look like a lesbian. I have short hair, I don’t dress in feminine clothes. Even if I wasn’t physically harmed I can’t imagine how badly I would be treated in a place like that.”

Kennelly retired from WSL competition in 2007, and she’s doubtful that Wright or other current competitors will speak up against the UAE event. Article 14.04 of the specifically prohibits athletes from making comments that cast the league, WSL management, judges, or its sponsors in a negative light. This rule extends to a surfer’s social media.

Lilli Wright declined to comment to ���ϳԹ��� when contacted. “I definitely think it is a very important discussion to be had,” she wrote in response to a request for an interview. “But at this stage I’m not comfortable saying anything further.”

But she also wrote candidly about how uncomfortable she feels at the thought of Tyler competing in a place like Abu Dhabi, while at the same time recognizing how disadvantageous, career-wise, it would be for her to skip the event. “I see how hard my wife works every day on her career and it’s unreasonable to expect her to just not go,” she wrote. “Her life is worth more than one event, but I can’t not acknowledge that missing this event would put her career at a huge disadvantage.”

Lilli ended her post by circling back to her frustration with the WSL: “At the end of the day, WSL had absolutely no business selling this event to this location expecting their only openly queer athlete to go along quietly.”

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What should have been one of the biggest triathlon celebrations of the year was marred by tragedy yesterday as two athletes died during the World Triathlon age-group sprint world championship in southern Spain, according to officials.

A Mexican athlete lost his life after suffering difficulties in the swim and another male competitor from Great Britain died on the run course in Torremolinos on October 17. An investigation is underway over both incidents amid allegations of poor organization and lax medical procedures from participants.

A World Triathlon statement confirmed the news, saying: “Our deepest condolences go to the respective family, friends, National Federations and all the triathlon family. World Triathlon, the Spanish Federation and the LOC [local organizing committee] are in contact with their families and NFs [national federations] to provide all the support needed in these difficult and sad times.”

British Triathlon also confirmed that the family of a member of its age-group team had been notified and were being supported, adding: “British Triathlon and the Age-Group Team send their condolences and we request that their privacy be respected at this time.” World Triathlon said both families had requested the names of the deceased to be kept private.

, a professional triathlete and coach from Colorado, who was at the venue and witnessed the incident in the swim raised organizational shortcomings on social media in the hours following.

“I’ve just got back from the sprint distance,” he said. “I just want to say, World Triathlon, that was some of the worst lifeguarding, the worst awareness, the worst communication I’ve seen at an event ever.

“There was an older man that was clearly signaling for help a few hundred yards out from the finish. Everyone on shore saw it, everyone was yelling for somebody to go there. [The] kayaker is completely oblivious, paddling away.”

 

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World Triathlon responded by rejecting the claim that swim conditions were poor and told Triathlete that swim conditions were classed as “optimal” for the event by the local marine authorities. It also added that there were more dedicated water safety resources deployed than legally required.

Triathlete subsequently contacted another individual working in an official capacity at the venue who wished to remain anonymous but said: “To be honest, racing conditions were horrendous. [It was] too late in the day, so loads of wind, making it impossible to sight on the swim. People [were] swimming every way, taking ages. And after a week of rain, today was pretty warm while they were running.”

from the UK Meteorological Office show the average high temperature on race day in Torremolinos was 74 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity between 50 and 60 percent over the course of the day. Hourly average wind speeds were reported between 12 and 18 mph during the race.

To compound the allegations, a further undisclosed source working at the venue said that attempts to resuscitate the British participant, who had collapsed during the 5-kilometer run leg, were delayed by an absence of medical staff who had rushed to the swim incident, leaving the individual on the run without any medical expertise for almost 20 minutes.

World Triathlon said it is working with local authorities, including the police, to investigate both incidents and could offer no further comment at this time. When asked directly about allegations of poor organization, it reconfirmed that position.

The deaths follow a further recent tragedy in Ironman Calella-Barcelona less than two weeks ago, when Elena Smirnova, a 41-year-old Russian, was pulled from the water and died en route to hospital.

Another participant died after a medical emergency in the swim leg in Ironman 70.3 Oregon in July and two triathletes also passed while taking part in Ironman Ireland last year.

The event in Torremolinos near Malaga is the climax of the World Triathlon season. Running from October 17-20, more than 5,500 triathletes from over 80 countries are set to compete in categories running from amateur to elite competition as well as junior, under-23, and paratriathletes.

RELATED:��

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In 2005, Hawaii’s John John Florence became the youngest surfer ever to enter the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing at age 13, which established him as the sport’s wunderkind. Florence is 31 now—older than many of his competitors on the World Surf League’s pro circuit. He’s also a new dad: Florence and his wife Lauryn Cribb��welcomed their first child, Darwin, in May. And Florence is also a veteran of the painful injuries that surfing dishes out. He’s broken his back, torn the ACL in both of his knees, cracked bones in his wrist, leg, and arm, and suffered too many sprains and strains to count.

But Florence is still one of the best wave riders on the planet, and earlier this year he won his third world championship. The accomplishment, when added to his hefty trophy case, makes him one of the most decorated competitive surfers ever.

We caught up with Florence to discuss the demanding regimen that keeps him atop a field of athletes that gets younger every year.

