BINGELY BOOKS

HAWAI'I GOLD: A CELEBRATION OF SURFING

Rizzoli

Carissa Moore

We had the pleasure of having Carissa Moore a Team USA Olympic Surfing Gold Medalist and 5X World Surf League Women's Champion as our FEB ISSUE #86 cover. We have always enjoyed seeing her compete and how she does so with a smile on her face!

Hawai'i Gold: A Celebration of Surfing shares her story and what she thinks about her sport, her love of Hawaii as well as surf legends on what it means to be a surfer from Hawaii.

In this book, we find out about the heritage of surfing in Hawaii and of course the images in the book include the island, surf icons, surf prep, and so much more. It's defintiely a book that you will find on your coffee table that everyone will want to look through when they stop by.

EVEREST, INC.: THE RENEGADES AND ROGUES WHO BUILT AN INDUSTRY AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

Gallery Books

Will Cockrell

We know about those who climb Mount Everest and in Everest, Inc. The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, we get to know more about those who are instrumental in that effort - the guides and climbers!

We know that making the climb is not for the faint at heart as there is bad weather, severe altitudes, and it is congested for a number of people who make the attempt whether it's ego driven or to add to their social feeds.

The trip also has an impact on those who don't respect the mountain by leaving trash behind or even exploiting local Sherpas.

This book has a comprehensive focus on the history of the Himalayan guiding industry which started in the 1980's with gritty entrepreneurs who wanted to create a new style of expedition planning. You'll find quotes by those in the industry, writers, filmmakers, and Hollywood notables. All share their thoughts on the climbs to add their thoughts to this portion of the industry.

FASHION'S BIG NIGHT OUT: A MET GALA LOOKBOOK

Welbeck Publishing

Kristen Bateman

The first Mon of May is fashion's biggest night known as The Met Gala and in Fashion's Big Night Out: A Met Gala Lookbook, we look at a legendary event that fuses art, fashion and pop culture. You will learn about its history through imagery which started in 1948. It also looks at the ensembles that hit the carpet based on theme. There is also a foreward by iconic designer, Jeremy Scott who has created a number of looks for this event.

Read the APR ISSUE #100 of Athleisure Mag and see BINGELY BOOKS in mag.

JOY OF SAKE

The Joy of Sake is a fantastic event that celebrates sake and allows guests to enjoy a wide array as well as to enjoy pairings from restaurants! We wanted to take some time to find out more about this event that takes place here in NY as well as in Hawaii! Next month, The Joy of Sake will take place on April 11th at the Metropolitan Pavilion from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. What a way to enjoy this beverage as well as to get excited about trying new ones that you have yet to enjoy!

We wanted to catch up with the founder and organizer of The Joy of Sake, Chris Pearce to tell us more about sake, what takes place at the event, and what we should expect when we attend!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Much like wine has different varietals, is this the same for sake and if so, can you tell us about this? We know that sake is produced in Japan, what makes this region so equipped to make sake?

CHRIS PEARCE: People around the world always seem to find something in their region to make alcohol from. Ancient Japan didn’t have any cultivated grapes, but they did have plenty of rice to turn into sake. Over the centuries, sake-making know-how gradually developed to make the great sakes we enjoy today. While wines are divided into red, white and sparkling, sake’s major classifications are junmai, ginjo and daiginjo. Sake is made with rice, water, koji and yeast. In general, junmai sake is made with rice grains that have been polished to remove 30-40% of the outer grain; ginjo 40% or more, and daiginjo, considered the most premium sake, is made with 50% or more of the rice grain polished away. Japan is smaller than California, and the number of sake-brewing rice varieties is just a fraction of the number of grape varieties. This may explain why in traditional Japanese sake terminology, there is no word corresponding to "varietal."

AM: Are there other regions in the world that also make sake?

CP: Accurate figures are hard to come by, but it’s likely that at least 20% of the sake consumed in the U.S. is made here. Big Japanese breweries have been making sake in California since the 1970s, and now a growing number of smaller breweries are producing it in their respective states, including upstate New York.

AM: Tell us what led you to sake and what your background is?

CP: I live in Hawaii, where sake is part of the state’s heritage due to the large number of Japanese immigrants. After moving here from Okinawa, Japan in 1978, I started drinking Takara Masamune sake from a local Honolulu brewery that was founded in 1908. I got to know the brewmaster and drank with him regularly over the years. As my knowledge of sake grew, so did my appreciation. To celebrate the art and culture behind sake, we put on the first Joy of Sake tasting in Honolulu in 2001 and then came to NYC in 2004.

AM: How did your love for sake create the need to launch The Joy of Sake and why did you feel the need to create this event that takes place in Honolulu and in NY?

CP: Around the year 2000, more premium ginjo and daiginjo sakes started coming into the U.S., but not much of it was shipped refrigerated or kept cold upon arrival, which impacted the end quality. In addition, sake knowledge wasn’t as widespread as it is today, and most people had no idea what a good sake was supposed to taste like. The Kokusai Sake Kai (International Sake Association), which was founded in Honolulu in 1987, thought this was a shame and decided to host a professional tasting with judges from Japan and under the guidance of the Japan National Research of Brewing, which has been conducting a national judging (or appraisal) since 1910. The first U.S. National Appraisal was held in Honolulu in 2001. The entries were then presented to the public at a tasting event that we called “The Joy of Sake.” The name was inspired by the 1970s best-seller about another enjoyable pastime.

AM: Why are Honolulu and NYC the 2 cities that host this event each year?

CP: Joy of Sake events have also been held in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tokyo and London over the years, but Honolulu and New York are the oldest. This coming Joy of Sake in NYC marks 20 years since the first New York event in 2004.

AM: Are the events the same? We are looking forward to your NY event on April 11th! How many sake vendors will participate and what is the process for them to be included in this event?

CP: The Honolulu and New York events are quite similar. Guests can sample sakes that have been submitted as entries to the U.S. National Sake Appraisal at the walkaround Joy of Sake events. This year there are 578 labels, many not available in the U.S. In addition to these sakes, there are 10 tables where guests can sample sakes from different importers and distributors.

AM: We hear that there will be more sake participants this year, are there any brands that we should keep an eye out for as we think about who we will be sampling? Can you share some of the restaurants that will be participating this year?

CP: This year 198 breweries have sakes at the event. It’s hard to single out one brand because there are a lot of good ones. At the event guests will know which sakes received gold awards at the competitive appraisal, so that is a good indication that they are expectational.

Sixteen restaurants will be at the NYC event serving original sake-inspired appetizers, including annual supporters such as Bond St, Sakagura, Gugu Room, Rule of Thirds, Cha An, Sen Sakana, Taru, Juban, Towa and Zuma, along with new participants such as ILIS, Mishik and Sake No Hana.

AM: This is quite an event. What can guests expect when they attend next month?

CP: Guests can expect to have a fantastic time. Walking around while sipping a wide range of sakes at your leisure, trying one of the tasty appetizers from a top NYC restaurant, enjoying the atmosphere with friends — it all makes for a very special ambiance. I don’t think there’s anything quite like it.

AM: There is also a philanthropic element to this event, can you tell us more about that?

CP: The Joy of Sake is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is sake education. We sent donations to brewery employees who lost their homes in the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami and contributed Y1,000,000 to breweries that were damaged or destroyed in the Ishikawa earthquake. In addition, we often assist other non-profit organizations with their fund-raising efforts.

AM: When you are not focused on the events in Honolulu and NYC, what does the Joy of Sake do throughout the year?

CP: We hold smaller “Aftertaste” events focused on specific themes, such as a particular brewing region of Japan or on an aspect of sake appreciate like umami in sake, acidity versus sweetness and other characteristics that impact the flavor. These events generally feature around 50 sakes, in line with our firmly held belief that the best way to learn about sake is to drink some.

