She Is the Ocean (2018) - full transcript

[Keala]
Everybody hopes that
their life means something.

I hope that I've at least
inspired women

to pursue their dreams no matter
what anybody says.

All my life I'm hearing
'Oh, girls can't surf.

Girls can't get barreled.

They can't surf pipeline.'

Every time they would tell me
I couldn't do something

and it just put like a fire on
me to like prove them wrong.

'It is time to introduce
our host

for this evening's double XL.

It's a big year, people!



And we're here to celebrate you,

the men and the women

of the Big Wave World Series.'

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

"This is a real special year,
people!

This is the first time that
a woman

is up to challenge the man

in a barrel competition!"

"The winner is...

Keala Kennelly."

[Keala]
"I really, really wanna
thank everybody

in my life that told me
"You can't do that

because you're a woman!"



I've never been so proud
in my life

to be a woman than
I am tonight."

[crowd cheering]

I was born in Ohio in 1954.

[Bruce]
When I got out of high school,
my dream was to go

on some move to the north shore
of Oahu.

And began to try
and realize a dream

of becoming a pipeline master.

And that I wanted to win the
Pipeline Master's.

But I never did.

I never realized my dream.

She's better than me.

She's not my character.

She's a competitor.

She's more of a competitor
than I ever was.

[Bruce]
Cinta, time to wake up.

Come on, roll over.

Ohh, how fast!

[Bruce]
My daughter was born in Bali.

Johnny Atty Love Hansel
Aka Chinta.

"Cinta" means "love"
in Indonesian language.

Cinta's started surfing
in 7 years old

but she had an accident
with the board

and the fin hit her head

and she didn't want
to surf again.

She'd stopped.

It kinda broke my heart.

[♪♪♪]

Two years later she goes surfing
with her friend

and she comes back after riding
a longboard and says:

"Dad, can you please make me
another board?

I wanna surf,
I wanna be a surfer."

[♪♪♪]

[Bruce]
What's your dream?

What kind of waves
do you wanna ride

in the future?

Eh... Pipe.

Pipeline!

Are you sure?

-It's a killer!
-Um-hum.

You're gonna be brave.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Oh!

I've never seen anybody learn

how to surf so quickly.

I took her out one day when it
was solid 5-foot

beach break which is really
pounding.

I said: "Cinta, here comes
the set

and I'll take your leash off
and throw your board away.

I want to see you swim to
the beach.

And she did.

And I was just terrified!

Cause she didn't know
how to swim!

She proved to me that she had
become a swimmer

without me even
watching her how to swim!

[♪♪♪]

And then she came to me
and said: "Dad,

I wanna go to Kuta and do the
Magic Wave com[petition]."

I said: "Whoa, really?

You really wanna do that?!"

And so she twisted my arm,
went down there and did it,

and that's the beginning
of the competition.

[host]
And the winner is Chinta!

[cheering]

[Bruce]
And then when she actually won
her first competition.

Oh, there's on,

now she just wants more and more
and more and more and more.

I wanna be a world champion.

A good surfer, be the best

and a professional surfer.

Ladies and gentlemen,
number 4, Coco Ho.

[audience cheering]

[crowd hooting]

'Oh god.

I thought I was a gold medal
but whatever.

[laughing]

I have a few career victories
and being just 23

I feel like I still have
a lot of time and the dream

is not over yet.

Number 3, Coco Ho.

[crowd cheering]

Yeh, still wanna be there,
and number one.

[commentator 1]
It's gonna be Coco Ho taking the
first ride in the state.

Coco did that first turn

really drawing it out again.

[commentator 2]
Yeah, first wave was just
picture-perfect from Coco Ho.

[Coco]
You know we saw one
of the barrels of the day.

Professional surfing has grown
so much since I've been

on tour 7 years now.

And in the beginning
it was so fun.

[indescribable speech]

And now in this day
and age it's hard,

everyone's watching you.

[indescribable speech]

You win but watching you
lose it's hard to hide

your tears when little
girls are looking up to you.

Also your personal life is
so out there nowadays.

And it's hard to just have that
security and that safety.

And just not share your whole
life with everyone

but make your fans happy.

It's a crazy balance nowadays.

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
Fame can definitely bring a lot
of terrible traits.

A lot of professional surfers
come from Hawaii

and hit that fame.

But no matter how famous
or successful

you were across the ocean
you come home

and it's simple,
it's pure and it's reality.

I think it's something about
coming back to your friends,

and your family
and it's all still how it was.

So they don't let you get father
than you should you know,

it's just be back to your home,

back to your jean shorts
and T-shirt

and staying
at the beach all day.

[♪♪♪]

I'm home and I'm happy.

And I'm not traveling.

I push my suitcase faraway
from my vision

and I just surf.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

My family is like number one

and everyone has such good
experience here,

from my brother to my dad,
my uncle Derek.

I just learned of their hits,
I always watch their hits.

Now everybody's here watching me
and it's super fun.

[Coco]
Being the only girl there

definitely created my character,

all the men in my life
have this extra

and it's so special to me
cause I could do it alone

but I'm just lucky

cause I have like that little
bit of extra love

and extra support
and you're free to roam

and to explore your strength.

Hi, this is Coco Ho.

If you think the boys are
ripping, check out the girls.

[kids giggling]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
The first time I realized that
connection with the ocean,

I had that first love
with it was

when I went surfing before
school, it was really early.

It was just my dad and
I and the most fun waves.

Everything was connecting
and making sense to me.

