01x08 - Sea of Change

[bunniefuu]

MALE ANNOUNCER: Connor on the inside
and big air. Trick total 12.76.

-Connor O'Leary is the winner.
-[CROWD CHEERING]

CONNOR: Leading into the France event
I was ranked 101.

Now, after France, I am sixth.

It's amazing, and now,
I'm gonna go to Hawaii

which is the last event
on the Challenger Series.

Winning board gets the sock.

CONNOR: And I have to stay in
the top twelve by the end of the event

in order to qualify for the World Tour.

Thank you, France.
Thank you, Portugal. Bring on Hawaii.

CONNOR: When there's waves,
it's probably one

of the scariest waves in the world.

Sometimes the rips are just going
100 miles an hour.

So, all the successes
over the past couple years,

me winning in France,

doesn't mean
I'm gonna win again.

MAHINA: Surfing keeps evolving.
There's no such thing as a peak level.

There's no such thing as a...
the full package, 100% surfer.

Even the best surfer, like Kelly or John,
they have room to grow.

My philosophy was always to level up,
to always grow.

Sharpen my skills and increase my tools
and, like, get better.

CONNOR: The more heats you surf,
the more experience you gain.

I'm still, to this day, learning.

I still will until the end of my career.

WADE: You gotta step out
of your comfort zone

in everything in life.

And that's only when you really know
your true potential.

CONNOR: So, before I go to Hawaii...

first, I'm going to California
for a few days. I need a reset.

Wrap my head around competing
because, at the end of the day,

working on your mental game
is just as important

as working on your physical.

You gotta knuckle down,
there's no excuses

on why I'm not capable
of being one of the best.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC ENDS]

-CONNOR: How you doing?
-MICHAEL: Yeah! Good to meet you.

-Connor, nice to meet you. How you doing?
-MICHAEL: Yeah, my pleasure. Great.

-That's good. Thanks for having me.
-MICHAEL: Let's grab a seat.

Cheers.

I'm a high performance psychologist.
I spend most of my time with

world-class athletes,
performers and business leaders,

helping them understand
how to think

and execute towards their potential
on a regular basis.

Okay.

MICHAEL: This is the first time
that Connor and I met

and surfers are different.

Every wave is different.

The conditions are constantly changing.

And so, psychology shows up
in significant ways for elite surfing.

-MICHAEL: How you've been?
-CONNOR: Good.

Yeah?

Cruising. Just got back from...
got back from Europe.

-Yeah, congrats.
-Yeah, thanks.

It was a crazy week and, yeah,
excited to go to Hawaii

-and finish the year off with a bang.
-There you go.

So, what is the ideal

competitive mindset
that you want to have?

I think it's just
a little bit more assertiveness.

Just not assertive enough.

And that's definitely...

And that's definitely cost me a lot.

-What do you mean?
-Just like...

always trying to find
how I'm gonna make someone feel,

instead of how I can be one of the best.

So, self-critique...

and questioning yourself, doubt...

Mm.

...feel like they are the culprits
to you taking up your space

and then getting on your front foot
like, "This is what I'm gonna go get."

Exactly, yeah.

Okay. So, what is the gap
between being who you are right now,

and then who you want to become
and be more often?

I think I just like being liked.

I just never want to be that guy

who isn't liked.

When I shouldn't really care at all.

-But you do.
-Yeah.

What is it about people's opinions
that is so...

dangerous for you?

When I was a kid,
because I was half Japanese.

I was definitely different.

So, yeah, I put that kind of
different heritage behind me

to try and fit in with,

I guess society.

I was just kind of that person
that was just...

under the radar.

-Then you'll be middle of the pack.
-Yeah.

How do you think that experience
that you're describing,

of kinda leaving my heritage behind

to fit in to the culture

-of my neighborhood...
-Mm-hmm.

...how do you think that that
has played forward in, you know,

some of the struggles
that you're working out now

Yeah. I think maybe it's

got to do with
why I'm not as assertive as I wanna be.

You know, fitting in was...

something that I did when I was a kid

and I just kind of keep...

kept going on with that trend.

It's taken me a while to think
that I'm good enough.

Okay.

MICHAEL: The influence of approval
from the neighborhood friends

at a young age, it's so strong.