OUTSIDE: It’s been seven years since your last world championship win. What did it take for you to achieve that this year?
Florence: It was the best journey that I could have ever imagined. There were a lot of years where it seemed like I was on my best roll, and I was like, ‘this is my year to win another one,’ and then there’d be injury after injury. But I think that’s what made this one feel so special,��all that work and sacrifice and everything that went into it.

Meditation was a really big part of my whole program this year. The first thing I do when I wake up each morning is a 20-minute meditation, and then usually later in the day, I do another meditation, more of a visualization of the lead-up to a competition heat. Visualizing what it looks like an hour before a heat, and then 30 minutes before a heat, and then five minutes—down to the moment it starts. For me, I don’t necessarily love visualizing specifics in my surfing, but more the way I feel.

I visualize how I feel when I surf my best, and how it feels when I’m really enjoying myself. It’s like this kind of relaxed confidence, and I put myself there over and over and over again, seeing everything from the water to the sun to putting my jersey on to the feeling of the sand. Thinking about all that and trying to build the most real picture you can. It’s crazy how well it works.

I definitely showed up to the world championships with more intention in what I was doing. I put a lot more preparation and energy into it, and then was able to really let go and feel good. That happens a lot during the year in certain heats or events, but it doesn’t happen in every heat.

That’s what I was worried about, was showing up that day, not being in the right headspace and really nervous or anxious and that’s when I don’t surf my best or perform my best. To have gotten myself to get there for that specific heat was special.

How does your training and injury prevention differ now from��when you first started?
When I first started, I didn’t do any. Now I spend a lot more time on recovery and making sure my body and my mind in the right place. I learned a lot about how much my mind has an effect on my physicality. The times I’ve been injured have been when I’ve been anxious or not wanting to be there. So now I do a lot of work behind the scenes. Almost nonstop, actually.

I do a lot of meditation and mental stuff. And then on the physical side, I like to make my training fun. I do a lot of cardio and leg work, whether it’s cycling or riding a foil board, or just things that I like to do, like hiking in the mountains. And then I do a lot of this newer stuff called Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization. It’s smaller movement, more functional muscle activation.

That has made me feel pretty solid in my knees and my old injuries. I’ve gotten to work with a few people over the years: Chris Prosser, Tim Brown, and Drew Morcos at MOTUS Physical Therapy here in California. Learning from them and trying to create a program for myself that makes sense. These workouts impact everything in surfing, from quicker recoveries to less soreness. I’ve had two ACL surgeries back to back. Both knees, if you don’t do anything for them, can get stiff and sore. Now I don’t even think about it. I forget that they happened. I attribute that to a lot of the work I did behind the scenes.

For recovery, I do a lot of sauna and ice. At my house I have a little recovery center. I have a float tank too, which is cool for mental training. You can fill it with Epsom salt. I also have a hyperbaric chamber. I kind of go in and out of using them based on what I’m feeling like I need. So I have a lot of little knickknacks and things

This summer you again competed in the Olympics. How was the experience different from Tokyo?
It’s funny because the first year I went to Tokyo, I came to the realization that it feels like any other event. When you’re in the water and you’re surfing and you’re competing, it feels the same, almost.

But then, when I went to Tahiti, I underestimated everything that was around the event, and I guess I didn’t really prepare myself in the best way for that. On the tour, I have my team that I travel with, and I have a lot of control over how I set up my program in and around the event. Going into the Olympics, you’re going with Team USA, and they’re setting up everything, and there’s a whole new set of people that are there helping. It’s incredible support that they gave to us down there, but it’s just different. And the Olympics – the structure around the event – is also very different; it’s much, much more structured than we’re normally used to.

Those things that were around the event made me nervous once I was there for a week. I got a little anxious about it. As a whole for surfing, it was amazing to have the waves that they got, though – other than my result, personally, I was kind of bummed.

How has being a dad changed the way you surf for fun?
My normal surfing hasn’t changed that very much. But my feeling around competing has really changed. My wife and my son were down at the finals at Trestles [in Southern California]. It was such a tense environment down there. But when I would look at my son—he’s four months old, so he’s tiny—he’d smile. For me that changed it from life or death in the finals to ‘Okay, that’s a game. This is my life. He’s my life.’ It took the pressure off in a way and made it a little more clear for me to be able to take a step back. ‘Okay, I just got to go there and surf. I know how to surf, right?’ Rather than being a little bit lost and like, ‘Oh shit. This is intense.’

What advantage do younger surfers have on the old guard in competition, in the U.S. and overseas?
Everyone just gets better and better at surfing. There’s that. And then, I think the guys are starting to take it more seriously earlier on. So these guys are coming on to the tour and learning at such a quick pace how to compete and how to wrap their mind around the events, and whether they’re meditating or training or nutrition or whatever it is, everyone’s going like, 100 percent into it. When I first got on tour, there were probably a handful of people taking it super seriously, and now it almost seems like it’s everyone. It pushes me. It pushes the sport.

This year I went all-in with nutrition and chefs and bodywork. I told myself, ‘I’m going to do everything I can.’ And you have to now, because a lot of guys are doing that. Maybe it’s the pure drive of wanting to win. Everyone wants to win so badly now.

This interview was edited for space and clarity.��

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