The first thing my dad taught me
was all about the ocean

and how important it is

before you learn how to paddle,

before you learn how to stand up
and surf you need to know

every part of the ocean
and how powerful it is.

I use my wave knowledge
to the best of my ability

everywhere in the world.

My dad still comes and watches
me surf and practice.

It makes me feel like a kid
again almost.

It brings me back to the
beginning

and yeah I feel so much
support

and love from him
when he's standing

on the beach watching.

[♪♪♪]

The tattoo on my hand
is the crucifix.

To me it's a constant reminder
as I'm paddling that

someone always is sacrificing
more than you.

So it's like don't give up,
don't stop, keep going.

[host 2]
Here is Coco Ho...

[crowd cheering]

[host 3]
Congratulations!

Coco Ho taking the wave

at Parml Mature
Super Go Pro.

[Coco]
If you're just surfing
for the fun of it

or surfing to be a world
champion, it's about the balance

and it's about trusting the
ocean and trusting yourself.

Being a woman in the ocean
will always be one

of the most beautiful things.

And just see that
and embrace that

and let it reflect
and show its beauty through.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[Bruce]
You have to, really,
speak from your heart, Cinta.

How do you feel about the ocean?

How does the ocean make
you feel?

[♪♪♪]

When I go into the ocean
I forget about all the stress,

I relieve everything,
and all comes out,

and I can actually

just focus on surfing.

and when I come out
of the water I feel clean.

How do you feel?

-Same.
-Same...

Yeah.

Looking at perfect waves is like

looking at beautiful flower,
so...

It's a gift of nature,
yeah.

[♪♪♪]

[Bruce]
I think, Cinta right now...

she doesn't understand all
these emotional things

that we feel.

[♪♪♪]

She's still young, so, I mean,
for her surfing

in the ocean is more
performance-related.

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
I definitely feel more
comfortable

and graceful underwater than
I do above water.

I spend more time with the
sharks than I do, like,

with my human family

which I've very happy about.

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
I grew up with the traditional
Hawaiian values

which are very very strong
respect for the ocean

and a strong respect
for the mano.

Mano is a Hawaiian for shark.

And here we respect the mano
as an 'aumakua.

'Aumakua is like a spirit
or guardian, like a part

of your ohana or your family.

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
I think I was seven or eight
the first time I saw a shark

and I was instantly just
completely enamored,

just infatuated,
and I thought that

they were incredible and perfect
and nothing else moves

like them in the ocean.

[♪♪♪]

I've been diving with sharks
for over 15 years.

I have to say that they have not
stopped impressing me.

And I learn more and more.

I appreciate them more
and more and more.

The first one, and it's gonna to
be your first rule actually,

your safety rule,
is eye contact.

I don't want you to act
like zebras.

Zebras face one direction.

You need to look around.

And not just the six beautiful
sharks in front of you

but maybe the 12 or 15 coming up
behind you,

right?

So please look around.

Seeing sharks
in their natural form versus

seeing them depicted as monsters
on a TV screen,

it's completely different
and I totally understand why

people would be terrified
of them because if all you ever

saw was the movie "Jaws"
or the way that they are

mis-portrayed in most media

then I completely understand
why people would be afraid,

however, it's not the truth.

[indescribable speech]

That's why I enjoy sharing
the natural beauty

of the animals with people every
single day.

[♪♪♪]

99% of people that get
on the boat with me

in the morning are scared
and nervous.

And if you ask them what do you
know about sharks

they would probably say
something like they have teeth.

And that's it.

[♪♪♪]

I don't think that
it's necessary to start out

in a cage,

I just think that it's necessary

to start out with respect.

[♪♪♪]

Haphen, Domino..

Imagine floating out

in deep blue, blue, blue.

And you seeing this beautiful
animal 450 million years

of evolutionary perfection

just gliding around you.

People call me the shark whisper
but I feel like

I whisper to the people

and the sharks whisper to me,

not that I whisper to them.

I listen to the sharks,
I watch the sharks,

I respect the sharks and I let
them do what they want.

I don't control them,
they are animals wild

and they deserve to be.

But I do try to control
the humans

because we're just visitors.

[♪♪♪]

Replacing fear with fascination,

you know, fear with information,

so that you can empower people.

When a person knows what to do
when they are suddenly

approached by a shark instead
of panicking

and swimming away and splashing
on the surface

like an injured animal

or evoking a certain response
on the animal

..instead they're going to look
around like a predator,

they gonna face the sharks,
and they gonna slowly move out

of their territory.

Interacting with these
massive sharks

and just getting to lock eyes
with them

and you can really see that
level of intelligence.

And they're like you:
up and down.

Like you really get to realize

that there's someone
in there and

it's really need to
experience that.

[♪♪♪]

[Coco]
The very first time I was
actually out

of the cage with
a great white shark

and I was specifically studying
a shark body language.

[♪♪♪]

Every single muscle movement
means something and

so every single muscle
movement from you

means something.

[♪♪♪]

We can peacefully coexist
and actually they're not

mindless man-eating machines.

How many millions and millions
of people go

in the ocean every single day.

If they wanted to eat us
they could.

[♪♪♪]

They are individuals and
so it's great

to spend time with the sharks
and get to know

them as individuals.

There is a number
of individual sharks

that I've known year after year.

It's kind of heartbreaking
when you don't see an animal

for a while and you wonder
what's going on!

Because these animals have
so much risk to swim

in the oceans.

They could be killed
the fisherman and wrapped up

in a net

or die from ingestion
of plastics.