Connor has made a call and a decision
to go with the community acceptance,

creates a bit of a conflict
for being one of the best.

So, I don't want to be glib
when I say this, but I mean this,

what do you really want?

CONNOR: I wanna win.

MICHAEL: Okay, I feel the fire
that you're coming from.

"I wanna win." So, therein lies
this tension that you have

because you want to be liked.

But the fear of not being liked
is greater at this point

than putting your a*s out there

and saying, "I am committing
to being my very best,

"no matter what, and, listen,
you might not like me."

CONNOR: He touched on a lot of things,

you know, I've never touched on
with anyone in my life.

MICHAEL: I think there's work
that you can do, letting go of some

of the frameworks that you built,
which is, "I want to be liked."

Mm-hmm.

Cracking that open to,
"I want to be the man I want to be."

This is where confidence comes from.

It's where a sense of internal power
comes from.

It's what you say to yourself
about yourself.

CONNOR: Yeah.

And then that will help to shape
this assertiveness part of you.

-Okay?
-Yeah. Thanks, man.

For sure.

CONNOR: Definitely brought
a lot of clarity

and a lot more thought process

into where I want to be
and that little bit more assertiveness

is something that I'll work on
for sure in Hawaii.

YUMA: [IN JAPANESE]
Today, I'm heading out of Aomori

and taking a ferry to
the Hakodate Ferry Terminal in Hokkaido.

I'm so excited!

Hokkaido is an island that's separated
from Honshu, the mainland of Japan.

I was lucky to visit Hokkaido once,
and was blown away by its powerful energy

and what a special place it is,
even for Japan.

So, I'm grateful to be visiting again.

[IN ENGLISH]
My final destination! Hokkaido!

[IN JAPANESE] Let's do this.

[IN ENGLISH]
Yes! Now, we're in Hokkaido!

[IN JAPANESE] We're here!

Whoo!

So, first thing today...
we're going to check out a hot spring.

It's actually a hidden hot spring.
A secret hot spring.

It's not public, but a natural hot spring
on a piece of private property

and the owner has made it
so others can bathe there.

Okay onto a dirt road.

Okay.

Sweet.

[SIGHS] I've got my jacket, and...

Ta-da!

This is so important.

I don't need anything else.

[IN ENGLISH] Okay. Let's go.

[IN JAPANESE]
So this is what it looks from the outside.

As I post YouTube videos from my travels,
and people tune in for the experience,

if they keep following me,
I can make money from the advertising.

But it's tough to live
on that income alone.

Excuse me.

How best to live my life is something
I'm always trying to figure out.

Wow look how cool.

This is such an insider spot.

I'm dying to get in, so let me get ready.

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS, CHUCKLES]

This is too awesome. What is this?!

This really is a special hot spring.

And what really moves me about it

is the perfect quality
of the hot spring water, but also

how the very existence
of this place is so beautiful,

I feel like this place fills you
with wonder and love.

I believe that places like this one exist
all around Japan.

So, I wanna introduce
all those places in my channel.

This is also a way for me to
express myself as a professional surfer.

Of course, it's not easy to live
as a professional surfer.

I'm just not the type of surfer who can
live on winning competition prize money.

What I want to do is really different,
and difficult to accomplish.

So I have to create a new way
in which my lifestyle, and of course

my new marriage and baby,
can all thrive together.

I'm working really hard on that.

-SARA: [IN ENGLISH] It's a video, right?
-MAHINA: Yeah.

[SARA LAUGHS]

MAHINA: The last time I was here was
for the Olympics.

So, it's been about a couple months.

I was here in November,

and then I actually went
straight to Hawaii.

And then that's when we started
hanging out a whole ton,

-which is crazy.
-Oh, yeah.

MAHINA: Basically, she lived at my house

when she's in Hawaii.
So, we're like roommates.

Basically, yeah.

MAHINA: Try to do like a rapper stance.

-This is not... I can't!
-So cheesy!

MAHINA: The last month for me
was a little stressful.

So, this is something
that Sara and I really wanted to do.

We wanted to enjoy ourselves
and really enjoy the culture,

and the whole idea is
to kind of reconnect

with what we fell in love
with surfing with.

