The surfing world has certainly watched this man grow up. Photo: Aaron Hughes//World Surf League
During his 12 years on the Championship Tour, John John Florence has been no stranger to the yellow jersey. But it’s different now. For the first time in the WSL’s winner-take-all Finals format, John John is the frontrunner where the world title will come down to the best two-out-of-three heats as he waits for the lower-seeded surfers to battle it out for the chance to meet him. He won’t be crowned champion because of his remarkable, season-long run.
JJF is a fantastic performance surfer. And even better in heavy waves. But it’ll be a tall task to win at Trestles, despite being the number-one seed. The other surfers in the draw are younger, and just as skilled in the air (most of them with less injury history as well). Yes, things have changed for Florence.
When I spoke with John John, he opened up about that and the lessons learned from the Olympics, the balance between his passion for competitive surfing and his love for exploration. And of course how fatherhood has reshaped his perspective.
Let’s begin with the Olympics. How was that experience for you? Obviously, not the best competitive outcome, but what was the event like?
Yeah, the whole experience was really fun for me. I learned a lot about how I approached the event and how I’d approach it differently in the future. I think I underestimated going and being a part of a team like that — like being part of team USA we’re such a big team. So it was just different to how we do our normal tour. And it was actually really fun to be a part of that, so I thought that part was really cool.
How would you compare the Olympics to a typical WSL event?
It was a lot more structured. Everything was scheduled — practice surf sessions, how you got to your heat, kind of just everything around the event was a lot more structured. Like you only get to surf between 9:30 and 11:30 with these surfers, and that’s your practice session for the day. Things like that. It was just a different experience, a different way of competing.
Do you think the Olympics helped bring more attention to surfing? I think about how the photo of Gabriel Medina. Do you think that that’s representative of the attention that surfing got? Or do you think that the event opened people up to the sport of surfing, rather than the spectacle?
Yeah, I think on that day of those waves when that photo was shot. For me, I lost on that day, and it hurt, and it was sad, but when I look back on it now, I’m super stoked. Because for surfing as a whole to get the waves like that on a stage like that, in competition, I thought it was amazing, and kind of unexpected, you know? It was kind of exactly what I thought that surfing needed to really blow up and for people to see it like “whoa, that’s crazy looking.”
Teahupo’o definitely put on an Olympic show. And JJF was oh-so-close to the Finals. Photo: Tim McKenna//ISA
Do you think that shows how powerful surfing’s presence was, even being so far removed from the main event?
Yeah, that’s wild. It just goes to show that even though we were in Tahiti, it didn’t matter. The allure of the waves, the place, the energy — it all came through. It was perfect for showcasing what surfing is all about.
Have you noticed any changes in how the media covers surfing, especially after the Olympics? How has the energy felt around the sport lately?
Yeah, I think I felt a really good energy toward surfing. To be honest, it’s kind of hard to say. There was definitely a lot of buzz after the Olympics. But it’s hard for me to tell just what kind of buzz it is because I’m so in the surf world. I think I’ll have a better perspective once the tour ends and I can step back a little. For now, it’s hard to see how far the Olympics was able to push surfing.
Talk about your Samsung partnership. I saw a video you did with Lionel Messi and you’re associated with some big names in the larger sports world. How has that relationship brought you a bigger audience?
Yeah, the Samsung relationship has been really cool. Just to be a part of a team like that, specifically for the Olympics… they’re such a big platform. To be a part of something like that in and around the stage of the Olympics was incredible. It does tie you in to these other big names in other sports, and give you different perspectives on it, which gave me a broader perspective on the whole experience.
How did you feel connected to the rest of the Olympics, being so far from Paris?
Yeah, I mean connecting with the rest of the Olympics was definitely tough. We were so far away. And I think everyone did it a little bit different, but for Team USA they had the other sports playing, and we had our opening ceremony at the same time as they did in Paris. So that was fun to be a part of when we did our thing, and then just sat down and watched on a big screen. But I think it’s always a bit tough being that far separated from it.
Do you think it was worthwhile doing it in Tahiti, and not in France?