IG @joyofsake

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | The Joy of Sake

Read the MAR ISSUE #99 of Athleisure Mag and see JOY OF SAKE in mag.

TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | MONICA MEDELLIN

We enjoy a great docuseries where we get to follow our favorite sports and get behind the action to find out how it all comes together. Prime Video's 4 episode series, Surf Girls Hawai'i follows 5 native Hawaiian females as they take their shot on obtaining a spot in the world tour. We follow Moana Jones Wong, Ewe Wong, Maluhia Kinimaka, Pua DeSoto, and Brianna Cope as we see them navigating their season, training, and interacting with their friends and family.

We caught up with Monica Medellin, Creator and Executive Producer of this docuseries. We wanted to find out more about how she became a fan of this action sport, being a surfer, working in the surf industry, and the importance of storytelling to amplify voices that are underrepresented but have powerful points of view.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’ve personally been a fan of your work for awhile so it’s exciting to be able to talk with you to know more about you’re your docuseries, and what you’re working on that’s coming up!

MONICA MEDELLIN: Amazing! I’m so excited! I think that this is perfect because every body that knows me makes fun of me because athleisure is all I wear.

Thank you so much for highlighting me. I feel like a unicorn in this space. I just turned 30 and this all happened before then and it seems like the tides are changing and there are very few women that are like me in this position. So I really want to share my story and to hopefully inspire more storytellers in narratives like this.

AM: Absolutely!

Before we get into talking about the docuseries, we want to know more about you. What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be a filmmaker?

MM: Oh, I mean, I feel like I was destined to be a filmmaker ever since I was a little girl. I couldn’t really identify that that was what I wanted until later in life. I've always been involved in sports as a child. My mom was a single working mom from Mexico and she raised me on her own.

Through that, she found different sports programs and extracurricular activities and that’s where I really fell in love with different sports and it started with more traditional sports like volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Then I moved into gymnastics and then we both discovered surfing while we were walking along the Santa Monica Beach and at that point, I had started skateboarding, surfing, and exploring these non-traditional sports.

I actually used her old camcorder to film myself skating! That’s what I did with my friends on the weekends, so obviously the production value was what it was!

You know, I started documenting sports from a young age and I started documenting myself as a young girl participating in those sports from that time. You know from there, I obviously played sports in high school – I was the team captain of the volleyball team, I would teach at surf camp over the summers and I moved to university and I studied Journalism at the University of Oregon. So, this theme of filming our experiences as women in sports has been something that has been a thread throughout my entire life!

AM: Wow! It also seems that a lot of your films as well as commercial work that you have done has also focused obviously on sports, but also covering underrepresented groups as well. As someone who is Black and has enjoyed sports such as snowboarding where people don’t think of us playing it, I like that you’re showcasing what is being done that people don’t necessarily think of.

MM: Right and I think that that’s something where you want to be niche, but not too niche where you miss out on telling other stories as well. I think that my main thing is highlighting and shining a light on stories that are underrepresented in the mainstream. That is the essence of my work. It doesn’t just need to be sports, it can be in anything. I mean, when I worked at the Los Angeles Times in 2015, I was helping launch a new platform that talks about this emerging American identity with race, immigration, identity, what does it mean to be American, but also never to really see yourself represented in the story in that way. So, I think that that time at the Los Angeles Times and producing documentaries around those topics really did shape the direction of how I approach my storytelling. Like sure, if I’m telling a story about an athlete, that’s in sports, but I want to uncover who the person is behind the athlete, what is the human experience that we can all relate to because ultimately, even when you see Surf Girls Hawai’i, it’s not just about surfing. It’s about coming of age, it’s about sisterhood, it’s about supporting each other through challenging times, and navigating life. So, I think that that is my approach through all of my storytelling that makes it universal whether you are interested in the sport or the topic itself.

AM: Absolutely!

What was the first project that you did that you realized that you wanted to do this as a career?

MM: Hmm, it’s actually funny, because my first film that I created was about a young Latina surfer in the Bay Area. She was part of a program that helped underrepresented youth get into the sport of surfing, get into action sports, and that film actually premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival here in LA. That moment of seeing my work and my film, premiered at The Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood was such a monumental moment for me because I could see that this kind of storytelling was valued. I could see the reaction of the audience and I could see the emotion and I could actually feel the energy in the room. So, I feel like the LALIFF selecting my film to premiere at the Chinese Theatre in that way was a really defining moment for me. I knew that I could really make something out of this career and hopefully, tell more stories. At that point, I was still in my early 20’s so it was just the beginning, but I think that that was the moment that I decided to pursue this full time.

AM: We love surfers! This year alone we had the honor of speaking with Carissa Moore as well as Kai Lenny as covers for Athleisure Mag. You also surf – what is it about this sport that you enjoy so much?

MM: I think surfing is such a unique sport because it’s not just a sport. It’s a lifestyle, it’s a culture, it has deep roots around the world, and had I known that this sport is originated by people of color and women of color, I would have felt that I belonged in it sooner. (Editor’s Note: The origin of surfing can be found in various cultures as far back as the Incas in 1590 when a Jesuit missionary José de Acosta published it in Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias. In West Africa’s – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Senegal and Central Africans in Cameroon have had various accounts of this activity in 1640, 1679, 1834, and 1861. In Polynesia in 1769 there is documentation of he’e nalu which translates to wave sliding by Joseph Banks as he was on HMS Endeavour during the first voyage of James Cook while the ship was in Tahiti.) I didn’t know anything about the history of surfing until I met another Latina surfer who shared with me this deep history. After discovering that, I made it my life’s mission to try to tell the world that this is the truth and that this is the history of this.

I think that with surfing, it’s so special for that deeper reason, but also I think that it’s a way of connecting with nature to get outside and get off your phone. You have no way of communicating with anybody when you’re out there. It’s your time to exist and enjoy yourself and I think that it resonates with a lot of people. I think that when I first started surfing in Los Angeles, the lineups looked a lot different than they do today. Today I actually paddle out and I see more women, I see more women of color and I actually see friends every single time that I go. I think that this surf culture has been defined by advertisements, brands, the industry, but we are reclaiming what it means to be a surfer and you’re seeing that happening in your local lineups. You’re seeing that happening through Surf Girls Hawai’i, you’re seeing that happen through different lenses, I think! I think that that is what makes surfing special. It’s just, there’s nothing else like it honestly.

AM: As the creator of Surf Girls Hawai’i, what drew you to telling this story?

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i is what I have dreamt of ever since I was a little girl. We saw Blue Crush released back in 2002, which was my favorite film, and I really identified with Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious franchise, Machte franchise, Resident Evil franchise), who was another Latina and I mean, that’s just one part of it. When I was working in the surf industry, I noticed that major mainstream platforms just had more coverage of male surfers. You barley saw women and in advertisements, it’s still really common to see a surfer girl in a bikini and a man on a wave surfing.

AM: Right.

MM: You walk down to any surf shop and that’s still the reality of our time in 2023! Actually, while I was working at the League (World Surf League), I started a personal archive of my favorite surfers who were women, who I thought deserved the spotlight and I pitched an idea that would eventually push the company to promote men and women equally on our social platforms. I think that since then, we have seen a shift. I just really wanted to be able to highlight women that I felt didn’t have a seat at the table. I think that through Surf Girls Hawai’i, they are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. That’s really cool that I helped spearhead that effort and identified this talent early on.

AM: For those that have not seen this docuseries, can you give us the premise of the show, and also, how did you decide to select the 5 Native Hawaiian female surfers that are featured in the docuseries.