-Give me the ticket.
-[GIGGLES]

Give me the tickets.

[IN JAPANESE] Okay mom.

MAHINA: [IN ENGLISH] Sarah did see me,
like, at the most bottom of bottom

of like emotional scale
because I was just really stressed out.

She made me really feel like
it's not the end of the world.

So, for me to fly over here
with Sara I feel kind of more at ease.

MAHINA: Where's your ticket?

You have my ticket!

Are you sure?
I thought I gave it back to you.

No, you didn't.

-No, you didn't. [LAUGHS]
-I gave it back to you.

SARA: Yeah, if anything
I have more support this time from her

because she's like telling me
what exercises to do during quarantine,

and, like, in Hawaii, she was telling me
I need to ride bigger boards,

helping me pick out new equipment.

SARA: Oh, my gosh. There it is!

-Should we go climb it?
-SARA: No.

[BOTH LAUGH]

SARA: I really don't have that experience
and those years that she has

in terms of the surfing career,
so it's super cool to have like almost,

like, a mentor?

But you're like my coach.
I don't know who you are.

I don't know about the mentor part.

Grab the cloud. Grab the cloud.

SARA: Welcome to Kyoto!

So, we're in Kyoto right now.

The reason we chose to come here
is, like, there's so much rich culture,

tradition, history.

Here and also her bloodline
and part of mine is from this area.

Gion is like traditionally known

to where all of the geishas would walk.

So, we're gonna get dressed up
in some kimonos and...

see, like, kind of time travel.
See what it was like back then.

-MAHINA: [IN JAPANESE] Hello!
-REIKO: Welcome!

SARA: [IN ENGLISH]
Oh, my gosh. Look how pretty!

REIKO: [IN JAPANESE] Today, we'll
dress you in a furisode-style kimono.

It's the formal kimono for single,
unmarried women.

-[BOTH LAUGH]
-We are nowhere near married.

In Japan, when you turn twenty years old,

you participate in a ceremony
called seijin shiki.

It's a celebration of adulthood.

During this time, women often wear
this type of furisode kimono.

It's a very gorgeous long-sleeved kimono.

SARA: What is the history of the furisode?
When did it start?

Women began wearing
this furisode style as far back

as the Edo period, about 300 years ago.

So, if you compare it to the US, is it
like wearing a formal gown or dress?

REIKO: Yes, exactly

-You can even wear it to a party.
-Oh wow.

[IN ENGLISH] Oh, that one's pretty.
It's really bright.

REIKO: [IN JAPANESE]
This bright yellow is very cute.

SARA: [IN ENGLISH] Oh, my gosh.
You know, that one's...

-MAHINA: Oh, it has sakura! Okay.
-SARA: Yeah, that one's me for sure.

REIKO: [IN JAPANESE] First,
you wear kimono-style undergarments.

Then, on top of that you wear a juban,
which is a kimono under the kimono.

On top of that, you wear the furisode
or a type of kimono called h*m*.

Then you fasten the obi.

SARA: [IN ENGLISH]
Such an iconic piece, the kimono.

MAHINA: It shows the feminine part
of Japanese culture.

We are as athletes kinda almost
a bit masculine,

but we can show that feminine
and cultural part of Japanese women.

FEMALE VOICE: [IN JAPANESE]
This pink really suits you. Super cute.

It's nice.

SARA: [IN ENGLISH] It's like we're getting
to celebrate womanhood

and the tradition of Japanese culture.

Wow!

[IN JAPANESE] Thank you so much.
Thank you.

-SARA: [IN ENGLISH] They're amazing.
-[ALL GIGGLE]

SARA: To be put in like such
a formal and traditional, like, wear,

in my mind I was going through
this journey of like transforming

into this Japanese princess, almost.
Like... [CHUCKLES]

we never look like... I mean,
I never look like this for sure.

Well, pink has, like, always been
my favorite color

since I was a little girl.

And we came here in hopes
to see the cherry blossom

but, unfortunately, we're a little bit
early this year.

And I thought if, you know,
we're not going to see the cherry blossoms

-then I can just represent them myself.
-Oh, she can be the cherry blossom itself.

Yes, exactly!

SARA: Oh, my gosh.

