The most inspiring story of the year! Even more
than Bethany and Jimbo!
I will be the first to shout that Bethany
Hamilton wows me each and every time she paddles out. Her dance is
beyond impressive by any measure and maybe more so for me. My left
arm, you see, comes out of its shoulder socket if I paddle four
times for a wave. Three times it’s ok. Four it’s out. And so I’ve
taken to half paddling and also surfing very bad.
I therefore watch Bethany in absolute awe, still not
understanding how she does it. How does she do it? How does she
surf waves so damned well let alone catch them? And I am certain
I’ll watch world famous Jimbo
Pellegrine in awe/horror when he surfs next. Mostly
awe (horror) though since I wondered how he caught waves even
before his brush with oncoming traffic.
But Jonas Letieri from Brazil does them both one better because
he has no arms. Nunce! Let’s read about him in the
Orange County Register!
At the 2014 Battle of the Paddle in Florianopolis, Brazil,
world stand-up paddleboard champion Candice Appleby of San Clemente
could hardly believe her eyes.
She watched a Brazilian stand-up paddler with no arms. He
was riding waves on a racing board – something difficult even for
top pros to do. And he was surfing like a pro.
“I was like, ‘What?’” Appleby said.
She excitedly contacted her coach, Anthony Vela, in
California. One thing led to another, and this weekend, at the San
Clemente Ocean Festival, Jonas Letieri is entering his first
stand-up paddleboard surfing competition in the United
States.
“I think everyone will have a pleasure of watching him surf
and be amazed at his surfing,” Vela said, “but then be inspired by
the way that he lives.”
Letieri, 31, has surfed since age 13. He embraced the surf
lifestyle while pursuing a career in graphic design.
As a volunteer for his church, he designed, helped build and
offered to install a church sign. During installation on Oct. 11,
2011, he didn’t notice an electrical wire. The sign came into
contact with it.
Both of his arms had to be amputated at the elbow.
Letieri set out to learn new ways to cook, dress himself,
clean his house and do everything – graphic design, too. His father
helped him find a way to resume surfing. The two crafted a paddle
attached to a steel ring that fit around Letieri’s stubbed arm.
Over time, he learned to surf with it.
“That’s my life,” he said, “being in the ocean and surfing
with my friends.”
As word spread about the talented survivor, Letieri was
invited to compete at the Payette River Games in Cascade, Idaho. He
drew a standing ovation when four rivals in an advanced heat all
fell in the rapids and he prevailed.
Jim Terrell, owner of Orange County company Quickblade
Paddles, met Letieri in Brazil and again in Idaho. He was inspired
to help.
“I saw the paddle, two steel rings lashed to the paddle,”
Terrell said.
“He said, ‘Let me look at your paddle’ and he went home,”
Vela said. “He’s like, ‘I think I can make it a little
better.’”
Terrell, of Newport Beach, shipped a new lightweight custom
paddle to Letieri in Brazil, and when Letieri returned to
California in January for a six-mile race in San Diego, Terrell
made him an even better one.
“It changed my whole life, this paddle,” Letieri said. “My
first paddle was made by steel rings. It was so heavy … much too
heavy, with a lot of tape and stuff. Now I can stay for hours
paddling and paddling and I don’t feel so much the weight and I
don’t feel pain. We are still working. Every time we are talking,
he comes with a new idea to do something better.”
Letieri is spending the summer in Orange County, working out
with Performance Paddling Training Club of Dana Point to prepare
for the Molokai to Oahu World Paddleboard Championships.
“He is living the life of a professional athlete,” Appleby
said.
Letieri entered the water Monday at the pier to train, after
having not surfed for weeks. A stiff south wind whipped up a
washing machine water texture, so difficult that Appleby fell
repeatedly and resorted to paddling through the surf lying on her
board, using her arms.
Letieri had no such luxury. Falling again and again, he
persisted until he made his way out. Riding just a 7-foot-by-8-inch
SUP board built for high performance, he had to keep moving to
avoid falling.
“The board won!” he grinned as he kept getting back up.
Finding his groove, he was able to ride a handful of choppy,
windblown waves, displaying his down-the-line prowess on several
and his powerful cutback on one.
“I try to smile and surf the Earth,” Letieri said. “I love
my life. I love to be alive. Being here is like a dream come true.
I thought that I (had) some problems but I can see I have no
problems. I think this is the best part of my life.”
He has shared that message with church groups in Brazil and
in California.
In 2015, Letieri spoke to students at St. Margaret’s
Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano and showed how he makes the
most of his mobility.
“The whole chapel just erupted with awe,” teacher Jennifer
Cuda said. “His message was just be thankful for everything you
have.”
An online video that tells Letieri’s story has inspired
other amputees.
“Now I can see other guys – when they watch that video –
(say) ‘Now I can paddle too, I can do something like that!’”
Letieri said. “It is so amazing. We can help these guys.”
“Everywhere he goes, he inspires a lot of people,” Terrell
said. “He exudes stoke. It makes you realize you don’t have
anything to complain about.”
If you are not inspired then your are a heartless troll. A
bastard of the highest order.
