Much insight.
Australia’s Tyler Wright has re-exploded onto
the scene after a lengthy absence where only rumor and mystery
percolated. She is now the face of the World Surf League, eclipsing
Kelly Slater as its most visible star. ESPN, the sporting news
juggernaut, has just published a book-sized
profile of Wright, her struggles and triumphs,
providing much clarity and insight.
Some salient bits…
On goal in coming back to surfing after a lengthy
illness: I realized if I’m coming back, I am going to
show up with who I am as a human first. Surfing needs people who
are going to get into boardrooms and have hard conversations. I’m
asking for equality for women, equality for the LGBTQ+ community,
equality for Black and brown and indigenous people. I honestly
don’t care about winning more world titles. But I know what gets me
in the room.
On being part of a legendary surfing family:
When you’re that young, it’s not something you question. They
competed, so I competed. One in, all in. It was all so insular. By
the time I established my own thought processes, I was already on
the world tour.
On getting on tour at sixteen: Everyone was
like, “You’re living the dream at 16.” I was like, “Whose dream? I
don’t f—ing dream of this s—. I want to read books. I want to go to
school.”
On the early pressure to conform: We have
to make the women’s tour about sexy models who surf to make it
marketable. The model pro surfer was someone who was silent, white,
hot, blond, skinny and hetero.
On winning her first world title: I don’t
want to glorify any of it. I wasn’t competing in a healthy manner.
People wanted the story to feel good. I wanted the story to feel
good to make it worth it. But mentally, all of this scrambled
me.
On realizing she was gay: I wouldn’t have
said that I was homophobic, but you realize really quickly the
internalized homophobia you have. If you’re not gay or part of the
LGBTQ+ community, then you don’t have to look at it. But you’re
being raised with all these drip-fed views. Meeting Alex, that’s
when the un-learning process began for me.
On being public with her new relationship:
The general culture of the surfing community has been
homophobic, racist and extremely sexist and that’s been the
standard across the board. I told (her girlfriend), “Oh no. You
cannot show me affection here. You have to be a platonic friend.” I
didn’t feel safe at all.
On rare illness that drove her out of sight for nearly
two years: Overnight, I lost everything, what made me
Tyler Wright. I lost my personality, my physicality. I’m used to
excruciating amounts of pain, but the physical pain got so bad that
it would mentally break me. And it broke me every day. I didn’t get
a minute where I was unbroken.
On then being diagnosed with PTSD: It’s
overwhelming, always being on the verge of panic. My life is
literally trying to walk through a minefield and not jump at my own
shadow.
On awakening to social issues: I understand
that in this conversation, I am a white person and I have benefited
from white supremacist structures. We have to start dismantling
those structures.
On newfound freedom, and responsibility: I
think it would feel very human to win another world title with this
mindset. And the more I’m on the podium, the more I’m on your
screens, the more important conversations I get to have.
Read in its
entirety here.