Sometimes I see the individual
tiger sharks that I know

they come back and they've got
a big hook.

Their jaws broken open
or they've got stuff

wrapped around them.

And I love that
I'm in a position

where I can help them.

I know the sharks better
than I know

many people I wanna see them
every year.

I wanna know that they're
continuing to exist,

just like how you would protect
your own family.

In six years maybe another

600 million sharks
will have been killed.

And what was my impact really
in the world to publish a paper

or to let all these beautiful
animals who had given to me

so much and spend
so much time with

was I not going to
share my voice.

[Coco]
I've created a platform that
will help support other

researchers who want to get
really quality science,

conservation based science.

I mean science that can be
applied to benefit the community

both above water
and below the water.

Every single dive I feel

a stronger sense to continue
to speak up

and help to spread that.

And especially right now.

We killing rhinos and elephants.

I mean nobody needs a rhino's
horn except for a rhino.

Nobody needs an elephant's tusks
except for an elephant.

And the same thing nobody really
needs a shark's fin

except for a shark.

And we do need sharks
in the ocean where they belong.

We all rely on the ocean.

[♪♪♪]

We have one ocean, one planet
and one chance.

And everyone has a choice

and how they play into that.

What kind of impact
you're going to make?

Are you going to be part
of the solution that helps it

and conserves it and protects it
or are you going to be

a single-use plastic straw

that gets thrown and blows out
and kills a turtle?

[♪♪♪]

You have a choice
every single day.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[Bruce]
I have 3 daughters and I don't
have a son

and Chinta from the beginning
has been like a tomboy.

She loves climbing trees,
falling out of them,

riding bikes, falling off
of them,

skateboarding, falling down and
nothing stops her

from doing any of these things.

Now that she is getting a bit
older, she's very feminine

on land doing all the little
girly stuff

but, wow, throw her
in a competition and watch out.

[♪♪♪]

[Chinta]
My dad teach me this thing that

I'm going against people that
are better than me.

Just don't think I'm going
against them,

just think about I'm going
against myself.

Beating myself's like being
better than I used to be.

Sometime I cry but my dad will
always

make me feel better, that just
learn from the mistake

and do better.

[overlapping speech]

[man 1]
Cinta!

Are you nervous?

[host 4]
And the champion is...

Cinta!

[crowd cheering]

Thank you all:
the sponsors, my dad,

everybody thank you very much.

[crowd cheering]

[♪♪♪]

[Anna]
My highest dive was
of 24,5 meters.

I don't have a limit that I say
I wouldn't go

higher than that.

It's also not my goal to go
higher and higher.

My goal is to make

the dives perfect.

[♪♪♪]

Maybe I'm not the strongest,
maybe

I'm not the one that jumps
highest or that turns fastest.

But I can try to be the most
beautiful in the air.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[Anna]
The body control I have now

is comes from early childhood

and what helped me a lot
for making nice lines I think

it's gymnastics and ballet.

I had Russian coaches.

They were Olympians,

actually the same Olympics
that my mom.

And they taught us being
elegant

and this was something
I was focusing on.

My mom was always a huge
inspiration

for me since I've been young,

because I always saw these
pictures.

She was a gymnast, she was
so passionate for sports.

[♪♪♪]

I'm very proud of my family.

My grandmother,
she's a very central person

for our family.

[laughing]

[♪♪♪]

I have brothers, I have sisters.

We grew up with this pleasure
for moving.

Since childhood we were always
around waters,

wherever we went, we just,
you know, every free time

we went to the pools
or the lakes.

Maybe we swam before
we knew how to walk.

I feel very comfortable,
I'm really not scared.

There was no life without water
for us,

no way, no way.

[host 5]
Anna Bader, from Germany.

Anna Bader.

[crowd cheering]

My first competition was in 2005
in Switzerland

and I was just the only woman.

The guys had their competition.

It was new for them too.

[speaking in foreign language]

[Anna]
I did let's say demonstration
jump

or an exhibition dive
for the media.

And was always like a big deal:
'Oh', Well what did they call me

like: 'Oh, she's the bravest
girl in Germany!'.

And those kind of things.

It was funny.

But I was like: Man,
this is boring,

I want to compete.

[yelling]

[blowing whistle]

[Anna]
And then bit by bit it started
to happen.

I'm very glad that I was able to
experience

like the beginning of this sport
and even to promote it

and make it bigger.

[speaking in foreign language]

I visualize the dive.

I try exactly to understand how
it's supposed to feel,

what should I see in the air

and what do I have to do.

Just to have it clear
in my mind what I'm about to do.

Then I take it apart.

I just practice one part
and one dive

and then the next part
and maybe even the third part.

And in my mind I'm trying
to put these like

parts of the dive together,
like a puzzle.

You come to a competition
and you haven't really done this

dive as one dive.

So then you have to put it
together

and be strong enough to really
do what you've practiced.

Body and mind are working
by themselves.

[crowd cheering]

[blowing whistles]

[speaking in foreign language]

It's a moment of focus,
just so much focus.

Because, you know,
you can't do mistakes.

It's a high impact sport.

There is a risk.

You cannot fail,
so you really have to focus 100%

and this is a very intense
moment.

If you enter the water and you
don't have the good angle,

it's really very dangerous.

You can break bones,
you can tear things,

you can sprain ankles,

and possibly worse things.

We know about it,
but then you have to

modify your thoughts
in a positive way.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

And if I feel like I don't get

this positive feeling,

I can't transform it into
something that makes me

want to jump off,

then I don't do it.