-Look at this!
-MAHINA: [IN JAPANESE] Hello!

Could we have one cheese
and one red bean paste dorayaki sweet?

[IN ENGLISH] Stepping out
of my comfort zone and doing something

completely different was fun.

Cheers!

SARA: I never even had many, like,
Japanese friends,

so it's super cool
to share that experience.

Oh, my God!

-Wow! Oh, is that one good?
-So good.

MAHINA: Especially for us, when Japanese
is our second language.

Moving from America to Japan,
like, it's not easy, it's really hard.

But that's how life works.

There's no smooth sailing
to anything that you need to get through.

SARA: I was pretty nervous
getting back here but having somebody

with, like, similar background interest.
And it's so fun!

[TRANQUIL MUSIC PLAYING]

FEMALE VOICE:
Aloha and welcome to Honolulu.

Aloha, mom.

CONNOR: The North Shore is
as raw as they come, I think, you know.

I've been coming here since I was
about 14 and it's never changed.

I mean, the forecast
have been a bit tricky.

It's pretty junky, and wobbly,
and bit stormy, and...

a bit seasickness vibes, but,

I just have one focus and one focus only.

I'm here for a purpose.

I'm here for a job
and I'm here to compete.

JOE: There's always so much pressure
on the Challenger Series.

From Huntington
to Portugal, to France...

and then you come to Haleiwa.
The last chance

to qualify for the Championship Tour.

So, any competitor,
it is ultimate importance

on finishing with a great result.

Oh it's gonna be a rough day. My god.

CONNOR: The lead up into this event.
You're lying if you say

you're not thinking about it,
because you are, you know,

it's always in the back of your mind.

There's definitely always
that little inkling of...

you know, fear.
Am I going to be on? Am I gonna be off?

There's just too many stories
of people losing their spot

by a bad result at the final stop
of the season.

So, even with a big win
for Connor in France, you're not safe.

Everyone's incredible, everyone charges,
everyone is so well prepared.

The competition is fierce
on the Challenger Series.

And there's people, you know,
under the 12 mark, you know,

that are chasing those spots.

They're moving up the ladder,
bumping the guys out of that top 12 tier.

So, for Connor, nothing would be worse
than to lose in the first round.

You have a spot at six,
where Connor is,

if he loses in the first round...

he's basically got to wait to see
what everyone else does around him.

And that pressure can feel insane.

CONNOR: You always go
through those stupid phrases

through your head. You know,
"I'm not good enough,"

and this and that and...

I feel like for me, it's like,
I do the best

when I'm really owning my decisions
and just being more assertive.

And, like, what Michael said, you know,
if I want to keep progressing

in my own sport, it's kinda like...

You can always be that nice guy,
but when you need to...

All right.

...be as assertive as you can.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: We are here live
at Haleiwa and we will be deciding

who is advancing
into the 2022 Championship Tour.

MALE ANNOUNCER:
These four guys are really strong.

JOE: He's got his hands full.
You've got Nat Young,

you've got Pat Gudauskas,
and Cody Young.

Some really good surfers.
And then, priority's interesting

in these four-man heats because there are
a lot more people in the water.

And it can be pretty challenging
to find yourself with priority.

It was a pretty tricky heat
with waves because there wasn't many.

MALE ANNOUNCER: Unfortunately,
for these four hammers in the water.

You know the waves have gone quiet.

CONNOR: With surfing, you're not only
competing against the other person,

you're competing against the ocean.
I think that's the hardest part.

For some reason within that 30 minutes
there just was no sets and...

it was pretty frustrating.

You just got to adapt
with whatever's happening

and whatever conditions
you're facing and...

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Connor O'Leary goes in
for a second little snap off the top.

CONNOR:
Managed to get a mid-range score,

and then back it up
with something that was okay.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:
And now on his backhand,

Conner O'Leary connecting together
a couple of turns,

displacing so much water

and Patrick GUdauskas answers back.

Four-man heats, third and fourth
are eliminated. Top two advance.

So, two minutes to go.

Now, Connor is back in that
vulnerable position with being second.

I feel like real crucial decision-making
is gonna have to come down

to these last two minutes
with priority, wave selection.

MALE ANNOUNCER: Patty G's got a chance.
He's got priority. Only needs a 4.27.

