This man has a good head on those shoulders. Photo: Thiago Diz//World Surf League
There is a world title in Griffin Colapinto’s future. I firmly believe that. Coming off back-to-back third-place finishes on the Championship Tour, he’s primed to make a breakthrough. Few surfers on tour are as well-rounded and exciting to watch.
But failing to win a heat on his Lower Trestles home turf in both of his WSL Finals appearances can take a mental toll. Griffin admits that the attention and pressure got to him and might have negatively impacted his performance. However, after talking with Griffin, I can tell the 26-year-old Gen Z talent has a good head on his shoulders. Beyond the hardcore surfer accent and goofball personality, Griffin is a smart kid with a healthy perspective on life. He opts to cherish what he has instead of stressing over what he doesn’t. It’s an outlook that, when paired with his raw talent, is a good combination to earn a world title.
While Griffin was hanging out in the green room ahead of his Trilogy: New Wave film premiere in Beverly Hills, I had a chat with him to discuss his headspace after that tough loss at Trestles, his offseason routine, and the fat checks from Lexus.
Where’s your head at, post-WSL Finals?
So far, the off-season has just been full relax mode. I’ve been letting go of the waking up and training, all the routines I do every day. I sleep in and wake up like, “What am I going to do today?” instead of having things planned out in advance. It feels really good. I also realize how much I love being in a routine, too. It makes me excited to get back to that. But I think I need a little break to remember how good that feels and build up that excitement. I’m having fun right now. We got the (Trilogy: New Wave) premiere tonight and we’re going out after, enjoying life.
Not a fun moment for Mr. Colapinto. Photo: Thiago Diz//World Surf League
Your loss in the WSL Finals was a bit of a heartbreaker. Were there any valuable lessons learned from that experience?
Once I got in the water, I was actually pretty nervous. Usually I feel more nervous before (the heat) and then once I get in the water it goes away. But I had a bit of nerves out there. There were so many people there, so many eyes watching. I think I was scared to lose not being able to show my surfing. That transpired into me making some bad wave decisions, instead of being more patient and observing what waves I’m taking off on. I still got two really good opportunities and it just didn’t go my way. I think going through that heartbreak is a good thing in the long run because it’s going to leave me with motivation and fire for next season. Through my training, I’ll have that in me every day I wake up. I think it’ll push me even further, so once I break through I can run with it for a long time.
Do you think being the local and having all the hometown support added to those nerves you mentioned? If so, how will that change next year when the WSL Finals are in Fiji?
It was crazy. I would take off on a wave and I could hear everyone on the beach screaming as I was (surfing) the wave. Normally we’re on a wave and it’s silent. You can’t hear anything. So that was different from what I’m used to. In Fiji, obviously, it’s super out there, away from people, so it’s different. I think when there’s no sound from the beach, it can be easier to lock into your flow state. But that day it was super high tide too, so the crowd was really close to the surfers, and it’s just so different from what we’re used to.
After two third-place finishes in a row in the WSL Finals, what do you think needs to change to break through to a world title?
I think it’s just experience, putting yourself in that position as much as possible. Then, over time, you eventually break through. I’ve experienced that at every other level that I’ve gone through, from amateur to making the Final 5. I always make it there and it takes me a couple of years to break through. I feel like that’s what I’m going through with the world title. Now it’s just stepping back, looking at the big picture, and being like, wow, I’ve come from that to this. Now I’m fighting for a world title and have a super good shot at it. It’s a cool feeling. Also (it’s important to) look at what I have and not what I don’t have. I think with a healthy mindset and attitude, the sky’s the limit.
Lexus just announced you’re going to be its first surf ambassador. How did that partnership come to be?
WSL and Lexus, obviously, are partners now. I think Lexus reached out to the WSL and were asking them if they had any surfers they thought would be good for them in North America. They recommended me.
Getting a non-endemic sponsor like that must be a pretty good chunk of change added to your income.
Yeah, it’s pretty good. Probably one of my top four (sponsors).
This is the last time Griffin will surf a Finals at home for the foreseeable future. Photo: Tony Heff//World Surf League
What is the rest of your off-season going to look like as we near the 2025 season?
I’ll do this premiere tonight, have fun, and then start looking at going on surf trips, trying to score good waves, film, and travel with my brother and friends – just do that for a bit. I’ll start training again, surfing a bunch, and get fired up. I think the schedule next year is looking like possibly one of the best yet, so it’s exciting.
There’s been a trend in surfing these last few years of surfers at the top of their game losing the fire to chase world titles and stepping away from the tour (like Carissa, Filipe, and Steph). Is your fire to win a world title still as strong as ever? Or do you feel that burnout as well?
Well, those are people who have already won world titles. For me, it’s f*#king strong as ever.
Fair enough. What are you looking forward to most next year?
Creating more memories with my crew. We have an amazing support crew and every time we go somewhere, we have the best trip of our lives.