I think with technology and with the connection of the world in this day and age, I think it’s super worth it. Because, like you mentioned that photo of Gabriel – I heard it was one of the most viewed photos of the entire Olympics, which is incredible for surfing to be one of the sports to do that. And I think it goes to show that it didn’t matter if it was in Paris or Tahiti, and just being in Tahiti gives it that allure of the waves and the energy of that place.
Were there any jokes when the photo came out that it was just a claim, and not a shot in the barrel that went viral?
(Laughs) Yeah, I mean, I think it’s funny, but it’s a cool photo… like when you look at it and you think, “oh that’s a cool photo.” I see how that would get a lot of attention, you know? But when you know the wave that led to that, it was probably the best wave of the whole event.
This is your first Final Five appearance. What do you think of it?
I think it’s super exciting. It’s a fun way to approach it, because I’ve won two world titles under the old format. It brings back all that nervous energy again. Not really nervous energy, but nervous excitement around something new. It feels like winning a world title for the first time again.
I guess you feed on that energy as a competitor to have everything boiling down down to a certain moment or just one heat.
Exactly. In both my world titles I wasn’t in the water when I won. Obviously I was really stoked, but it felt a bit anticlimactic. Like you win because someone else loses their heat. And one world title was won before the end of the year, so it was even funnier.
It reminds me of 2013 when you won the Triple Crown, Kelly Slater won Pipeline, and Mick Fanning took the world title, but you guys were all in the water winning at different times, in the same event.
Yeah, that was fun too. I felt like there was a lot more going on in surfing at that time, you know? I mean the Triple Crown felt like it was so important and it’s not even a thing anymore. Yeah, just different times in surfing, I guess.
Are you approaching this finals with a different strategy, knowing it’s just one heat?
Not really a different strategy, just the culmination of everything I’ve worked on this year. Just knowing what my sweet spot is and how I want to feel before a heat. I think what I’ve been focused on is the small steps and getting myself ready for the event as if it was any other event. And then, you know, knowing that this event does have a lot more attention around it and a lot more pressure, and just spending a lot of time visualizing those feelings of being down there from start to end. My goal is to just be able to go surf without being too tense and just being relaxed and just enjoying surfing, because that’s why I’m here and that’s what I love to do.
I was looking back at your year and a big highlight was your perfect 10 at Margaret River. In that moment where the wave was closing in on you, did you realize how far off the board you were?
Yeah, I remember that I took off on the wave, and was going up and I was going to do a big a carve, and the wave kind of changed a bit from what I thought it was going to do. And so I kind of had to make a last-minute decision and throw my whole body weight and my tail with the lip, because it was a bit steeper than I was anticipating. So I kind of just threw that out there, and the rest was kind of I guess… I don’t know. When you’re in those moments surfing, it’s just kind of like… flow. And you’re just kind of going with it. And then, all of a sudden, I was up and bottom turning, and then I was like, “okay, here we go.” Like I didn’t know if it looked good, or bad, or what it was.
When you get a 10, do you know it before the score comes in?
That one I had no idea, to be honest. Maybe more on the reaction from the announcers right after the wave, and the crowd I could hear… So I was like, “oh maybe that’s actually going to be a big score.” But the other 10 I got at El Sal I thought, “I think this is going to be a 10”.
And that claim you threw afterward was pretty wicked!
Yeah, so in that moment, I definitely felt it was a 10.
How long do you want to surf competitively? Is there a point where you say, “okay, I’m ready to move on to the next chapter”?
Yeah, I think that point will come. To be honest, I’m not sure when. I haven’t made any decisions on anything. I know that I enjoyed this year a lot. So I’m just taking it year by year just to see what I’m enjoying doing at the moment. And I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need to be doing things that I don’t want to do. Which I feel I’m very privileged to get to have the opportunity to get to there.
I saw another interview where you talked about mindset and confidence changing this year. Can you walk us through what’s different from this year to last?