Step back, go to prepare again

and then you go up
once you feel comfortable,

once you can say okay...

I've practiced enough,

I want to do it more than not,
you know.

If you feel this
and ready to do this,

then you can go.

Recently I had a big change
in my life

because I'm pregnant.

And I'm extremely happy
about that.

This is like totally new thing
for me because during

the last decades of my life
I was like in charge.

And now it's like nature
takes over.

Once you're pregnant your body
is on autopilot.

There is nothing you can do,
it has its own rhythm.

It changes your perspective.

Ok, I'm going to be a mother.

That's perfect.

But it won't change who I am.

Like I'd still be a lot outside.

I'd still be moving a lot.

I'm very very independent.

I have a lot of ideas.

I like to be attached.

I love my family very much.

But I need my freedom.

Life opens a lot
of opportunities for you.

You just have to be there
and see them and grab them.

And then you really need to be
courageous and brave to say

'Ok, this is what I want'.

I gonna try this.

No matter, if in the end
it's not a good idea,

or it fails
or there are risks.

Just go for it because
you feel like.

[♪♪♪]

[laughing]

[Bruce]
Chinta is 12 years old now and

so she's sprouting up,
getting a lot taller,

her body's changing.

She's becoming a young woman.

[♪♪♪]

Boys are flirting with her,

she's getting messages
on Instagram,

she's got fans
and followers.

I'm preparing myself for it.

I can't own a shotgun here
but I got a big machete.

[laughing]

I'm enjoying watching her grow
up into a teenager

and a young woman.

It goes hand
in hand with surfing.

[♪♪♪]

[Chinta]
Next year

I wanna go to compete

in the competition
against better girl

and my dream is also to surf
in Hawaii,

like around Hawaii,
like Pipe

and I have a plan,

like when I'm older,

I wanna compete like around
the world.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

The other day I was looking
into my life

I had this need to move.

I was thinking about
this migration of birds...

they need to move,
like, long distances...

and they have this need.

And this happens always
in my life.

For different reasons I was
living in Germany

and then went back to Chili
and then moved to Italy,

moved to Spain,
and moved to India,

and moved to Thailand
and came here.

So for me was never meant
to be

a last stop.

To build my own home?

I don't know...

I don't have the need.

Maybe it'll happen
in the very future.

I'm not picturing anything
in the future.

I'm just at the moment try to
focus on the present.

[Rose]
I love to be alone.

I enjoy very much my time alone.

Sometimes because I'm unhappy
with myself

and I have something
to work with.

I like to sit and meditate,
I like to do my yoga practice.

I think I need my moments
of being with myself a lot.

I like to start my day
at the sea.

I go for a walk around
the beach.

It's so beautiful because it
changes also everyday,

same as us.

we're different everyday.

I was just always living
by the sea

but I've never thought about
going inside or look around.

When I moved to Koh Tao,
my friend showed me

a mask.

I've never done snorkeling even,
nothing.

[♪♪♪]

[Rose]
When I was swimming with that
mask I just could

see all these beautiful fish
and all this coral

and all this marine life,

and it was like a door
that opened.

It was just a different
dimension or a different path.

[♪♪♪]

I felt that I was home.

I have found home.

And it was the ocean.

And for me the interesting
thing was a connection

between freedom and you,

that connection about

this present moment and mind,

where you can really focus
on yourself.

[♪♪♪]

When you holding the breath
there is something special.

There is something that
your whole body and soul

get to a different stage
of awareness.

Because it's your life that you
are holding for a second.

And that brings you in.

That brings your light here.

[♪♪♪]

That took me into free diving.

Not really a sport or like.

I started enjoying later about
in a year, probably,

going deep.

At first drive was healing.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

We all have fears
in different place

of our life.

Some fears we are aware of
and some fairs

we are not aware of.

Free diving is a great way to
work your fears.

We are in the moment
of challenge, we decide to keep

on going or to go back.

And normally our minds find
excuses:

Oh, no, this is too cold
or this is too deep.

[♪♪♪]

But once you get over that fear

all the Universe
open the doors for you.

I was always scared to break
bones, because,

you know, with my dancing
I've break

so many bones...

and I feel so safe
in the water.

[♪♪♪]

You have no gravity...

You can do all the things you
may not be

able to do in the air...

Nothing can happen...

it's like a mother
and it's embracing you!

[♪♪♪]

I will never stop dancing.

It is something that takes with
you, you don't choose anymore.

It's part of you.

So I dance whatever I am!

If I'm in the air I will dance
in the air, if I'm

in the water I will dance
in the water!

You are somewhere
and you gonna start move.

And this is a way you feel...

life!

[♪♪♪]

I love to be a woman!

I love to be a woman
and I enjoy to be a woman!

I think this feminine energy is
needed right now.

This world has a chance to heal.

Not more exitizm,
not more competition.

It's just loving and caring,

and embracing that the world
need, that we all need.

[♪♪♪]

I dream place with people
doesn't hurt other people,

and people doesn't hurt animals,
and we are

taking care of each other,
we can trust each other,

we can look at people's eyes
and say 'I love you'

without thinking
what's he gonna think

or she gonna feel...

that we can speak the truth!

[Bruce]
Cinta keeps saying that she
wants to surf pipeline.

That terrifies me.

Sometimes I drop her off
in the waves-- they are, like,

solid five feet.

[♪♪♪]

For me, coming from Hawaii,
when I say five feet,

it's like double overhead.

It's like triple overhead
for her.