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i follows the next generation of native Hawaiian, female surfers as they compete at an elite level to earn a spot on the world tour of professional surfing. Surf girls is about a sisterhood of native Hawaiian surfers who are on the cusp of becoming pro and this is the most elite level that they have ever competed on and they are competing against each other, but also together in a lot of different ways and they support each other through that. I think that what makes it special is the fact that oftentimes when you see shows that center women, you see maybe cattiness or drama between the women. You see this marketable yet damaging portrayal of female relationships.

I think that what’s different with Surf Girls Hawai’i is, even though they are fierce competitors, and they are competing for one spot, they all support each other through this journey. That’s because they all know that if one of them makes it, everyone makes it because this is more than just winning for their own personal gain, this is about representing native Hawaiian culture at the highest level of surfing. I think that carrying that responsibility, and that legacy, is what makes this highest stakes in a lot of ways. You don’t need that cattiness or drama between the girls. I think that that is the premise, but also what makes it different.

AM: From your perspective as a filmmaker, how do you go about creatively organizing all of this. As you said, they’re all there for that aligned goal, but they are also individual people. How are you weaving that story and kind of planning it in your head especially when it’s only 4 episodes! By the end I was wanting to see more about these women, wondering if there would be another season, would the same surfers be followed – so many questions!

MM: The response to this show has been so overwhelmingly positive and I have been told that it is over performing. It shows that there is a gap and this storytelling was absolutely needed and 4 episodes did the trick! I think that that worked and I think in going back to your question, this cast is so special because on the surface, they are all native Hawaiian pro surfers that share this bond and share their culture together. But what I wanted to really accomplish with this series was to show them as multi-dimensional, multi-faceted women. They’re all different and all have different interests and different mindsets. They’re all different because you have on the one hand, Maluhia who is 26 years old, considered older to be competing and is at the crossroads of deciding on whether she wants to be a professional athlete and fulfill that lifelong childhood dream or pursue her education. She did both. She got her degree from Stanford and she is pursuing her PhD at UH Mānoha – all while competing on the WSL tour. I think that that is super unexpected. That defied expectations and I think that each character defies expectations of what you would think of them on the surface. So that’s just one example of how we approached the storytelling around each woman. How do we paint them as more than an athlete? Because each character is more than an athlete.

AM: What was it like working with Hello Sunshine on this project?

MM: I’ll start with Hello Sunshine. Hello Sunshine was honestly a dream partnership. Like we were aligned in our values before we even made the show together. I think for me as a creator, it was really important that the team working on Surf Girls was women-led and women-run, that is the essence of what makes Surf Girls Hawai’i what it is. I think that Hello Sunshine’s mission of changing the narrative for women aligned with my mission well before the final product. I think that Surf Girls put this native female Hawaiian experience at the forefront and Hello Sunshine invested in that, believed in that, and they saw that from the beginning. I think that that’s brave. This talent, they’re low profile, lesser known names outside of the surf industry, but that didn’t matter to them and I think that they just saw the magic. I also think that the Hello Sunshine team was very collaborative and supportive of hiring women behind the camera and making sure to work with my recommended Hawaiian and Hawaii local creators and crew. I just felt like the set was forward thinking and they understood the importance of picking a team to tell a story and in the best way.

I actually created and directed the original digital series that sold the show, and the vision stayed true throughout the process. I think that that is really hard to do actually. I feel that the women were really portrayed in a positive light and the culture wasn’t sensationalized. That was really really important. That’s my bit on Hello Sunshine!

AM: That’s amazing to hear. What has been your biggest takeaway in doing this docuseries?

MM: Oh my gosh, so much! I mean, creating and executive producing my first TV show, was an experience that I learned a lot from. I think that a big takeaway from the series is that you see the reactions from people that watched this and people are hungry for this kind of storytelling and they’re hungry to see women and women of color in sports. I think it’s interesting because this was technically made for Gen Z young women to identify with. But you see women of all ages responding to this and you see men of all ages intrigued, interested, and inspired by this story. So, I think that this is a story for everyone and that’s the takeaway – this story is important and deserves a spotlight and we were the first to do it and that’s really, really special. We were the first female sports docuseries on Hello Sunshine’s platforms and this was the first female sports documentary on Amazon.

AM: That’s a pretty big first!

MM: That’s big!

AM: That’s awesome!

I’m sure you’re always working on different projects, is there anything coming up that you are able to share that we should keep an eye out for?

MM: Yeah, so 2 things! I just got back from Tahiti for a shoot with the Olympic Channel, so that’s coming up. Then, I have another underreported, but fascinating field that centers women of color and Black women in sport that is not highly covered that I am currently developing. I’m developing projects constantly so we can leave it at those things.

IG @monicamedellin_

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 52 Ryan Gladney | PG 54 Brie Lakin | PG 57 Katie McDonald | PG 58 - 63 Prime Video |

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | Monica Medellin in mag.

RIDING THIS WAVE | CARISSA MOORE

There is something empowering about seeing those who dominate their area of expertise regardless of the vertical as well as putting good back into the world! This month's cover is 5X World Surf League Women's Champion, Olympic Team USA Surfing Gold Medalist and winner of countless accolades, Carissa Moore. This powerhouse takes to the waves with a focus and competitive spirit that we can appreciate. When we had the chance to talk with her as she was waiting for her call time for the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach earlier this month. We were also struck by how she brought the Aloha spirit with her as she talked about her love for the sport, going pro, walking us through her surfing schedule, her documentary and how she strives to inspire the next generation of women through Moore Aloha.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’re so excited as we have been a fan of yours for awhile. So to be able to chat with you as well as for you to be this month’s cover, is so exciting and our readers are going to want to know more about you and the sport as well as what you have going on!

CARISSA MOORE: Perfect! Let’s do it!

AM: So when did you fall in love with surfing?

CM: I started surfing when I was about 5 years old and it was my dad who pushed me into my first wave at Waikiki. I think you know that it was a love that deepened over time, but I really fell in love with it at the very beginning. Being in the ocean, spending time with my dad. In the very beginning, it was just something that I loved to do with him and then over time, it became something that was more my own and I just love being in the ocean and it feels like a bit of escape from reality at times. It brings me back to the present moment which I feel like that sometimes, there are so many distractions and our world is going at such a fast speed sometimes that it’s hard to stay present. I think that that is one of the greatest gifts of being in the ocean. Just being here and now. It just brings a lot of joy.

AM: Was it hard for you because you do love it and it’s your passion – to know that it’s also your profession? Do you see it differently and how do you navigate that?

CM: I just feel extremely fortunate and grateful that I get to do something that I love as a profession! You know, the sport has evolved to a place that we can make a living out of it as professional athletes. At times, it’s definitely more intense than others, but what’s the coolest part is that in a jersey or not, I still want to go to the beach everyday and see the ocean which is awesome!

AM: That’s really cool! What’s an average day like when you’re training?

CM: An average day pre season, is waking up early. The crazy part about surfing which you were a little bit shocked to learn is that you’re kind of at the whim of Mother Nature right? So every day, you’re trying to find the best time to surf and whether that’s based on the tides, the wind or the swell that’s coming in and hasn’t arrived yet. Surfing is very fluid as the schedule depends on where the waves are. So I find the best waves that I can train on. I train with an on-land trainer 3-4 times a week and we’ll meet at a park or sometimes a gym at her house for like an hour or so. My day definitely includes a time to eat, refuel and to rest. Rest is very important for me so I like to set up at least an hour a day to read or go for a walk or watch some TV with my husband. Then maybe I surf again in the afternoon or check in with my sport psych so that’s kind of what a day looks like. Sometimes it includes sponsorship stuff or interviews like this!

Actually, between surfing and the ocean, it has taught me so many lessons and that's just one of them. There is so much that’s out of our control so you have to let go and surrender and say, ok, this is what we’re doing today – so yeah!

AM: It’s very cool. So what do you do, in terms of workouts that allow you to optimize yourself in the sport? Obviously, you’re in the water and surfing, but what other kinds of things do you also do to assist with that?