Only needs a 4.27 at this stage.
That's like one completed turn.

If he hits it well, that's all
it's gonna take

for Pat to turn this on Connor.

MALE ANNOUNCER: If you're Connor O'Leary
you got to be tingling inside,

just wondering what's about to happen.

JOE: You can see Pat,
patiently holding priority.

Had to let that wave go.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Okay, he's... Is he?
He's gonna let that one go as well.

MALE ANNOUNCER:
That's... that was a big decision.

He's gonna have to pull the trigger now.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:
Down to 30 seconds. Here we go.

MALE ANNOUNCER:
This looks like a good one.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:
Can he make it around the section?

-MALE ANNOUNCER: Oh!
-FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Oh, no! Just too deep!

MALE ANNOUNCER:
Not really. Just a little too casual.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:
On his take-off positioning!

MALE ANNOUNCER:
Connor O'Leary, holding his breath there.

He just dodged a major b*llet.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Connor with
an opportunity

to improve his score line as well.

Up and riding before the buzzer.
This will count.

CONNOR: You're so focused on
what you need to do during a heat.

It kind of all came and hit me
when I was done, where I was like,

"Oh... I just squeaked through,
pretty much."

JOE: So, Connor keeping his spot
in second, and ultimately moving on

to the next round.

But no phone calls are ringing yet
saying you've done it.

You're waiting for that call to come
to say that you've done enough

to qualify for the tour and you basically
can't relax until that call comes in.

FERNANDO:
This shop is in, it's a beach town.

A very slow beach town in Argentina
where I grew up coming here surfing.

That's a board from the first year

of the first ISA World Surfing
Championship, in La Jolla.

They gave that board as a present,
signed by all participants.

Yeah, normally in a shop
you got 10% decoration,

90% things for sale.

Here it is more like 40% things
for sale and 60% decoration.

So, the Olympics in 2020
was an incredible success.

It was everything.

And now, for the next Olympics in 2024,

the IOC decided yes. And they voted
and approved

Tahiti. Teahupo'o.

It's the best waves in July,
of all places in the world.

But that's it for Olympic surfing.

The next games after that
were not chosen yet.

Because, at the end of 2020
the Olympics review,

the performance of the sports,

tickets sales, TV, social media,
sponsors, you name it, everything.

The sport has to be a sport
that brings value to them.

So now there is
a final evaluation process,

before we can bring surfing
to the Olympic Games in 2028 in LA.

So, today's the last step.

All the members of the IOC
are meeting in Beijing,

and will vote 'yes' or 'no'
to include surfing

in the LA Games and remain
as a permanent sport

from the LA Games, forward.

Which is what we always wanted,
you know. That's really...

the ultimate, you know, the summit
for Olympic participation,

is to become an Olympic permanent sport.

The other thing,
and it's not a small element,

is there is a lot of funding
that comes with the Olympic Games.

Every four years you get
certain amount of money,

and with that amount of money you can

support your human resources,
support your events, or scholarships.

But, if you're not a permanent sport you
are excluded.

Only the permanent sports receive funding.

Surfing being in Olympics is so important,
for so many reasons.

But the challenge is dealing
with an unpredictable ocean.

Waves come here, there,
tides are changing

and that's the journey of being a surfer.

You live by those good days, and you dream

of another good day coming,
but does that really fit

into an Olympic time slot? You know,
that they have this amount of time

for the Olympic games,
they're in certain country,

do they have a place
that is worthy enough to perform on?

And that's always kind of
probably prevented surfing

from being in the Olympics,
you know, over the last 20 years.

FERNANDO: I decided not to go to Beijing
to stay close to my family.

I've been away a long time this year.

So, it's midnight in Argentina,
and instead of going to sleep, I'm up.

Watching the session on the webcast

and hoping to get the last step
to the permanent Olympic wave.

MALE VOICE: [OVER COMPUTER]
Proceeding to vote.

We have a unanimous vote in favor.

[ALL CHEERING]

It's approved.

FERNANDO:
In the world of surfing it's, it's huge.

I mean you've seen already,

so many more people
in the world loving the sport.

My hope will be that,
people around the world that have waves,

if we can teach the kids of the world
how to swim in the ocean...

then they can catch waves.

