Koa Smith, Ultimate Surfering. Image: Screenshot/Koa Smith
Surfing has officially entered the world of reality television. As of this writing, The Ultimate Surfer is mid-way through its first season, and depending on who you talk to, it’s either a raging success or a dismal failure. It can be seen through a few lenses, of course — business-wise, the show is a pretty incredible feat as my colleague noted last week. The World Surf League got paid to basically advertise the sport, bringing it to the non-surfing masses in a way that nothing else could. But for the so-called “core”, there are more than a few rumblings about the perceived theft of a lifestyle. Whatever side of the fence you land on, there’s no denying that The Ultimate Surfer is turning surfing into something that it wasn’t before.
Koa Smith is on the show, of course — a high-energy, always-smiling addition to the cast — and to me, at least, he’s by far the most natural. He’s built for television. At ease in front of the camera and a balloon full of positivity floating above an ocean that can seem full of negativity. Surfing’s a funny thing. It was created solely to have fun, but so often, it’s full of gatekeepers. Don’t surf a mid-length. Don’t surf a SUP. No colorful wetsuits allowed. Only standard thrusters and black wetsuits need apply. You know the type.
But Koa doesn’t seem to be at all affected by any of that. Partially because he’s far better than the average surfer, but also because he seems to able to move through life smoothly, gliding towards whatever he wants with the confidence that he can do it, if only because he simply knows that he can. With that all said, I thought I’d give him a call to talk about what it was like throwing yourself at the mercy of Kelly Slater’s wave and, more importantly, the criticism of a nation and a group of people — surfers — who might be the most critical group of people in sports.
How did you like the whole experience? Was it what you thought it would be?
Honestly, when I went into it, it was kind of a roll of the dice. I thought that trying to do a reality television show on surfing was going to be a hard one. We weren’t sure if they were going to try and focus on drama or relationships or really what was going to go on. But to see how it came out — more focused on the surfing aspect and the competition — I thought it was really well done.
Do you think it’s going to be good for surfing or bad for it overall?
I think it’s going to be really good for surfing in general. It’s breaking down surfing to the audience; showing a wider audience the different tiers of surfing. The culture behind it, the mindset behind it, performing under pressure, and how crazy high-performance it can be, as well.
What did you think about it being in a wave pool instead of in the ocean?
It could be in the ocean in the future, but the whole controlled environment was pretty special and pretty cool. I think the audience can relate to it more because it’s basically the same thing every time, instead of wondering why Mother Nature didn’t provide anything.
How did you get on the show? Did you have to audition?
Yeah, for sure. It was during the Pipe Masters, I think. They sent out this thing that was just like, “There’s this T.V. show that if you win, you just get on the CT.” I was like, “What?! You get to shortcut the whole qualifying series? That’s the best thing ever!” I have my own YouTube channel and I’m filming every day anyway, so I’m getting incredibly used to that stuff. I also wanted the opportunity of learning how those bigger productions work in general. It was really, really cool to see.
Was it hard to act natural under the pressure of being filmed and having to perform on a wave that’s notoriously hard to perform on?
It was weeks and weeks of filming, every single day. We were being surveilled 24 hours a day. Day and night. They had cameras everywhere: in the RVs, in every secret nook they could, and we had microphones around our necks. Anything we said was documented. We were on the Ranch for a month, but after a while you just kind of got used to it.
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How much of the drama — like between Malia Ward and Tia Blanco — is real? Did the producers try and get you guys to hype that stuff up?
Somehow, everything was pretty much natural. I think when they saw stuff like that, they chose to maybe just talk about it a little bit more. I mean, that’s all part of the storytelling. They want to make sure they’re showing everything that’s happening.
What do you think about some of the negative reactions to the show?
It’s interesting. I think the first couple of episodes got a lot of heat from the core of surfing. Or people who think they’re core. I think that’s a pretty small mindset, and that as the episodes unfold, people will start liking it more and more. Like I said, in the end, I think it’s going to be really big for surfing. ELo [Erik Logan] juggled it. He pulled it off really well.
After being at the Surf Ranch for an entire month, do you still like that wave?
Yeah, I mean it was kind of weird. We got to surf it a lot, obviously, but it was so intense. We didn’t have many practice waves. I showed up to the Ranch, and I’d never surfed it before. I had five brand new boards, and we only had three practice waves before it started. So for the rest of the time, we were just trying to learn it. It took a long time to feel comfortable, which is what I think they wanted. It just added to it. By the end of it — yeah, the wave’s really good — but I never felt like I was free surfing.
Was there a lot of extra pressure in knowing that your surfing was going to be on national television?
Oh my gosh, yes. Not just that, but also knowing what’s at stake: something that I’ve wanted for my whole life, since I was six years old. To be on the Tour and to compete with the best. This is the opportunity, you know? On top of that, there are eight cameras on you at all times and you’re in this controlled environment where you know exactly when the wave’s coming. You hear the voice telling you when the waves coming and you know this is the moment. You’re trembling. Shaking. Just trying to control your nerves. As soon as you do it a couple of times, though, you can kind of tap in and overcome. But the pressure was real.
What did you think of the challenges?
It was very exciting. It wasn’t the same thing every time, as far as the challenges go. We constantly had to be ready for whatever they presented. At any time of the day, they could just be like, “alright, here’s the main challenge. You’re going first.” Two minutes later, you’re on your wave. Managing your energy was really interesting.
Most of the people on the show knew each other, especially you and Kai Barger. Was it hard separating childhood friendships from competition?
We all grew up with each other, so it was pretty crazy. It was really hard. It’s hard not helping out your friends. In my life, I feel like that’s something that I try and prioritize. On this show, I made sure that I selfishly had myself first. Kai was, in my eyes, the best surfer there. What was holding him back was his confidence on the wave. I didn’t want to help him out just so he could take me out.
Watch The Ultimate Surfer Monday and Tuesday nights, and learn more on WorldSurfLeague.com.