CM: I mean it’s pretty cool that as a surfer, you have to be fit in all different kinds of areas. Depending on what kind of event or wave we’re surfing at, some waves are big and powerful. Like the next event we’re competing at, we’re going to be on Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu and it’s a very big playing field. So I like to say that endurance definitely factors in as well as power and strength, I don’t use a lot of weight, but we have been using a little more weight. Most of the workouts that we do are a lot of bodyweight stuff. I love HIIT workouts, stuff that’s fast paced for me is really mentally engaging, but we also work on agility, strength, cardio and core. I do go to Pilates once a week and incorporate yoga every morning for at least 30 minutes. There are a lot of different things that I do and I kind of do it all.

AM: At the Tokyo Olympics, that was such an amazing Olympics as both surfing and skateboarding were both brought in for the first time for the Summer Games. You won the first Gold medal which is amazing as it was the first time for that sport! What did it mean to you to have that Olympic experience?

CM: It was such a special experience. I didn’t really have that many expectations because surfing had never been there before. So, I was just excited to be part of it all and to be in a team atmosphere and get to go to the Village. Everything was a bigger and grander scale than I imagined. But just getting to be in that arena is the epitome of sports. I think that for the surfing community, it was a really huge moment to be elevated on that level and to get to perform on that platform. As a native Hawaiian, it means a lot to us and surfing is kind of our sport. It was really great to see and be able to get that representation of our people and our sport. That was really cool too.

AM: Are you thinking ahead to Paris?

CM: I kind of think that we all are because this season on the Championship Tour is a qualifying season. So for countries like America, Australia, Brazil, and some other countries, we qualify with our rankings at the end of the year through the 10 events through the season. So we are definitely all thinking about it. It’s really exciting, it will be quite a battle because there are so many Americans on tour and so many Australians on tour – it’s just a focus of doing our best on this season and hopefully it works out.

AM: You’re a 5X World Surfing League Women’s Tour Champion, you’ve won so many different accolades, how important is it to you to have balance and to implement self-care into your mental and physical practices?

CM: Oh, it’s huge! I think that for me, from a pretty young age, I realized how important it was to have a balance. For me, I finished school, I was getting to have a social life and being grounded at home was super important. It definitely gave me an appreciation for the time that I got in the water and it helped me learn how to use my time wisely and to train efficiently. Also, my dad has always stressed to take the time to rest because then you can come back stronger. Taking that time physically and mentally, I am definitely learning over time that in order to love others and to share more love with the world, you have to love yourself and take time to fill your cup so you can fill others' cups. I definitely think that it’s super important to slow down, take the time to appreciate the little things that you have done to improve yourself or to better yourself and it helps to give you momentum and the confidence to go forward.

AM: Absolutely! We were just talking about the surfing season. What is the surfing season in terms of when it starts and stops and what are your favorite tournaments that you like participating in?

CM: So our season just started at the end of Jan and goes all the way into Sep. We compete in 10 events and then we have 1 final event. We go all over! So we start in Hawaii, then we go to Portugal, then Australia, California, El Salvador, Brazil, South Africa and Tahiti.

AM: Wow!

CM: We get to go to some pretty cool places.

AM: Um yeah! We want to go!

CM: There are a lot of great ones that I look forward to. I really love Western Australia. There’s something about that place, the raw beauty and there isn’t much fuss. It’s about surfing and getting in the ocean. I really like Tahiti, it reminds me a lot of home and the people there are just full of Aloha and good vibes! South Africa, it’s definitely a bit of a trek but once you get there, the waves are incredible and it's just like awesome!

AM: This month, you’re competing in the Hurley Sunset Beach World Championship, what are you looking forward to in this tournament?

CM: I’m super excited that my sponsor Hurley has stepped up to sponsor a World Tournament event and to see their support of all of us on that level. It’s really cool! I guess that being able to compete on home turf in front of my family and friends on beaches that I have grown up surfing on my whole life is super cool. I think that just trying to push myself competitively and to put forth some good performances hopefully, I’m just looking forward to getting in the water, putting the jersey on and competing at home.

AM: That’s awesome! You were just talking about all of the places that you travel to, because you do so much travel, how do you make your hotel rooms feel like home, and then when you’re on the road, are there things that you like to do when you hit certain cities or do you just focus on hitting that tournament?

CM: Since I have been traveling, you know it’s the 13th year that I have been on the Championship Tour, after doing it for a little bit of time now, out with the hotel rooms in with the Airbnb’s that have kitchens and living rooms – places that can feel like home and feel more homey. Just having kitchens which is so nice because you can eat what you want to eat and know what you are putting into your meals. I think that is super important and just having the room to spread out and train. Because we do have a lot of downtime and we have a 2 week waiting period most of the time. But then it only takes a day and a half – two days to run the women’s event. So there is a lot of downtime. Like you mentioned, the beauty of getting to do this is that we get to go to some amazing places and getting to go sightseeing to really get to immerse yourself in the culture, the people and the towns – it’s such a gift! I definitely like to take those lay days and take advantage to see those places.

AM: You’re sponsored by Hurley, you have a collection coming out in March. What can you tell us about this as you shot this in your home and hometown which seems amazing!

CM: Ahh thank you so much! This is my 3rd collection with them and I couldn’t be more excited as I think that it keeps getting better and better. This one is super sweet because we actually got to partner with a local artist, her name is JT, and her art name is Aloha de Mele. So all of the prints that are incorporated in the collection are from her. So it just felt really synergistic to get to use my platform to also uplift another woman who is from Hawaii and is very talented.

Look her up, her artwork is amazing.

I got to work really closely with the team at Hurley to create designs, patterns and colors that are really important to me as well as silhouettes that are very feminine, very beautiful and flattering, but also super functional. I think that it’s really come together in this line and it’s a quality line. Like you mentioned, we got to photograph the collection at home and we actually did it in my backyard!

AM: Oh nice! We’ve had the pleasure of doing collaborations and there is nothing better than when it’s something that comes from you and your home, your backyard – that is so cool!

CM: Thank you so much! I can’t wait for you to see it. Hopefully there are a couple of pieces that you like from it that you can wear!

AM: Oh yes! I’m sure. Also as fashion stylist, it’s always fun to see items that you can style into shoots that we work on!

CM: Sweet!

AM: Yeah! Obviously at Athleisure Mag, we love things that are functional but when it’s great for transitional wear – life just moves so quickly, you want to be able to be prepared for anything. So I love anything that’s like that!

You had the Red Bull documentary, RISS. A Film About More Love with Carissa Kainani Moore, that talks about you and your life. Why did you want to do this and how does it feel to have your lifestory available so others can get to know more about you?

CM: Thanks for checking it out and bringing it up! I have always wanted to do a fun piece and it was important to me work with a director like Peter Hamblin who had kind of a different eye and an approach to things. It was super fun to work with him, we got really close in the process so it didn’t feel like it was really invasive at all. It was like just hanging out with one of my friends.

I think that those kinds of things, when I’m watching sports docs or sports movies on incredible athletes or athletes that have an inspiring story, it’s cool to see that they’re human, that they’re relatable and they’re tangible. I think that there is something so inspiring about someone being vulnerable and open. I’ve found that through other people sharing their stories. If it can help 1 person that is going through something, that’s the goal. If someone can relate to the story or take one little thing from it, that would be awesome.

AM: I just watched a sports documentary with NBA Legend Bill Russell last night. I’m always watching things like that. It’s great to get to know more about the sport but you get to see it and the person in the time that they grew up in. You then get to see how things have changed or progressive movements, it really lets you realign yourself and think about things in a different way.

CM: Totally!

AM: So when you’re not surfing, how do you take time for yourself?

CM: Number 1 is hanging out with my husband! He’s my pride and joy.

AM: You guys are so cute!