[IN JAPANESE] The effect
of the Olympics was, to be honest...

way more than I expected.

I bet surfing is going to really grow
more popular from now on.

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

JOE: [IN ENGLISH] I feel like a lot
of surfers made huge career decisions.

Even countries that they're representing
define their heritage

and how they can be a part
of the Olympics

and showcase surfing to the world.

And with new teams that are showing up
in regions of the world

that I didn't know had great surf,

it's changing everything
in surfing moving forward.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

YUMA: [IN JAPANESE] Because
of the Olympics, more and more people

are becoming surfers,
and my hope is that they can

deeply explore and experience
the true nature of surfing.

[MUSIC FADES]

I want more people to get in contact
with the essence of surfing.

The essence of surfing is love.

And the world will become a better place
when we spread that essence of surfing.

[TRANQUIL MUSIC PLAYING]

[STEAM HISSING]

YUMA: Well, today's menu
is one of my favorites,

simple yet very satisfying.

Seared deep-fried tofu, natto beans,
and miso soup. That's it!

I'm hoping to create some cooking videos
for my channel.

As a free surfer,
I'm not in competition, so

I'm 32 now,

but I've really had
to make a living by combining many jobs.

Okay, so next up is miso.

For example, right now I've got
the YouTube advertising,

some magazine work,

I run a shared housing property,
do interior maintenance work, and so.

So then, to say "Give it all up and find
a corporate job

"because you're expecting a child..."

of course, that's normal.

But why not live a simple life, and earn
just enough money for what I need?

Here comes the atsuage.

By the time it's cooked,
the rice should be ready too.

Of course, that only works if you have
a partner who shares your values.

Fortunately, my partner, Shiori

I wouldn't say she's never worried
at all about our financial situation,

but she believes in me
and she's very confident that together,

we'll always find a way.

So, to keep that promise,
I want to surf my best.

The finishing touches now.

Yup.

Bunch of ginger.

Thanks for the food.

Always start with the miso soup.

[SLURPS]

[EXHALES]

[PHONE RINGING]

-Hello.
-Hello.

-Good work today.
-Likewise.

-I just finished making and eating dinner.
-I want some too.

-You want to eat it, huh?
-Yes.

I can't wait to cook with you in this van,
in this kitchen.

Yeah. Me too.

I met Shiori this year,
around the time the ocean was warming up.

There was a beach right where I lived,
and that's where we met.

We didn't talk much at first,
but the second time we met,

there weren't many people in the water,
maybe just three or four, and

we were on the same peak and she caught
a great wave,

so I told her she was a good surfer

and we started chatting about our boards,
and so on.

So then, I wanted to reach out
to her later,

but only knew first name.

I wanted to message her just to say

"We had some great waves today,
didn't we?"

But I couldn't, so I was like "Oh well."

Just then, she messaged me, saying,

"We had some great waves today,
didn't we?"

So I was like, "Yes! We're connected!"

And we grew closer from there.

So...

SHIORI: What?

Please, will you marry me?

[SHIORI LAUGHS]

YUMA: How's the baby doing?

The baby's been moving quite a bit.

Really?

-Yeah, the baby's doing really well.
-Mm-hmm.

It's so cute.

Is it cute?

-Yeah.
-I see, it's cute.

The baby always reacts
to your voice, you know?

That's right.

I want to feel that directly again soon.

Yes. Very soon.

Man, I've really missed you.

If there's one thing I want to do
with Shiori before our baby is born,

knowing that soon, our time together
will be mostly family time,

it's that I really want to value being
with her, just the two of us.

Well, when I put my mattress back here,
there's so much space

too much space, and I feel alone.

-Did you tidy up?
-Yes, I did, look at this.

-Oh yeah.
-It's super clean, right?

It seems it got cleaners after Guy left.

[BOTH LAUGH]

YUMA: We couldn't see each other much
while I was making the camper van

and I'm sure she was lonely,
so from now on

I want to be by her side

before our baby is born,
and after too, for always.

Okay then, see you soon?

Yes, see you. Okay.

Okay.

-[IN ENGLISH] Love you. Bye.
-Love you. Bye-bye.

-Bye.
-Bye.

