This one goes out to the internet technicians...
One of the greater transitions, in an era increasingly fuller of them, is that of Kanoa Igarashi. Born in Huntington Beach to Japanese parents, Igarashi burst on the scene as a sort of child surf prodigy alongside Quiksilver stablemates Jack Robinson and Leo Fioravanti. As he grew, the young man’s spontaneous “tourettes-like” celebrations and gold chains seemed to grate easily offended surf fans and he was written off as “cloying.”
Over the years, though, Igarashi has quietly endeared himself to those selfsame internet technicians by developing an enviable style, demonstrating a willingness to charge and, by all accounts, rising above the fray. Letting his “surfing do the talking” as the old chestnut goes.
Well, in a revealing new interview with the Olympics’ official website, Igarashi also lets his talking do the talking, sharing about how it felt to grow up Japanese in Huntington Beach (“When I was outside of my house, I had a very American culture because of my American friends. And then I would go back home and it would just be a complete Japanese culture. The balance for me was very unique.”) and how it allowed him to soar to a silver medal in surfing’s Olympic introduction at the Tokyo Games (“I guess that kind of controlled chaos, it’s made me into who I am today.”).
Most importantly, though, the model-handsome 26-year-old drops a pearl of wisdom that might just might heal this vitriolic and polarizing age. Speaking of his different worlds, Igarashi explained that none of it mattered when he went surfing with his father. “The ocean was what kind of blended me into society,” he said “and I’ll be forever thankful for that. What the ocean taught me was that it really is a place where everyone is a human being. Everyone’s training one passion. Everyone’s in the water, everyone’s surfing. No matter what race you are, no matter where you’re from, no matter what you do, when you’re in the water, you’re just one.”
And look at that.
Peace for our time.