CM: He’s actually right here. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. It doesn’t need to be much. Just hanging out with him and the dogs makes me super happy. My family lives really close to me so my sister, my mom, my dad, my grandparents so being able to check in with them and I still have some friends that are still in town. I think that surrounding myself with good people makes me really stoked and besides doing that, other things that make me stoked and fill up my cup, I started a charitable foundation, Moore Aloha in 2018. So, I spend a lot of time in investing in how to make it grow, grow programs and events that can make a positive impact on the next generation of females which is something that is near and dear to my heart.

AM: Are there projects with Moore Aloha that we should keep an eye out for?

CM: You are so sweet – thank you! I’m in the middle of competing and stuff so the bandwidth is pretty low at the moment. What has been fun is that we’re doing more online things. So we’re doing essay prompts where people are awarded scholarships every month; we just launched our first paid internship program this year; and we just did our 1st 6 week internship program with a former professional surfer Megan Abubo. So being able to connect the dots and create those meaningful mentorship programs for young girls is something that while I’m competing, I’m hoping to do at the same time! When the season is done, I have some really cool fun in person events planned on Oahu and in California. Hopefully, depending on if I make the cut, there’s a cut mid-season, so if you make the cut, you get to do the second half of the season. I would really love to be able to do an event before South Africa.

AM: Wow!

CM: Yeah! So if you want to be able to check anything out, please check out our website Moore Aloha.com.

AM: You’re a fan of scrapbooking. When did you start doing this and how do you approach putting one together creatively?

CM: I started scrapbooking in 2011/2012, but it was pretty close to when I started competing on the tour. You know, you lose more than when you win in this game. I think that for me, It was really important to be able to look back at all of the wonderful things and experiences that I had that still made the trip worthwhile. Because it’s easy to look back at an experience that you didn't win and say, "oh crap, I lost." But in reality, there is so much to be be grateful for and so much to celebrate. So it’s a little bit of time that I get to reflect and to see that we did this, you did that and even though I didn’t get the win, all of these other amazing things happened.

My process is, I don’t know – I get it all out and make a mess with stickers and colors. I get my scissors out and then I just lay out all of the photos and then I slowly just have them fit together like puzzle pieces.

AM: What do you want your legacy to be in the sport and even in life in general?

CM: Oh gosh! My legacy! I think that through my surfing, I want people to feel something. I think that the greatest athletes, at least for me in watching the greatest athletes – you can feel the joy. You can feel that they are having so much fun and love it. In return, it sparks that passion in yourself. I hope that I can leave that feeling with people. Not necessarily the wins, but how did I make them feel. I hope that if I can encourage people to just be kind, loving, patient, understanding and more empathetic with each other – that would be a huge win, you know? It’s like carrying that Aloha spirit. Aloha, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It’s so hard to put into words.

AM: I was just going to ask you if you could put it into words?

CM: Yeah it’s something that I grew up with and It’s engrained in me from my childhood. Just being in Hawaii, it’s how you treat people with this unconditionalness and not wanting anything in return. There’s no judgment, it’s being open and I think that if we can do that more with each other and the world around us, I think that there would be more harmony.

IG @rissmoore10

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | FRONT + BACK COVER, PG 19 + 25 - 28 Hurley | PG 16 + 31 Billabong Pro Pipeline Jan 2023 - World Surf League/Tony Heff | PG 20 + 22 Hurley Sunset Pro Beach Feb 2023 - World Surf League/Brent Bielmann | PG 32 Red Bull |

Read the FEB ISSUE #86 of Athleisure Mag and see RIDING THE WAVE | Carissa Moore in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | PUA MANU CLUB

Founded in 1997, Paradise Helicopters is the leading locally owned and operated provider of air-tour, charter and commercial service flights in Hawai‘i. Paradise is an award-winning, veteran-owned company that is widely recognized for safety practices and exclusive tours that immerse guests in the awe-inspiring natural beauty, history and culture of Hawai'i.

Tours are offered from Kapolei West O‘ahu and Turtle Bay Resort on O‘ahu, Lana‘i, and from Hilo, Waimea and Kona on the Island of Hawai‘i; custom charters are available statewide, and specialty flights on an authentic WWII aircraft are available through Pearl Harbor Warbirds on O‘ahu.

In 2021, Paradise opened up a luxury membership service to the Pua Manu Club that provides VIP amenities and priority access to private flights on its Bell 430 twin-engine helicopter.

This service is across O‘ahu, Maui, Lana‘i and the Island of Hawai‘i. The membership offers guests an exclusive package of benefits on flights, retail, catering and ground activities, as well as helicopter access throughout the year. Luxury SUV ground transportation in West Hawai‘i is included. Membership starts at $40,000 per year.

Guests can sink into comfortable leather seating and enjoy an incredibly smooth ride in Paradise's Bell 430. It is the best choice for island hopping and overwater sightseeing by virtue of its reliability and stability. The Bell 430 also offers the largest cargo capacity of any tour helicopter in Hawai‘i, and seats up to seven guests.

Members enjoy safe and experienced operations, access to Paradise-exclusive landings for statewide excursions, direct transportation between Paradise's network of private terminals and convenient heliports. Automatically check-in en route with heli-side service and no delay in boarding, carbon offsets for each flight with Paradise's Green Your Seat program which supports the reforestation of native trees in Hawai'i, seating of up to 7 guests with enhanced cargo space for 4 golf bags and in-flight beverage and gourmet snacks as well as access to Paradise's private VIP airport lounge. You can arrange for an interpretive guide (such as a world-renowned volcanologist on a visit to Volcanoes National Park), as well as private heliports to minimize wait and travel times.

Guests can use their flight time on custom flights or select from air-tour and charter experiences across their Romance, Cultural, and Malama Collections.

Paradise Helicopters

Kona International Airport

73-341 Uu Street

Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

puamanuclub.com

IG @paradisehelicopters

PHOTOS COURTESY | Pua ManuClub

Read the NOV ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag and see ATHLEISURE LIST | Pua Manu Club in mag.

A WILD RIDE WITH HEIMANA REYNOLDS

Next month the Summer Olympics will take place in Tokyo. While we look forward to seeing a number of our favorites in Track & Field, Swimming and Volleyball, there are a number of sports that will make their debut and skateboarding is one of them! We're excited to catch up with an athlete who has been at the top of his sport for the past couple of years and is an advocate for skateboarding and its community. Heimana Reynolds has showcased his style and creativity at a number of World Championships, X Games and will now take the world's biggest stage in just a few weeks representing Team USA Skateboarding.

We caught up with this Hawaiian native who calls San Diego, CA his home to find out how he got into skateboarding, going pro, the Olympic Trials and the power of recognition.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When we grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, we remember that after school, even though we didn’t skateboard, but we had friends that did. You could see how fun it was. Living here in NY, you see it all the time from a transportation perspective or just people being out having a good time! How were you introduced to the sport?

HEIMANA REYNOLDS: Well, I’m born and raised in Hawaii right? I mean, my state is known as the surfing capital of the world! Originally, my dad he was born and raised as the board sports rider from surfing, skating and snowboard riding when he could. At first, at a young age, he introduced me to surfing. From there, I was very young like 4 or 5 years old and at that age, there are so many variables that have to do with surfing – it’s cold, it’s windy, it’s this and that. So I didn’t fall in love with it at that age. When I was 6 or 7, my dad was like, “ok what’s the next best thing? Skateboarding. Let’s try this." He introduced me to skateboarding and I just fell in love with it. He would take me all day, every day, after school, before school and weekends! It was just history from there you know?

AM: When did you realize you wanted to be an athlete and be a professional skateboarder?

