"I've reached my limit," says the Champ.
The three-time and reigning world surfing champion Gabriel Medina has sensationally, though not surprisingly, stepped off the world tour citing mental health issues.
In a long screed posted to Instagram Medina wrote,
2021 was an amazing year for me, I conquered my biggest dream as a surfer, which was to become a three-time world champion.
It was an untouchable stop for me.
Last year, I experienced a roller oaster of emotions in and out of the water, which greatly affected my mental and physical health.
By the end of the season, I was completely drained. I’ve reached my limit. I got my vaccine during the holidays and I thought I would be able to prepare in time for the first leg of the new season, which starts at one of my favorite spots in the world, Pipe.
It was not the case.
I have decided that I will not travel to Hawaii and will take some time to recover mentally and physically. I have a slight hip injury that I’ve been treating since the end of last year.
In addition to the body, I have emotional issues that I need to deal with. Recognizing and admitting to myself that I’m not well has been a very difficult process and choosing to take time to take care of myself was perhaps the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my entire life.
I’ve wondered a lot lately if I should make this public or keep it private, but it’s only fair that all of you who have always rooted for me know the moment I’m facing. Mental health is very important. I need to be 100% mentally to compete again.
I will come back stronger🙏 I love you and thank you for everything.
Four months ago, Medina signalled his intention to quit the tour in an interview with a Brazilian news outlet,
“I need to stop thinking about competition for a while, because everything I do today, food, routine… It’s all focused on competition. I never missed a step. It’s been hard to do this for years. I think the time has come when I need to take a break,” said Medina.
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It ain’t surprising he’s hurting.
Early in 2020, Gabriel split, in a professional as well as a private sense, from his mammy Simone and his step-daddy Charlie Serrano.
Charlie you know as the ubiquitous, unsmiling, ever-supportive pillar behind his equally taciturn looking son.
The split was driven, it was said, by Medina’s surprise marriage to actress and model Yasmin Brunet, parental sadness over losing their lil man, the ol empty nest syndrome.
“They have always lived through Gabriel’s career. Imposing discipline, giving strength and controlling everything closely. Now, he is no longer a boy and shares his life with his wife. It is undeniable how passionate they are,” said a friend.
Since the split he’s got back in touch with his real daddy, Claudinho, who now lives in one of Medina’s houses.
Oh you are awful …..Only on special occasions , you naughty gorilla , you .
Still got your King Kong Knickers in a Knot ?
Looks like his steppie and mum got well bummed off with having to hand the driving gloves of the money train driver to his lovely new wife. Great surfer and will return sometime. Later in the season down under maybe. Pipe certainly not a place for him stuck with two contradictory mind sets.
Mate save your high and mighty attitude. BG is to a real conversation what wanking is to sex.
“… there is a clear monotonic association between childhood general intelligence and adult consumption of psychoactive drugs. “Very bright” individuals (with IQs above 125) are roughly three-tenths of a standard deviation more likely to consume psychoactive drugs than “very dull” individuals (with IQs below 75).”
Some of us can afford to loose a few brain cells. Others out there not so much
I understand that everyone , myself included , would love to live in Sam‘s Utopian Surfing World ….. Where Surfing is some mystical dance with nature which takes us to a higher plane of existence …..I wish it was so !
But during 20 years as a kid in Cronulla and another 20 years on the beach breaks of South West France and the last few years Surfing obscure but over crowded spots on the German Baltic coast , not to mention the Canary Islands , I have yet to see a line up , except surfing alone , or with a few close surfing friends , that resembles SAM‘s dream .
I wasn’t born at the beach , and had to fight my up the hierarchy, and was probably a cunt in the water when I got close to the top of the local pyramid ,after a 10 year hard slug , before going through a similar process in France , where I was often scolded by my very tight local French Surfing Community for being to nice to visiting surfers but the local groms were well protected and those groms , now in their late 20s early 30s , still call me uncle and gift me waves 10 years after I have left .
I don’t paddle out today with any other goal but catching a few waves and sharing the joy and having a chat with others in the lineup……which can annoy frothers of all levels , ages and nationalities, who just want to catch every wave in sight .
Luckily , unlike the famous big wave rider from the 60s , I only discussed the possibility that all surfing is competitive , and not that all surfers , yourself included , are latent homosexuals ….You might then be able to say fuck fuck off off ….ha ha
Waahh wahhh, a life of surfing and playing in the water just got to be too much. SMFH
The Rusty Sheriff’s Badge of honour!!
“As natural selection acts by competition, it adapts the inhabitants of each country only in relation to the degree of perfection of their associates; so that we need feel no surprise at the inhabitants of any one country, although on the ordinary view supposed to have been specially created and adapted for that country, being beaten and supplanted by the naturalised productions from another land.”
― Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
Daddy issues? really? Oh my god.
Can catch out the best of us..
I am not crying … have moved on from the 80s ….France , Germany to name just a few different cultures I have discovered since then , different ways to look at the world etc etc …..and , in my humble opinion , anyone who thinks 2022 Surfing is not competitive should probably take a Time Machine and go back to the 50s just before Bob Cooper decided California was already a Zoo ? So Be a good primate and grow up …. This is BG not bad boy stab ?
No Reason Fuck you too !
Your way off
Adapt or Die …… competing for limited resources in this day and age is competitive ? And I doubt you roll over in the water and let others take advantage of you ? Or are you are false Gorilla ?
This is the second time you jump in and tell me to fuck off on a comment , when I was replying to some one else in a polite manner … for no reason
It is not polite and not appreciated …..Mr Fucktard .
The rumor is that Gab’s marriage is a sham and he’s closeted gay or bi. Derek, ask all his sponsors what they’d do if he came out gay and why. Is he afraid he’d lose his livelihood? Would he? What’s really going on here? He’s the champ, it’s the most important story in surfing. Call them.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
All goes to shit after taking the vax. Godspeed Gabe. Winner this year is fully asteriked.
They’re taking a redundant vaccine it’s for alpha, I doubt he’s taken it myself
Exactly. Terrible decision to vax (if he indeed did, perhaps he didn’t like you say and just afraid of angry Insta comments)….he had already made it to December! It’s all gonna fall apart by March anyway. He should have stayed the course (hopefully he did).
Time to follow the Champ’s example Bexy.
You’d believe anything
Nahh, I just want to see you retire for a year.
Whys that?
You’re a repetitive bore.
Then you’re in the wrong place sweetheart.
Maybe. Here you go https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
That’s original
You see what I did there.
Have another https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Yeet!!