Photo: WSL
Of course I’d heard of Jamie Mitchell. I’d heard he was a competitive animal. An insane athlete. But it’s different when you get to witness it. Sitting on a beach, on some random little spit of sand in the Mentawais, I witnessed it.
No one was picking the waves that would stay open long enough to escape the maw of this slabby barrel ripping off the point in front of me, tearing along the beach before detonating on the shallow reef. Except Jamie. He was in ‘the zone.’ Alone, lost somewhere in the Indian ocean with this scary, anonymous wave as his canvas, he proceeded to paint a picture of skill, balance and fearlessness–traits that had helped him win 10 Molokai channel crossings in a row. And he won each on a prone board, an extremely painful device (at times) used to ply open-ocean swell. During the course of a decade, he’d fought through every nagging injury, every little sickness, just to make it to the starting line.
It’s been fun to watch Jamie’s evolution from driven competitive endurance athlete, to charging big wave surfer, to father. Damn it, how’s he so good at all of them? I recently caught up with him to talk about his film, Decade of Dominance, which was just released on iTunes, the state of big wave surfing and yes, fatherhood.
So Decade of Dominance was just re-released to iTunes?
I think the release on iTunes was probably way too long in coming. We probably missed the boat. But we made that movie so you can watch it at any time and just be inspired to go after your goals and challenge yourself. It’s relevant at any time. Maybe with the big wave surfing I’ve done lately, new people will see it and understand my background. And if it inspires them to go for what they’re passionate about, that’s even better.
So how did you paddle across that gnarly channel the fastest ten years in a row? It sounds so crazy.
I look back at it now, and honestly, I don’t know how I did it. How did I have that mindset year after year? It baffles me. In the moment I was so focused and determined. Where I’m at in my life now, thinking of training for one season, it kind of makes me a little sick.
But I’m proud of what I achieved. Not really the winning the 10 but just being able to be competitive, get to the line without being injured or sick. My biggest achievement was to give myself the opportunity. It’s hard to do that in any sport, even the local triathlon. It’s a pretty gnarly race, turning up at the start line, let alone being super competitive. I don’t know how I mustered it up.
Can someone possibly pull off 10 wins on the Molokai Channel again?
Never say never. Someone is going to have to really dedicate to it. I did the race a few times and that became my 100-percent focus. There were things going on around me. But my pure life purpose was to win that race. I don’t know if it was selfish or whatever, that’s where my mind was at. There’s a lot of talent but you have to stay healthy. Connor Baxter (the talented Maui paddler), he was the guy to do it on a stand-up. He got two in a row. He was young, unbeatable, then one year he has an injury, another year he gets sick, all of sudden he hasn’t won in a couple of years. On the women’s side, Jordy Mercer has six but she just hurt herself and is recovering from surgery. Lizzie Welborn is a phenominal paddler. But it’s tough just to get to the start line.
Mitchell is nominated for three Big Wave Awards including this bomb for Ride of the Year:
Talk about your evolution into big wave surfing.
I always liked big waves, liked to challenge myself in big waves. Being into surf lifesaving we were always training in unruly surf and I always remember wanting to be the guy that caught the biggest wave. Going to Molokai, spending winters over there, I was fortunate to surf spots you dreamed of. I fell in love with Sunset, Waimea Bay and the outer reefs. And then all these other waves: Mavericks, stuff around Australia. I started to set targets, WSL Big Wave Awards, big wave tour. It’s a lot more of a professional thing now. It’s a progression.
Professional big wave surfing has sort of been chaotic lately. The tour is down to three events, the Eddie and Mavericks events have both had issues.
Big wave surfing is in its infancy so you have to roll with the punches and support it. The Mavericks event has always had drama, unfortunately. This year it kept its thing for drama which was a bummer. But I can’t get too down on it even though I’d like these stand-alone events to get it together. Politics aside, I was proud to be able to surf the Mavericks event. And surfing the Eddie was a lifelong goal. That was amazing. So in saying that, you have to support the sport: without support of the athletes, it’s not gonna’ end well.
You live on the North Shore with your partner Cassie now, and have a family. How has that changed things?
It’s a good balance. Surfing big waves is my job and my life now. I took them to Mexico, spent two weeks there and I did the Puerto contest. We went for a month to Europe. Cassie, she does an essential oil business. She did her business over there before we went to Portugal. We work it out. At certain times, I have to pack up and go and I can’t bring the family because it’s too hectic. It’s not always easy leaving but it’s how I feed the family and keep a roof over our heads. I’m lucky to have a partner who’s super-supportive and it’s a really good balance.
How have you found contest surfing?
Surfing contest heats is tough. I don’t know how the CT guys do it. There’s a real art form to it. When I started I was leaving myself in a lot of one-wave heat situations. There were no waves at the Peahi contest but I wasn’t smart enough to get shitty waves to put scores up. I got really frustrated with myself. So I did some research and started talking with Tom Carroll and Barton Lynch about heat strategy. I really started to break down heats and what I needed to do. I didn’t need two 10s. If I could get two average waves I could get through most of the heats until finals.
Nazaré, you really broke out there. How was it to win at such an epic spot for the sport? And the first contest there, too?
Nazaré fits my style. There’s a fair bit of paddling and positioning. I’ve surfed there before so I felt comfortable. As soon as heard it was on, I thought I had a chance to win. There’s a lot of people calling it the gnarliest surf contest in the history of the sport. To go out and compete in that and win, it was amazing. It definitely helps the profile. But not only that, it gives me belief I can win. I’ve done it so there’s no excuses now. It’s a matter of me surfing smarter and putting heats together. Nazaré is one of the most polarizing surf spots in the world and to have my name on the first contest is certainly an honor.
Decade of Dominance was directed by Brent Deal and is available on iTunes, here.