Been on the road for, God,
it would come up for four months.

Yeah?

Long time.

Oh, my gosh. Look at that one.

CONNOR: Yeah, so after the event,
I got to the beach

and stayed and watched one
of the boy's heats

who was a couple of heats after mine
and then during that heat,

Trav Logy, the commissioner,
he calls me and he's like,

"Hey, got some news for ya.

"You're on."

He said that
it's mathematically impossible

for me to fall off, so,
or fall out of the 12, so... Yeah.

CONNOR: And I was like, "Oh, really,
like, what do you mean?"

I thought... kinda thought like
it was a joke at the start,

but then yeah, it all kind of hit me
and I was on.

That's... that was really cool
'cause it's kind of the first time

I ever qualified so early
in the last event.

The last two times I had to wait
pretty much till the end of the event.

You know, the last day, the last few heats
and then it was like yes or no.

So, it's really cool feeling.

JOE: Getting a spot back
on the Championship Tour

was everything he needed.

You've seen him so many times
having to pick himself back up.

With two early losses
in the Challenger Series

and a big win carrying probably
the pressure of performing for so long

and now you're going, he's done it.
He's back.

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC ENDS]

CONNOR: What's up?

STEPHANIE: [OVER PHONE]
Congratulations!

-Whoo-hoo!
-[LAUGHS]

-Thank you.
-I'm so excited.

-It's really crazy.
-That was the scariest...

That was the scariest 40 seconds
of my life.

That you almost, like,
didn't get through that heat,

I don't know, you just, like,
gave me a heart attack.

It's been a wild year, babe.
It's been a wild year.

To see Connor get as far as he has
with his career is truly...

it's inspiring to everyone.
I...

I knew he could do it,

but he's amazed me
more and more each day.

He just improves himself all the time.

To get where he is
is just a dream come true for him.

So how do you feel that you've
actually qualified now? Is it like...

a relief? Or has it sunk in yet,
or do you still feel like

you're fighting for it? [LAUGHS]

I think it'll sink in when I get home.

All right, we're so excited
to see you.

I know. I'm excited to see you guys too.

CONNOR: It's really bittersweet
and super satisfying to be able

to change your mindset and shift it
and...

The World Championship Tour
is the elite of the elite

and I'm kinda one of the few people
on the tour at the moment

that have one flag on one arm
and another flag on the other arm,

which is a Japanese flag
and my Australian flag.

It's something
that I'm really proud of, so, yeah.

Trying to represent them both
as best as I can.

[TRANQUIL MUSIC PLAYING]

MAHINA: Our trip continues.

We just landed in Tanegashima.

Ah! It's my first time here,
is it your first time here?

It is my first time. I thought
it wasn't your first time.

No, I've always dreamed
of coming here but I've never been here.

-Oh, I thought it was...
-No, no, no.

It's my first time as well. So...

SARA: This is such a sick car.

MAHINA: Tanegashima was a tropical island
off the southern coast of Japan.

SARA: One of the first things
we actually spoke about in Hawaii

when we met was like
going island hopping together

off the coast of Japan.

But at this time, like the waves
are pretty fickle everywhere in Japan.

-So, like...
-MAHINA: Yeah. The quality of waves

is completely different

from where we had the Olympic venue,
like Shidashita, and stuff.

So it's gonna be interesting to see
what kind of waves

-that we're gonna score.
-Let's go.

[CAR ENGINE STARTS]

I brought seven boards
because I have no idea what to expect.

Crossing our fingers for what we have.

-SARA: And waves, waves.
-MAHINA: Hey! Waves.

SARA: Pass me the wave.

-Ah!
-Back.

MAHINA: A lot of people know
just the generic places,

like North Shore and California
and Australia and stuff first.

Obviously, the world is a lot bigger.

Oh that totally could be a spot!

SARA: Surfers travel the world
and enter all these, like,

nooks and crannies that, like,
if you're not a surfer,

maybe you won't think twice
about going to.

SARA: Yeah, this looks cool.
This looks really cool.

-MAHINA: Dude, what if we get stuck?
-SARA: No, we won't.

Like seriously, but this is fun, come on.

Looks kind of fun out here
but I wonder if it's like, surfable

'cause it kind of looks shallow.