HR: I remember the day that I realized that this was something that I want to be able to do. My very first contest my dad took me to was in California, it’s this contest for all 12 and under skateboarders. He took me out there and I got to meet so many people, I got to compete for the first time and I actually did well for myself even though it was the beginners division! And I actually won a few divisions! I thought, “woah this is cool, this is awesome and I want to be able to do this for the rest of my life!” And hopefully I can! So far so good you know?

AM: You have won so many things from World Championships to being at the X Games and all of these different events. What has that journey been like for you?

HR: Oh my gosh, it’s been amazing! All I can say is that I’m so blessed to be able to travel the world and to meet all of these amazing people and get to do all of this because of skateboarding. Who would have ever thought that I could be traveling the world, I could be competing, I could be winning, I could be making money off of this wooden toy with wheels? You know what I mean? This journey has really been amazing and it’s not done yet! I mean, I’m super excited for Tokyo and it’s going to be the most amazing thing ever.

AM: That is going to be insane! I know you were talking about growing up in Hawaii and you live in California now in San Diego, what’s the skating scene or community like in terms of similarities and differences between where you grew up and where you are now?

HR: Honestly, there are so many similarities and differences. Growing up in Hawaii, I mean the similarities – well the reason why I moved to San Diego is that pretty much it’s the closest thing that’s like being in Hawaii without being in Hawaii. I’m able to still surf and skate every single day. I moved out here mainly because of the skate park and the skate scene out here you know? The cool thing about being out here is that you can stand in a certain area like my house let’s say and point in any direction and I can tell you where the skate park is. I think that is the coolest thing ever because there’s so many skate parks and not only is it about the quantity of skate parks but the quality of skate parks that are out here! Compared to Hawaii, it’s off the charts! Being out here and being able to skate, be at all of these different parks, being able to be out at the entire skateboarding scene out here is honestly the best thing for my skate career.

AM: That’s awesome! What’s an average day like for you when you’re training or doing your tricks? How many hours are you actually on your skateboard?

HR: Haha! Well a normal training day for me would of course be waking up at about 7:15/7:30am, getting out of bed, getting my day started and going straight to the NAKOA Gym where I meet with my personal trainer, Brandon Glade. We run through a bunch of – not so much body-building exercises but building muscle around my joints to prevent injuries. So we do all of those exercises for about an hour. I go home and I get a nice breakfast in me and I go straight to the California Training Facility which is the Olympic Skatepark for us. I go there and my first session will be about usually 3-4 hours just running tricks that I want to work on, trying to learn tricks and hone in on tricks that need work on and I grab some lunch after. Then I go back to the skate park and then I run lines to get my stamina up, to do the tricks that I learned earlier that day or those that I need to work on. Just kind of running my legs together so that’s another 3-4 more hours!

AM: That is definitely a lot! What are the specific workouts that you do to optimize you in your sport as I know you’re focused on building the muscle around joints? Do you have go-to’s that you do?

HR: We’re always changing up a lot of stuff. We do stamina work, we do cardio, we do a lot of agility stuff, landing hard and trying not to land hard on your bones! Also doing lightweight stuff. I don’t know the exact names for everything, but my trainer, he’s awesome! He’s the best in the business in my eyes.

AM: Prior to COVID-19, what was your year like in terms of your competitions just to give people an idea of what your schedule was like and how much you traveled?

HR: Oh my gosh! It was never a dull moment to say the least haha! There was honestly a time before COVID where there was a contest between where it was pretty much every weekend or every other weekend. We were able to travel to China, Brazil and all of these crazy countries and multiple times in that same year! I’d just bring my skateboard along and just kind of go with it. It was so amazing to be able to feel out all of those different cultures and just competing on those weekends. Oh my gosh it was amazing and so much fun. It was definitely strenuous but it was definitely a super amazing ride.

AM: Did you find, because we have been interviewing a number of athletes, that during this time before things started opening up again that in order to keep training and working out, that you had to do weird modifying situations to still stay healthy and on track for what you wanted to be able to do? We talked with Ryan Murphy a few months back and he was pushing his SUV up a hill because he couldn’t get to a gym haha!

HR: Haha yeah! During COVID, it was a crazy time especially being a park skater where you have all these ramps and big concrete – all the skate parks were closed you know? So it was really hard for me to be able to motivate myself. It was really funny, I had to do a lot of my sessions where I was in my living room and literally skating my coffee table and doing tricks off my coffee table and stuff like that! It got down to the point where I had a bunch of cases of Vitamin Water and I literally set them up and I was grinding on them and going over them – it was actually pretty funny!

It was actually a really cool experience to be able to not have to worry about the stress of events and training but to actually fall in love with my skateboard again, you know? It reminded me of when I was 8 years old and I would skate in my driveway for hours on end and just like having fun with literally nothing. I thought it was a really cool experience.

AM: Do you have go-to movements or signature movements that you do when you’re skateboarding?

HR: I do. I have a couple. My main trick that I’m kind of “known” for is called a Frontside Invert and it’s where you go front side up to the coping and you kind of plant your hand on the coping and you kind of do a one handed handstand while holding your board and then bring it back in. That’s one of my favorite tricks and I try to do that in every contest. It’s a super fun one!

AM: It looks awesome and you were in our 9PLAYLIST feature last month and we have that shot as the background of your playlist. That shot looks amazing and it’s impressive, but it must be so hard to be able to do that! Not for you obviously!

HR: It’s a lot of falling down and a lot of getting back up to learn it and to perfect it, you know?

AM: Exactly! What was the Olympic Trial process like and how many events did you have to do to qualify?

HR: The Olympic process was a cool experience, but also there are a lot of similarities and differences compared to contests that we’re used to! There’s a whole new thing with the point system and trying to get as many points as you can because it’s the Olympics and everybody wants to get to it. There are only 3 spots for Team USA, you know? So, we had 3 main events in 2019 and then we had 2 more in 2020 until the postponement and then we had another 2 this year. In 2019, at the first event, I was able to make finals but got 6th place, the next 2 were a Pro Tour event and then the World Championships and I was lucky enough to make the runs that I needed and win those 2 events which really boosted my score a lot leading into 2020 and 2021. Unfortunately, the most recent 2 events, I battled a knee injury and had to pull out of those events, but luckily for me, I had enough points to stay in the top spot and make it to the Games.

AM: Which is amazing! Once again thinking back to growing up seeing our friends skateboard back in the 80’s and 90’s, we couldn’t have imagined that it would be a sport at the Summer Games! How important do you think that this is for the visibility of the sport and then you being a part of the debut of that?

HR: Honestly, just hearing you ask me that question just gave me the chills you know what I mean? The shivers went through my spine because it’s such an amazing thing. First, it’s amazing for the sport to be at the Olympics and I have always thought that it deserved the recognition and that it should be considered a real sport to be at the Olympics. For me to be able to actually compete in the debut of the sport means the world to me. Skateboarding is my entire world. It’s all I’ve ever known and it’s all I ever do. It’s what I’m so passionate about and to be able to make history with skateboarding means so much to me and I’m so honored and blessed to be able to say that I will be in the debut of skateboarding for the Olympics.

AM: It’s so amazing and what are you looking forward to at the Games and what does your schedule look like leading up to heading to Tokyo?

HR: Oh my God – I mean I honestly don’t even know what to expect. I know that there are a lot of guidelines and stuff like that, but I’m really going to be there for the ride and the experience and kind of just making the memories of a lifetime out there!

Leading up to the Games, I am definitely training as much as I can without being injured. I’m just trying to keep my mind and my body healthy. I’m trying to keep my legs warm and I know that there are tricks that I want to be able to do before the Games so I’m honing in on those and not trying to get too crazy learning anything more before the Games. I have my tricks that I want to do and my lines that I want to run and pretty much, just trying to stay healthy and reviewing the park layout and getting ready!

AM: For Olympic Skateboarding, the events are broken out between street style and park style. Can you share the difference between these events?