[♪♪♪]

And it's big, it's scary,
it's gnarly.

And I get a bit nervous leaving
her there, but I do.

[♪♪♪]

I have to let her go.

I can't just be the blanket
on her

or protector all the time.

[woman 1]
It was always really respected
if you could charge

the big waves.

I really wanted to be respected
by the guys

and I wanted to accept me like
one of them.

It was hard to get the respect
in the beginning.

They look at you like
"Oh, you're a girl,

you're not gonna go..."

So it took a while to gain that
respect from the boys.

[♪♪♪]

I grew up in Hawaii
and I grew up in the ocean

and around the ocean.

I had two brothers
and I was the middle child

so I just assumed that I was
another boy and, like,

they had to explain to me:
No-no, you're a girl, like,

it's different!"

I've been super bummed out coz
being a girl meant you couldn't

a lot of stuff.

I just wanted to do all the
stuff the boys are doing!

I grew up with like Andy
and Bruce Irons

and guys like Kala Alexander
and Laird Hamilton

and Titus Kinimaka
and all these are, like, really,

like, tough macho-guys around.

So these were kinda
my role-models,

I looked up to these guys.

[♪♪♪]

When I started getting attention
for being good at surfing

it made me, like, really proud
of myself, you know.

And I know it was something that
made my father

really proud of me.

And it felt really good to win
competitions

and give me just like a sense
of self-worth.

[♪♪♪]

[moderator]
"Welcome day number 3....

Pipe pro 2015".

[Keala]
When I got on the tour
and tried to get sponsors

and stuff they really wanted you
to be a lot more feminine

so I kind of, like,
tried to be that for them,

for impress the sponsors.

So I think I tried that
for a lot of years to kind of

be something I was not
and I was really unhappy.

I wasn't being honest.

That felt horrible.

I came really close to winning
World title at one point.

I kinda feel like

I was never really gonna win
the World title

and she would always find
a way to...

"No, she's not gonna be
good for women surfing!.."

So, I never really thought I was
gonna win that World title

because of who I am.

I was trying to play the game

but you can't play the game
forever,

it'll eat your soul...

The money started to not be
as important

as just being honest.

[♪♪♪]

Finally I got to point
where I just

stopped trying for the people
and just decided

to be myself, and I cut my hair
and I felt much better.

[♪♪♪]

[Keala]
When you're being true
to yourself,

people have to respect that.

They may not necessarily agree
with it but when you're, like,

being true to yourself,
people respect you.

I have too many interests.

I like to many things you know.

I like nature and surfing
and beach

but I like cities, bars,

cool restaurants
and people, you know..

I love music.

I love sharing music.

It makes you feel something
and I love that

and I love to give that
to other people...

You shouldn't give to get back.

You shouldn't give with
expectation what you gonna get.

You should just give
and be happy that you have made

somebody else happy.

I live very in the moment
and I get by.

So..I just wanna keep doing
stuff that I love.

[♪♪♪]

That was a very big moment
for me...

to go back to Tahiti

to the place where
I had such

an awful injury

and basically destroyed my face.

And it actually took me almost
two years to go back

and overcome that fear
and then triumph

and get the best way
of my life...

I mean it was just a really
special moment for me

in my life.

I saw the swell coming and I it
was like

"If I don't go now,

If I don't chase this swell,
If I don't do this,

I... I'm never...

I'll talk myself out of it...
forever.

I need to go face my fear
and I need to do this."

[crowd cheering]

Something about conquering your
fear that is just so empowering.

[crowd cheering]

Fearless is ignorant.

Fearless isn't brave.

Brave is being afraid
and doing it anyway.

[♪♪♪]

It is a passion,
I love the way it makes me feel.

It makes me feel alive.

Big waves give me an adrenalin
rush that

normal-size waves don't.

So much water swirling around
you with all this energy...

I just feel like all this
energy.

It's really hard to explain what
it likes.

But it's intense and you're
in it.

When you come out
and you make it Oh my God,

it's like the best feeling
in the world.

You feel like you're the master
of the universe.

[host 6]
The winner of the purest barrel
of the Year Award

is Keala Kenelly.

[crowd applauding]

[Keala]
I was always had to go
my own way

and it was against everything.

Always.

My parents look at me like:
God, you just try to make

your life hard for yourself with
the choices you have made?"

And I am like:
I am just being me,

I just being true to myself".

[♪♪♪]

You have to be really strong.

You gotta be able to pick
yourself up

when you being knocked down.

That's the main thing cause
you're always gonna get knocked

down as a woman.

In life you're gonna knocked
down a lot.

It's the ones that can pick
themselves up and rise again.

[♪♪♪]

Hi!

Hey, Cinta!

Come on.

Ready to go surfing.

I'm a shaper
and then Cinta's boards

from her learning out
of seven-foot minimal

and then progressing the
better she got...

I spoilt her. I was giving her
a board every two months!

And every time I gave her one,
a shorter one,

I thought, "No way,
she can't ride this."

"This is gonna take her
for ever to get used to this!"

Two or three days later, "Dad,
I love this board!"

Go, go, go.

She's becoming really quite good
at surfing small waves

but now to ride bigger waves
that's the challenge.

[♪♪♪]

I wanted her to take it to that
point where she can just

go surf by herself.

[♪♪♪]

I'm not scared of the water
but big wave...

not all the time but sometimes

when it gets really
big...yeah...

I get scared.

I just gotta push myself

to do it,

like I just gotta have it
in my own.

