A decade’s worth of marginal waves. A worthy celebration. Photo: Brent Bielmann//World Surf League
As Morocco’s football (soccer) team was riding the highs of a historic performance at this year’s World Cup, one of the tens of thousands of spectators in attendance, a surfer, was soaking in a similar historic moment.
Ramzi Boukhiam, who traveled to Qatar for 10 days to watch his nation compete, was also celebrating his own accomplishment, becoming the first Moroccan, or North African for that matter, to ever qualify for the Championship Tour.
At 29, Ramzi’s trip to join the world’s most elite surfers was anything but typical. He competed, and often struggled, on the Qualifying Series for a decade, never cracking that coveted top-10 mark to qualify.
But in 2019 things started to turn around for Ramzi when he went up against the best surfers in the world at the ISA World Surfing Games and earned a qualification slot into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Since then, Ramzi’s late-blooming career has exploded. And now, the kid who grew up surfing the world-class right points of Morocco with dreams bigger than most in his country thought possible, has finally made the show.
Wow, Morocco! Your country is simultaneously making history in surfing and soccer. Is there something to that?
I’m proud and happy to be part of this generation of sports in Morocco because it’s pretty big and I feel like everything is happening. I did it in surfing. There’s another girl who just joined the LPGA Tour and then the Moroccan football team… It’s crazy. We’re coming strong.
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After 10 years of grinding on the QS, how does it feel to finally make the CT?
It feels amazing. It was a long ten years though, with ups and downs. More downs than ups, I’d say. And so many times I would doubt, like, “Am I going to do it?” I kept pushing and kept believing with the good people around me, making some changes, some sacrifices. I knew deep inside that I could do it. But now that I’m here, I don’t want to go down. I’m going to have to work twice as hard, even more maybe, and push even harder to stay up here.
You qualified for the Olympics and the CT, talk about this new era of Moroccan surfing?
Moroccan surfing has definitely changed since I qualified for the Olympics. It brought a lot of eyes to the sport. There were always a lot of people surfing in Morocco, but I feel like something’s happening now. So many tourists from all over the world come to surf our waves, so we’re getting known as an amazing destination. That’s good. And if I can do my part and inspire the new generation, all the kids that want to surf, that’s amazing, too. I’m really proud of that. I’ll try to keep doing my best and hopefully help surfing grow even more here in Morocco. We have everything for it. We have like 2,500 kilometers of coastline. We have amazing waves. We have the talent. We just need to change the mentality that more people have to realize the gift of waves that we have here in this country.
When did you first realize that making the CT was realistic and where were you when you found out that you’d qualified?
I first realized I could qualify after my result in Brazil. We had Portugal, Brazil and Hawaii left – three events – and I was like, okay, I’m going to go to Portugal and make it happen there. But then, boom. I lost in a first round shocker. And then in my head, I’m like, really?
I went to Brazil with a good vibe. I stayed with my really good friend Leonardo Fioravanti. He was already qualified, so he actually was really supportive of me. He really wanted me to make it happen. I was focused, feeling good, and I put on a really great performance. I came second, and that put me all the way to fourth place on the ranking.
Then I went to Hawaii. I was feeling amazing. I love Haleiwa. I love big right-handers. But they threw my heat in the shittiest Haleiwa I’ve ever seen. It was terrible. And the day before and after it was perfect all day. I was so bummed. I lost first round, but that same day, like three hours later, a lot of guys that were just behind me in the ranking lost, too. I was still in the contest area and Travis (Logie) came and told me I’d qualified.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced during those 10 years trying to qualify?
Injuries. I always had something happening to me – the shoulder, the elbow, the ankle. Always something. That bothered me a lot.
Better waves ahead? Ramzi’s turns can match ’em. Photo: Thiago Diz//World Surf League
Is it hard to find the motivation to keep surfing heats after 10 years?
It’s really hard, to be honest. But on the other hand, I love it. Sometimes I ask myself, “How did you do 10 years of surfing?” I was surfing the shittiest QS waves and kept doing it, going all over the world, losing first round, coming back again, losing another first round, then getting a result. For me, all the downs are worth it. There are moments when you have the worst year of your career. You doubt everything, but you keep pushing because you know that little moment of up is coming. And when it comes, you forget all the things that happened before. I’m way more motivated now. I feel like a “click” happened. I really want to put in twice as much work. I really want to work harder and push a lot so I don’t have any regrets when I retire.
How does qualifying for the CT compare to the Olympics? Which are you most proud of?
I’d say qualifying for the CT. It was amazing qualifying for the Olympics, but it took me one contest to do it. I had one really good contest, and boom, I was in. But the CT, with 10 years of ups and downs and crazy doubts, I finally achieved it. This is the lifelong goal for any surfer that starts when they are young. The first goal you have is to get to the CT, so for me, that’s more special.
So how are you looking at the 2023 year?
I want to start really strong and make the cut. Then I hope I can finish in the top 10.
Which CT stop excites you most – and least – and which do you think suits your surfing best?
It’s complicated because we have a cut now, but I’m super excited for Pipe. And if I make the cut, I’m really excited about J-Bay and Teahupo’o. Those are the two waves I’ve always dreamed to surf in a heat. I think my surfing would be well suited for those events. I’ve never surfed J-Bay, but I think I could surf pretty well there. I’ve been to Teahupo’o on a few swells and it’s definitely challenging. I don’t have a lot of experience there, but I feel like I can do well because I love those kinds of waves. The wave that’s most challenging for me, I feel like it’s going to be Sunset Beach. I love it, but I also hate it. Sometimes I have great heats there, but most of the time I have shockers. So that one is going to be challenging for me, however, I’m keen for the challenge.
So how does your preparation for the CT change? Maybe a quiver update?
I think I’ll keep doing the same as what I’ve done this past year because I changed a lot before this year – maybe I’ll add more consistency, more training, and just more focus. And board-wise, I’m lucky to be working with JS, the best boards in the game for me. It’s more than just a shaper, he’s a really good friend, so I’m really stoked and I trust him all the way. I’m going to get really good boards for every stop of the tour. I’m not stressed about that at all.
Who is your biggest surfing influence?
Gabriel Medina. The guy is gnarly. You see him at the Challenger series, just coming back to competition and training for like a week. He just came and won. He’s so confident. He makes it happen all the time. Sometimes you see a guy like me struggling for years on the QS to get a result. Medina just shows up like that and wins the 10,000 easily. I’ve also always been a big fan of Rob Machado. He’s been my favorite surfer since day one. I would watch all his videos and try to surf like him. I thought he had the best style. And after that, I really liked the rivalry between Kelly and Andy. It was amazing to witness all that. Of course, I have a lot of favorite surfers, like Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning. They’re big role models for me, too.
Thanks Ramzi, anything we missed?
Just a special shout out to all the people that support me, Moroccans and non-Moroccans. But the support – I honestly feel it, and it helps me a lot. I want to thank everyone for that. And, like we say in Morocco, dima l’maghrib (always Morocco). I’ll try my best on surfing’s biggest stage.