HR: Of course. When you talk about street skating, automatically you think about the street. You’re skating on the street, but it has a lot to do with what you see around town. Street skaters will be skating stairs, handrails and jumping off of things like that. In park skating, you’re going to see more of ramp style where you see quarter pipes, half pipes, coping and long grinds and it will be really fast and high airs.

AM: In looking at competing in park, can you break down from an Olympic standpoint – how do you accrue points, what are judges looking for? So when we’re cheering you on, we can understand how you’re being scored?

HR: When you’re skating in park, one of the coolest things about park and skateboarding in general is the creativity aspect behind it. So, a lot of the judges are looking for the speed that you’re going at and how fast you’re going, how many tricks they can pull together in their 45 second run, how high their airs are and stuff like that. But it also goes into the creativity aspect. If you’re watching a skate contest, you will never see someone do the same run as another skater. That is the coolest thing because it brings the individuality out of the sport. A lot of the judges are looking for high airs, long grinds, going fast, how many difficult tricks you can pull without falling and the creative aspect of how unique your line was with all the tricks and which ones went back-to-back.

AM: For the Olympics, you have a designated uniform that you have to wear, but do you also have a specific board or shoes that you wear or are you able to choose your own for that?

HR: So yeah, we have the Olympic designed uniforms that we wear, but shoes, boards and helmet go under equipment. So, we can bring our own stuff in for those. I’ll have my The Heart Supply skateboard, I’ll be wearing my Axion Slip On shoes. They’re my favorite shoes and super comfortable – I love them. Also, my helmet will be a black S1 Helmets.

AM: I know that you’re partnered with KT Tape and our readers and followers know the brand and have seen them on athletes such as those in swimming and volleyball and how they use it. How is it beneficial for you when using it in skateboarding and why did you feel that it was a synergistic partnership for you to be aligned with their brand?

HR: In skateboarding and specifically with me, I don’t like to have any restrictions especially with braces and things like that. So, if I hurt my ankle, my knee or my wrist, I don’t want to have this brace that restricts my movement too much and gets in my way with this big bulky brace on my knee. So when I partnered up with KT Tape, they taught me how to tape up my knee, ankle or anything else, it really helped to hold my knee or ankle in place without having to deal with the restrictions of a bulky brace. It was really cool to experience that and to learn how to use the tape. They have a bunch of different stuff. I use the KT Recovery+ Wave that’s this electromagnetic pain relief thing. So if my shoulder is super sore after a long skate session, I’ll tape that thing onto my shoulder and I won’t feel it at all but the next morning I’ll wake up and say, “wow, that really helped a lot!” They also have KT Recovery+ Pain Relief Gel Roll-On and stuff like that. They have a lot of different products that help progress my skateboarding a lot.

AM: It’s always fun to do prep for these interviews and I know you’re in the campaign imagery with Ralph Lauren as well which you have such the look for that. But we also came across the Proper Rideshop. Can you tell us more about this?

HR: Like when I told you earlier about my dad and how he got me into skateboarding, once he realized that this was what I wanted to do – he took into account that if this was something that I wanted to be able to do and that skateboarding would be my life that they would turn their lives into it too! Him and my mom both quit their jobs, got an indoor warehouse, opened a skate shop in the front and a full skatepark in the back. They run camps and clinics to teach skateboarding to the youth. It’s a super cool environment. We have a membership program where we have over 400 members with young kids. We give back to the community and work with some homeschool programs teaching them where this is a form of their PE classes. We work with this program called A.skate Foundation which works with special needs kids in the autistic community. Proper Ride Shop has turned into a full family affair and it’s amazing.

AM: That’s amazing what they do for the community and the fact that you were able to train there while you were growing up!

HR: Yeah that’s true! They opened it up 10 years ago. I’ve been able give back to the community there and then after hours, be there to get training in.

AM: That’s fantastic and because you’re passion for the sport is so evident, in what ways do you give back to the sport and the community?

HR: I teach kids about the sport and I try to go around to help the kids of the next generation. Proper Rideshop is a really cool thing to give back to the community. Once, I was part of the next generation and people gave back to me and now that I’m in that next generation, I want to see the younger generation just strive and help them become what I did. I love giving back to the community.

AM: When you’re not skateboarding, what would we find you doing when you’re just taking time for yourself?

HR: When I’m not skating, I like to be in the ocean. Whether it’s surfing, fishing – especially back at home. I’m always going to be in the ocean because that’s my little zen mode. I grew up surfing and skateboarding my entire life so if I’m not at the skate park, I’m definitely surfing.

AM: We love talking to people that are changemakers that inspire other people. Who are 3 people that have helped you in your career where you are whether you know them personally or follow them socially?

HR: Oh man. The first one that comes to mind is definitely Shaun White! He has been a huge inspiration to me since I was a young kid just watching him at the X Games skateboarding and snowboarding. I knew of the time and dedication that he took whether he was on or off his board. It really just made me see what was out there and made me want to push and be the best that I could be. It’s actually really cool. During the beginning of the Olympic Trials for skateboarding, he was like, “I want to start skating again and do this." From there, I used to see him at the skate park a bunch and I was like, “woah that’s Shaun White, I looked up to him as a little kid.” We actually built a relationship together and I’m able to call him up and go skate anytime I want! It's a really cool thing to be able to do that and to have him as a good friend of mine. He’s an amazing human.

Another person that really inspires me and I know that it might sound cliché, but my dad really inspires me a lot. He was the person who taught me what hard work is and the person that pretty much paved the way for me and taught me every life lesson that I know. He’s the one that pushed me when I wanted to quit and he helped me get back up and he is definitely one of the biggest inspirations in my life.

As a skateboarding standpoint, Tony Hawk – of course he’s been a huge inspiration to me. Not only is he probably the biggest name in skateboarding, he also opened up the doors to show that you don’t have to just be a skateboarder. He designed his own game, he gives back to the community, he travels the world and he gives skateboards to little kids. He is one of the most amazing human beings and he has inspired me my entire life.

IG @Heimana_Reynolds

PHOTOS COURTESY | KT Tape + Ralph Lauren

Read the JUN ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see A Wild Ride with Heimana Reynolds in mag.

CATCHING WAVES WITH COCO HO

We've always enjoyed watching surfing as athletes catch each of the waves and make maneuvers that push space and time. We had the chance to catch up with Coco Ho a few weeks after her recent performance at World Surf League in California. As a member of the Hawaiian surfing dynasty family, her lineage includes her late uncle Derek Ho, who was the first Native Hawaiian to win the world championship at the age of 29. Her father, Michael Ho also grew the sport by winning the Hawaiian Triple Crown, The Duke Classic, The World Cup and the 1982 Pipe Masters. Her brother, Mason Ho is also a pro surfer.

We caught up with Coco from Oahu's North Shore to talk about her effortless style at 5'2", her focus on growing her empire within and outside of the sport as well as her passion for the ocean.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’re excited to have you in this month’s issue. We actually saw you at the World Surf League’s a few weeks back in California. You come from this amazing Hawaiian surfing dynasty with your dad being Michael Ho, your uncle Derek Ho and your brother, Mason Ho. What was the moment when you realized that you wanted to join surfing as well and then to compete professionally?

COCO HO: I probably didn’t recognize it until I was about 8 or 9 and I was already surfing because that’s what you do when you’re growing up in Hawaii. I was surfing with my brother after school and then all of a sudden, I recognized their power and then got super consumed into the sport and their accomplishments. I kind of already drew parallels and said, “I want to go to Australia with them” and I definitely used them as my mirror of what I wanted to be.

AM: That’s insane to be so young and to know at that moment. Do you remember the first time that you were on a surf board? Was it strange for you or because you were seeing all of these people surf, that you just felt like, “yeah this is what we do?”