[♪♪♪]

[Bruce]
It's like a new door opening
now,

it's Chinta ask to challenge
herself.

[♪♪♪]

And it can't come from me.

It has to come from inside
of her

to overcome the fear
of bigger waves.

My heart was pumping so hard

but that makes me braver.

Yeah.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[Andrea]
I don't know what happened
way back in the time

that made women with
this image

of being a fragile thing.

Women, mothers

they're strong.

They're multitaskers
and they go to so much.

It's undescribable what it is
to be a woman.

I always enjoyed long distance.

I love the fact that I can
travel on the surface

of the ocean and go from an
island to another island.

It's from history

like they colonized,
they discovered land

and paddling can actually
allow you

to do that you can travel.

It's never easy, it's long.

The first hour you're happy,
you're in the ocean,

you're surfing.

By the forth hour you're
counting your minutes

to get to the end.

The finish line,
it's a huge feeling.

It's a huge achievement.

It's like the achievement
of dropping that big wave,

it's like the achievement
of saving somebody's life.

[Andrea]
I always look for challenges.

Once I have that
in my head I have to go

and achieve it.

I need a challenge to keep
going.

[♪♪♪]

I think I choose the ocean
because it was part of my life

from what I remember as a child.

[♪♪♪]

We had nothing
but the ocean as a kid.

There's the ocean,
there's your playground.

I think for me to challenge
the ocean

and be challenged by the nature
of the ocean

it makes me feel alive.

[♪♪♪]

The ocean is a moment
for myself.

Sometimes I need the silence
and that is just

the ocean and I.

[music playing]

I started my career of athletes

after I had my daughter.

Keala is her own little person

and it's very interesting
to see that.

As a parent I'm very connected
to the ocean

and I want her to be
the swimmer

and the surfer.

But I always had this
'I'm gonna teach you

how to love the ocean
like I do.'

And then as they grow they
will love things

how they love things
and you can't force them.

And I have to respect whatever
she likes

and whatever makes her happy.

I will support her.

[♪♪♪]

She really likes horses
and she knows that I'm not that

comfortable with it.

So she wants to ride, she is
like "Come ride with me mom

and see how tough
you are now.'

She's teaching me a lot.

I love my child
so much that it's scary

because nothing can happen
to her.

The fear of something
happening to her.

Oh, just thinking of mom.

Moms that lost their kids,
you know, it's like...

And I've been seeing at my job
you know...

you just spoke to a child

and you have to talk
to the mom...

Man..

Mentally you have to be really
strong in this job.

I got to see people dying
in the water in the ocean

and a lot of times I show up
to the scene

and the person's still alive
and you have to do everything

you can and a lot of times the
person doesn't make it.

And at the beginning of my
career that is really hard.

But than as you mature into this
career you need

to remember that:
I did everything I could.

It was a good six years
of school

to become a paramedic.

Once I put my foot
in the classroom

I was where I wanted to be.

I have a passion
for being able to help people,

being able to save a live
and make a difference.

It's separate from the sport,
it's separate from the ocean.

It's another break,
it's another place,

where I get a happy feeling.

Center Medic 2 responding.

[indistinct radio chatter]

This is my castle.

None of this equipment
came easy,

nothing was really given

and as I started surfing bigger
and bigger,

the boards start going bigger
and bigger.

This is one of the boards
that I trust my life on it

because you're going
to the biggest wave

you can catch in the day.

This winter was exceptional.

This winter was just perfect.

This time I was just committed.

I was going two hundred miles
an hour.

I was working, straight
from work to Jaws.

And then from Jaws to pick up
the kid in school

and I buy a ticket to go
to Mavericks

on the next day you know.

You was like you know like doing
everything

as much as I can,
life is too short.

[screaming]

-You like strawberry?
-Wow strawberry!

[indescribable speech]

[Andrea]
Nice..

oh, my God.

I left work at six
in the morning,

I worked all night.

I paddled out on
my favorite board.

I remember being in the line up
with Shane Dorian and Danilo.

They were kind
of even giving me hends.

I was trying
so hard to catch a wave.

And this one wave just came out
of nowhere.

[♪♪♪]

And at that time you almost
don't think much.

Maybe the best thing would have
for me to kick out,

but I wanted to make it.

[♪♪♪]

I felt like something just took
my leg out of my body

for a split second.

I couldn't even speak,

I was in so much pain.

I went back home
and straight to the doctor

and got an MRI
and found out that

my hamstrings got

detached from the bone.

So my back leg was completely
loose on my muscles.

I learned a lot because,
you know,

you're so big
and you're so strong

and you can surf
and you can do all this,

and you can save people's lives,
you know.

And the very next day

you are in bed

and you can't save
your own life.

It was me and my body and me.

And you're there in bed all day.

And then your kid comes,
and then it's you and your kid

and your boyfriend comes.

It's you and your boyfriend.

And your friends come to visit
and help you.

And I started growing again.

And it's almost like
I'm born again.

[♪♪♪]

My life had a whole new goal,
a whole new challenge.

And this injury is not gonna
wipe everything down,

but it's gonna make a new block.

And it's a beautiful block.

Even though it was hard
and painful

but it's the woman growing.

I want to get stronger,
I want to surf again

and I want to surf big
waves again.

"The winner of the woman's
best performance award

goes to Andrea Molar."

[audience cheering]

I didn't expect to win
the award at all.

[audience cheering]

It was a new motivation.

I'm not getting stuck in bed

and taking medication.

If I do win I want to go
to the awards walking.