Yeah, I think this year I’m just 100 percent committed to this tour and doing these events and competing. And you know, in past years, I’ve kind of been half in, half out. And when you’re half in, half out, you don’t do as much work behind the scenes, you’re a little more tense, and losing feels a little more scary. And it just kind of adds to breaking down the confidence. Where now I feel like I’m just committed and, win or lose, whatever I’m doing, I’m going to just keep trying to surf my best. And that, for me, gives me a lot of confidence. And it kind of relaxes me, in a sense. And when I’m relaxed, and I’m having fun, I have a lot of confidence.
What motivated you to give it 100 percent?
Last year, I hit a low point mentally, right around El Salvador. I didn’t really want to be there, and I was in that stage of half in, half out. And after that event I almost didn’t even want to do the rest of the year. And then I was like, “okay, I’m going to go to Brazil and I’m just going to have fun and relax.” And I went there with that mindset and ended up having a good event, and having such a great time, just being relaxed and enjoying it. And I think that for me really turned things around, going like, “okay, that’s how I like to compete.” And that was a good reminder for me and then I thought, “okay, if I’m committed to the year and I can go in relaxed and just enjoy it, I can set myself up for the best.”
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How are you adjusting to fatherhood? It must be a big change from the jet-setting life.
Fatherhood has been amazing. It gives you a whole new perspective and a sense of purpose. Competing is still fun, but now, I know it’s not life or death. I’ve been traveling so much, and it’s tough leaving home, but I’m excited to bring my family with me once my son is a bit older. It’ll be a new way to experience everything.
How old is your son now?
He’s four months old.
I just had a son too — he’s four and a half months. It’s amazing watching their little personalities come to life.
Yeah, it’s incredible. Right around this time, he’s really starting to smile and become his own little human. I’m excited to bring him along for more of the journey.
The sailing trips you take are the opposite of the whole Olympic spectacle. It seems like a huge yin and yang aspect of life that not many people get to experience. It’s really unique that you get to compete on a world stage and then take off on a sailing trip around the South Pacific. How do you embrace that yin and yang?
I think for me, sailing and surfing, and going to these places and the curiosity of seeing what’s around the corner is deeply ingrained in me. For whatever reason, it’s something that’s equal to the competitive side. For me, the competing has always been about surfing. Surfing is it for me, regardless of whether I’m surfing in a jersey or not. Being in a jersey is just a different way of doing it. I think it’s a fundamental side of the jersey thing to put yourself into these positions, these high pressure situations, and to try and be able to let go and just surf. But on the flip side of it, going sailing and the challenge of going from Hawaii to Fiji like we did last year, and going under your own power. For me, I just really love the idea of that. When I do get to do that, it just fills me up in a whole different way than competing does. I always loved that part of the ocean.
How do you grow when you go on these trips?
I grow a lot on these trips because of the challenge in itself. There’s a difference between a surf trip where you go somewhere and you fly in and have fun waves and everything is about performance or filming or just in having fun. But sailing has a challenge all around it. It’s like, you’re on day 15 of sailing nonstop and something breaks, and you’re 1,000 miles to Fiji or wherever you are in the ocean and you have to be a good problem solver, which I’m finding I really enjoy that side of it.
And I feel like I’m becoming a better problem solver, and working problems backwards and being able to fix things and keep moving forward. And weirdly enough, I think that learning that helps me apply it to the rest of my life, whether I’m competing and thinking about things mentally or physically. There’s a lot of what I learned on these trips because you have no other choice but to figure out what’s going on.
Can you give us an example?
We broke one of our rudders about 2,000 miles from Fiji and had to make an emergency stop in the Phoenix Islands. We fixed it temporarily, but later the main pin holding the rudder snapped. You don’t want to rely on just one rudder that far out, so it was a constant problem-solving process. We had to figure it out, day by day, adjusting as we went. That’s sailing — something always breaks, and you just have to keep moving forward.
As someone with multiple world titles and an Olympic appearance, how has your approach to surfing changed now compared to when you first started?
I’m much more mindful about what I’m doing now. Early in my career, I just went as fast as I could, trying the biggest airs or turns. Now, I enjoy the process more. Winning is great, but it’s the journey that matters. Last year, I struggled mentally on tour, but this year, I’ve committed to enjoying every step — win or lose, I’m just here to keep pushing and learning. It’s all about growth.