CH: My dad played it so cool with us when we were kids. He was so consumed in his career so it wasn’t a focused effort on us. It became a natural thing. Thankfully, I had a big brother where I was able to follow his lead and that’s kind of how I learned how to surf – just with Mason. And then, once my dad kind of paused and looked, he was like, “wait, my kids really like it.” He started giving us his time and his tips. It was never from him like, I’m surfing and I need to make sure that my kids are surfing too.” It was very natural and I think that that’s why it was so successful.

AM: Wow, that’s really cool and because of the accolades that you have received and the way that you have been able to dominate in the sport, what is the legacy that you want to leave behind in terms of surfing?

CH: I think that the most important thing is that our family just oozes the love of the sport. It’s a true passion with my dad and with Derek who were over 50 and still surfing – the best that they have ever surfed in their lives. So I think it’s definitely about a pure love for surfing and obviously, Mason and I are coming in as more of a lineage to show and draw inspiration from family, friends and cousins. It’s just a really tight bond and strong love for the sport and for each other.

AM: How would you define your surfing style?

CH: I would describe it as definitely effortless. I don’t mean for it to look effortless, but sometimes I wish it wasn’t ha. As a competitor, you need to show that grit and grunt. So a little effortless, but hopefully very strong and graceful.

AM: You do make it look so effortless and as someone who is surfing competitively, how does one go about winning this sport? Many of our readers know this sport and have seen it, but how do you accrue points and how do you know when you have won versus someone else?

CH: Yeah, I think it’s pretty broad. Speed, power and flow are a big part of that and wave maneuvers are another part as well. Wow factor is huge too. It’s pretty vague and can be anything. In my career, I have noticed that being a little smaller and sometimes making it look too easy or that I’m not trying, but I’m technically doing harder things – it’s kind of been my downfall as it’s not being recognized in terms of what I’m doing. So I’ve been learning that and just to make everything look bigger because I am only 5’2”. So that’s why on certain beaches with bigger waves, from girls that are larger then me, it may look like their maneuvers are more powerful as they are bigger then me. But I am exerting the same power and technical ability.

AM: We don’t know if we’re using the right terminology, but when we’re watching you surf through what looks like a water tunnel, how does it feel? Is it like time stops – what is going on for you when you’re in that moment?

CH: Oh yeah that’s the barrel and it’s TOTALLY a water tunnel! It’s like a silent/loud moment where time definitely does stop and it’s just the best feeling in surfing hands down. It feels like slow motion.

AM: What is the surf season like typically? Is it a year round sport because you can go to other locations and then obviously as we’re all dealing with this COVID-19 situation, are there upcoming events that you are training for that we can keep an eye out for?

CH: Surfing is 100% a year around sport. I have never actually experienced a break ever in my life until I started dating a snowboarder and I was so confused how he could take the summer off and I was like, “you can’t snowboard for a month or two?” That was like foreign to me! We have so many elements with our sport like paddling and those are things that you kind of lose if you take a month off, but in the same sense, I found that there are a lot of positives to taking even a week off. You come back so fresh and excited. It’s year around and in Hawaii, you don’t even have to leave the island and you’re going to get waves – year around. I know that some places it’s hard for them to be year around, but everyone can travel and that’s what makes it so beautiful. During COVID-19. I never stopped, I never stopped training because I wanted to be at my best, I can still film and I can always still work. Through COVID-19. I never felt any less motivation because we’re always filming. My brother is a very big YouTuber so I hopped into a lot of his projects which is very nice because I’m kind of more the competitor and he’s the free surfer guy. It’s cool to be able to experience his world.

AM: Do you have certain workouts that you do that benefit you in the sport of surfing?

CH: Definitely. Nothing beats practice in the water. I definitely learned that after my knee injury that it is also important to maintain everything that supports the knees. I train with my boyfriend’s Olympic coach and we have been doing that on Zoom since April 1st about 2-3 times a week so it has been very beneficial for me. He changes it up and does things for my core, my legs. I think that I’m strong in my shoulders and then we will do something and I’m like woah – what is that? It’s good to do everything for surfing because we paddle and we hit it all – core, back.

AM: You also have your own fragrance line, Pirette Beach. Tell us more about this and why did you want to launch this?

CH: This is such a fun project. The flagship scent already existed before I became a part of the brand and it’s interesting because I already had it and loved it. It was in my purse and I had already gotten it as a gift. Years later, the brand was doing so well without marketing and a large team as ours is skeletal. I became a co-owner and it's awesome. It came at such a good time and I was already looking at other options in surfing besides the jersey and fashion was obviously one of them. But beauty and taking care of our skin was top notch. It fell into my lap and now it’s my baby!

AM: Last year, you became the Global Footwear Ambassador for REEF. So what is it about the brand that you felt was synergistic with you and what does this partnership look like?

CH: My thing about REEF is obviously the legacy that we have had with my late uncle Derek who was on REEF as a World Champ. So obviously, that was special to me. My brother is also a part of the team. Moving forward, it’s still such a lifestyle beach brand that represents surfing and this lifestyle so well and actually represents it the best! I want to make sure that everything that I represent is the best and having REEF and Pirette Beach doing that is important to me.

AM: You have been directing people to shop from your REEF picks. What is it about the assortment of shoes that you’re highlighting and want people to get that you embrace?

CH: My 3 choices involved my goal of traveling. You can’t really bring everything and look cute at night or be at the beach. My whole goal was to make it easy and to look cute for every time of day that you’re booked. I did a casual white slide that can go from the morning heading out to the beach to at night with a cute top and a cute skirt. I tried to make everything look day to night. My favorite was a wedge platform and it kind of spiced every outfit up. Sometimes, you feel weird to dress up and I love that this shoe did that so casually and cute.

AM: How do you give back to the surfing community?

CH: I have done a lot of things in the past with the Boys & Girls Community in Hawaii. That was a lot of fun. You can surf, chat and I think giving time is the most important thing. As a little girl, I liked to be able to go and to look at my heroes, touch them and I was fortunate to be able to do that. I was under the reign of a lot of the older pro surfers. So that was my goal with the Boy & Girls Club to sit in their classrooms and to interact with them. Let them ask questions, teach me games they want to play and let their goals and dreams spiral and blossom as they hang out with me.

Lately, with all of the ways of the world and where it’s going, I have been involved with Surfrider Foundation and trying to use my platform to help the environment, awareness and it’s such a crazy time. I thought we were doing so well and now we need to circle it all back.

AM: That’s awesome. We love Surfrider Foundation’s Long Beach chapter with their initiatives to clean up the beach and to get people involved.

CH: They are so consistent!

AM: For our changemakers, we know that you inspire a number of people within and outside of your sport. We always like knowing who are 3 people that have gotten you to where you are in life?

CH: I have my family as I have explained! I think the pro surfer women that I have gotten to know and love and admire since I was 10 years old is Rochelle Ballard and Megan Abubo. They gave me that model to hang out with the generation below me and to be there and present with them. That’s how I am now here in the North Shore. I hang out with every little girl. They have done a huge number on who I am today.

Thinking huge, Beyoncé. She’s been such an inspiration in terms of how to structure your career, be vulnerable, be honest and that’s what gets people to be able to believe in you and to know who your are.

I've been obsessed with her since I was 16. I have mimicked and copied how she has gone about dropping her collections or a cool interview. I model a lot of my big career goals and interviews off of her.

Lastly, I would say, Maria Sharapova and I would say that when I was 17, I realized that she showed how you could be so strong and yet feminine. That you could also do a number of things in terms of collaboration, fashion etc. That you don’t have to be ashamed to wear heels and that you can be a bad ass athlete and still into fashion.

IG @xococoho

Hear Pro Surfer, Coco Ho on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! Make sure to subscribe to find out when the episode drops. You can hear it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast.

Read Athleisure Mag’s Sept Issue #57 and see Catching Waves with Coco Ho in mag.