[hooting]

[audience cheering]

[Andrea]
Thank you.

I think it's a new era having
a contest for women,

having Keala winning the barrel.

[audience cheering]

Thanks all the surfers who are
having the women

in the lineup as one of you.

Thank you so much
for being a family

in the water,

for welcoming the women
and see you next winter!

Thank you!'

[audience cheering]

I think it's just the time
of change.

And I'm excited for it.

[Andrea]
Not just for me but for the
girls are coming after me.

They need to go,
they need that chance

Yeah, Sidney!

Hi, Bruce.

If you are watching this,
hi Bruce!

-We're having fun!
-Yeah!

[Bruce]
She got a lot
of media attention,

in the last few year especially
and now it's even

escalating and becoming more.

[laughing]

One of her sponsors is out
of Australia.

They contacted the branch here
and said:

Don't lose that girl!.

He said: 'Keep her happy because
that girl

has been getting more exposure
than any of our

other men riders.

It is not in her nature to be
stuck-up

or conceited.

She likes the attention,
she likes seeing

that her dream is actually,
it's on the way

of becoming true,

that she can be a world-class
competitor.

[♪♪♪]

[speaking in foreign language]

[Bruce]
I'm guarding Chinta to make sure
that if this is her dream

of being the world champion,

I wanna show her the way.

[speaking in foreign language]

I'm getting out of my years,
I'm not always gonna be here.

Life's not forever.

I want to hurry up the process

to be able to set her free
and into this life of surfing.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

When my husband died all
my energy went towards Todd.

All my energy was with him.

And so when Todd
died that was

the most heaviest thing that
could ever happen to me.

Todd was surfing big waves
and he surfed big waves

all the time

and it was a big day that day

but I don't know that's
the question that I asked

all the time why did this
happen to Todd.

Why did it happen,

why am I still struggle every
day with this.

Why?

[♪♪♪]

He was very smart, very happy

and just really funny guy made
you laugh all the time.

He made friends really easily
and just liked

to live life and have fun

and surf big waves

and yeah...

[♪♪♪]

I kept thinking that he's gonna
come in that door any minute.

It's gonna be a joke,

this is some type of cosmic
joke on me.

I try to think this is reality,

this did happen, okay.

So what are you gonna do now?

You're gonna keep [pointing at
her back]?

No, you gonna keep going
forward.

[♪♪♪]

They called me on the phone
and I was at work

and they told me "Oh you have

this merkel cell carcinoma which
is very rare

and we don't know much about it.

I'm like 'What? No way.'

I thought that my son would
want me to fight it

and so I decided to fight it
and do the chemo.

[♪♪♪]

I was bald, I lost all my hair.

I got very weak.

My friends came and helped me.

They made sure I had food even
though I couldn't eat

a lot of times.

They took my garbage out for me,
they cleaned the house for me.

And they did all these things
that I wasn't able to do.

They helped me so much
and I'm so grateful.

That was very traumatic

and very physically
and emotionally draining.

But I made it through
and the thing that helped me

realize my strength
was surfing.

Just being in the water was
so healing even though

I couldn't stand on my board
or you know at least

I got down to the beach
and got in the water

and felt so much better.

That's all I could do.

I could do that and then I could
with head lay on the couch

the whole rest of the day.

I did see his face
in a wave one time.

I was at Tavarua...

it was cloudbreak,
there was only a few people out

and I saw him in the wave,
like just

flash of him being there

and I looked around:

"Did anybody else see that
and did I really see that?"

I was super happy

but at the same time
I was a little bit shocked too.

[♪♪♪]

The ocean was Todd's life.

It didn't take his life,
it was his life.

[♪♪♪]

It's not the ocean's fault,

it's just was something
that happened.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

The ocean has brought me
a lot of peace

and it does give me life,

it makes me appreciate life.

It's just something that
keeps me going.

[♪♪♪]

If I die I think I would I
wouldn't have to go to work the

next day so that might
be a good thing.

But... I wouldn't be able to go
surfing but I'd be surfing

in that big barrel and
in the sky.

Suffering is not good.

So if it happens I hope it
goes quickly or

in Johnny Depp's arms that would
be kind of cool.

[laughing]

[♪♪♪]

[Chinta]
It is my dream,
a dream come true,

get to travel all the way
to Hawaii

and also get to see Pipeline

like in real life,
not in video and stuff.

And that's great,
I hope I have the opportunity to

self-censor
and vibe with this swells

and good winds
in good direction.

[♪♪♪]

[commentator 3]
Big thanks to Rip Curl
for bringing this international

ground Search finalist here to
Ala Moana Bowls

and another epic location.

And we are looking to get
through the entire day today

with 30 minutes heats
for the entire day today.

[♪♪♪]

Five, four, three,

two, one.

[commentator 3]
Cinta Hansel from Indonesia
up and riding.

She does so with a nice snap.

Another snap for Chinta.

[♪♪♪]

The situation in the water,
red Cinta Hansel.

You are in the lead with 4-7-7.

And to 1:7

I did pretty good
for like

this third one,
cuz I made it all the way

to the quarter,
which before never

made it to the quarter before,
like this is the furthest

I've gone and I'm feeling

very great to
compete against best

of the best who won the National
final in their own country

and we get to represent
our own country.

It's such a great honor that
Rip Curl gives to us.

[commentator 3]
Coming up in the next scene,
so girls you gonna check in

any time with our beach
Marshal Ray.

And I get outfitted
in New Jersey.