This is where we are right now.
I mean, there are kind of waves

but not too much of it.

I guess let's just have fun.
And let's go longboarding.

-SARA: Okay, I'm down.
-MAHINA: And not... Yeah.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

SARA: The surf was extremely fun.
I got to longboard.

I haven't longboarded
in a very long time.

MAHINA: It was just different, like,
for short boarding,

it's like you're always in a higher,
faster pace,

longboarding makes you realize

how placement
with surfing is so super key.

So, that was fun.

I sometimes, like, forget, you know,
like, why I even started surfing

or why I like surfing sometimes
because I put so much pressure on myself

to like, I need to do better.

I need to get better
but just longboarding today

being in that beautiful
crystal clear water kind of, like,

"Oh, maybe I'll focus more on
just enjoying."

And that'll probably make
my surfing better in general.

[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]

MAHINA: We found a patch
of cherry blossoms.

Sara!

Oh, my God!

SARA: I just feel like
something magical happens

when you get to be under them
and see them and...

'cause it's a once-in-a-year situation
and it's only for like a week long.

-SARA: Oh, my god.
-MAHINA: Insane.

MAHINA: Definitely seeing
the cherry blossoms clears out your mind

and it gets you in such a good headspace.

We are having a couple events
coming up soon,

and we're stepping into the new season,
and we're gonna work really hard.

So, it was a good reset.

SARA: I can feel it. You know,

and that's why surfing's so cool too,
'cause it roots us to the present.

It's just you and nature
and you have that like raw connection.

You know, regardless
if you're going for gold medal

or if you're going, you know,
just for your soul,

I think surfing helps you handle
these ups and downs

and it's all about learning
how to be flexible with the waves of life.

HAYATO: [IN JAPANESE]
I'm sure that surfing tools

and techniques will keep evolving,

but I hope we never lose sight
of what's important,

like how precious nature is,
and how to cherish the sea

as more and more people make
deeper connections with the ocean.

MAHINA: [IN ENGLISH] People ask me,
"What's so special about surfing?"

I always say, like, just think about
maybe painting canvas.

The wave itself is the canvas
and you're the paintbrush.

You get to really express your feelings
when you're riding the wave

and what you wanna do on the wave.

You just have to believe in yourself
and try to get to where you want to be.

YUMA: [IN JAPANESE] Through this trip,
I got to meet so many different people,

and got to experience
many different aspects of the culture, and

I really had the feeling everyone
was enjoying their lives.

For example, Koji had a tragic experience.

However, he is enjoying life
with a bright smile.

And Mr. Naito who was happily telling us

all his stories and experiences.

Or Taku, who carries on
his family's tradition, but, furthermore,

adds his own essence in order
to create something new.

I could see how all these people
were celebrating their lives.

So I thought to myself,
"I have to live up to that."

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

CONNOR: [IN ENGLISH] Every sport needs
that new generation pushing limits.

In surfing, it's happening
at a huge level.

There's a lot of World Tour surfers
that are qualifying

at a younger age nowadays
and it's great

'cause it pushes not only myself,
but it pushes all of us

to keep improving, and if we didn't have
those new generations

this sport wouldn't evolve,
and wouldn't get better every year,

so... yeah, we need them.
[CHUCKLES]

[IN JAPANESE] If our generation,
like myself, go further...

like winning the world championship,

or getting gold in Paris 2024...

If we achieve these things,

more kids in the future
can see their potential.

I think they can believe in themselves
better than when we were kids.

[IN ENGLISH] The future of Japan
for surfing, it's obviously up,

and I want to help in that push
for surfing in Japan.

-KANOA: [IN JAPANESE] Did you surf?
-Yeah.

-How many waves did you catch?
-Four, I think.

Four? That's great.

Nowadays, even very young children
are also active in sports,

so I think it's wonderful for everyone
to be showing the world

that anything is possible.

Through surfing,
I want to show everyone

that I have the confidence
to believe in my potential.

YUMA: This trip is now ending,
but my own journey is going to continue,

so I'm looking forward to it,
and to adding a car seat for the baby.

Where I'm going next,
I haven't decided

but I know surfing will take me there.

[MUSIC FADES]

[UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC ENDS]