[commentator 3]
Cutting down the next scene
5-4-3-

2-1.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[commentator 3]
Priority is going to red.

Red your first Priority with
a time check,

red with first Priority.

Last score for blue 0.83.

[♪♪♪]

And we're gonna count this heat
out in

5-4-3

2-1.

[♪♪♪]

[Dr. Sylvia]
It's impossible to give up hope,

no end of problems.

I'm like everybody else,
I see those problems

but I also see plenty reasons
for hope.

Plenty of reasons to think

that we have a chance,
we cannot go back.

[♪♪♪]

[Dr. Sylvia]
We can take ourselves high
in the sky

and maybe you could imagine

that you could be up there
in the sky

looking back on earth.

It's achievable.

People have gone down to the
deepest places in the ocean.

I can follow that dream
and do it too.

I did it.

[♪♪♪]

But as a child I dreamed
of doing what

I knew other
people had done.

Maybe I can do that
and maybe something more.

That's what keeps civilization
going from one place

to another.

[TED Talk]
Now is the time!

Children are natural explorers.

If you just think like a kid
anything is possible.

But we too soon get out
of that stage

of wonderment.

If you're no longer a child find
the child that still lives

inside of you.

It's there.

The sense of wonder is
everywhere,

if you just have the openness

to see it.

There're miracles everywhere
you look.

When I was 3 years old

I was knocked over by a wave

on a beach in New Jersey,

ocean got my attention.

But what has really held
my attention

all these years,

of course it's the beauty

and the glory of the ocean
for its own sake:

the rocks, the water,
the waves.

But it's life, life
in the ocean.

My existence,
life itself is

dependent on the fact that

the world is basically blue.

We have this enormous body

of what we call the ocean.

It's a living ocean that makes
Earth

habitable for us

and other forms
of life as they now exist.

It's taken literally

billions of years
of

fine-tuning to create

this amazing blue planet.

Diversity and abundance
of life

starts at the surface
of the ocean

and goes all the way to the
deepest places of the sea.

Eleven kilometers down.

The average depth's 4 kilometers

it's about where
the Titanic rests.

This is the maximum
I have been into the sea

the average depth.

Only 3 people have been there
and, think about it,

12 people have walked
on the Moon.

I never at a single moment
thought

I'm going to be a scientist or
I want to be a scientist.

It was just natural.

It's what I did as a kid,

exploring, getting to know
the beach

along New Jersey
and then where we lived

on a little farm in
South Jersey.

[commentator 4]
Their leader is a renowned
scientist

Dr. Sylvia Earle,

a marine botanist
and an experienced diver.

[Dr. Sylvia]
The power of caring

has to begin with the power of
knowing and

that's
what's missing now.

It isn't the technology.

It's the will, it's the will

to harness the technology,

to make the ocean accessible

to children, to anyone,

poets, musicians,

writers, scientists of course.

But right now it's limited
to a very narrow

segment of military

or industrial applications.

And a few lucky scientists.

I've used to more than 30
different kinds of submarines.

Been diving in Lake Baikal,
been diving off the coast

of Japan, been diving
in places

all over the various places
around the world.

But the best dives are coming.

[Dr. Sylvia]
We're right at the edge
of the greatest era

of exploration ever

for this part of the Universe,

the blue part of our own planet.

The history of life is there,

in the ocean with organisms.

They have ancestry that
goes back for as long

as life has existed on earth.

So for me to go into the ocean

it's like diving into time,

diving into

the whole universe

of what life is about.

Respect for the ocean

comes naturally when you
understand

that we're just a part of this

vast system,
were not detached

from it in some miraculous way.

What we do to the ocean,
we do to ourselves.

In my lifetime I've been
a witness

to literally the greatest era
of change

in all of human history.

There's a sea bird,
an albatross that I met

halfway across the Pacific Ocean
at Midway Island

and she was sitting
on her most recent egg.

She began to fly about
the same time

I was beginning to dive.

And that the world that we both
have seen

has been a world
of unprecedented change.

Fewer squid, a lot more plastic,

airplanes in the sky that
weren't there

when she began to fly,

boats all over the ocean
changed,

she certainly has witnessed.

She does not, cannot know why,

or even if she knew why,

what to do about it?

But I know why,
I do know what to do about it,

but I'm not alone.

There are people all over
the planet

who have witnessed
these changes.

The great news is you can
recover it,

you can.

We haven't lost all the sharks.

We still have 10%, we still have
half the coral reefs,

still, maybe 5%

of the Bluefin tuna left

in the Pacific.

They're not all gone.

No hope for things that have
been exterminated

and I've been the witness
to the loss of a lot

of things in my lifetime.

And we do know what to do about
it is lacking

or at least needs to be
strengthened,

is the will to really
understand,

comprehend our highest priority

must be.

Let's keep the planet safe.

And then we can do all these
other wonderful things,

whether it's music and art,
health,

whatever it keeps you happy.

We have to be able to breath,

we have to protect the water.

We have to respect other
forms of life

because they keep us alive.

Every person has an impact,

whether it's positive

or not so positive.

Now we know,

we can focus
on positive things.

Everyone of us can do,
everyday

the choices we make
that lead us

to a better place.

[commentator 5]
It also brings us here our
champion

for 2016, she's also
the 2014 winner.

Miss Brisa Hennessy.

[crowd cheering]

[Chinta]
I don't feel sad, cause
I actually did pretty well.

Next year if I have a chance

again to be the International
Final.

I really want to win like
I'm hungry for it.

[chuckles]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]