Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - April 24, 2024


Ep 991 ｜ Bethany Hamilton on Women’s Sports, Faith & Motherhood


Episode Stats

Length

54 minutes

Words per Minute

167.35698

Word Count

9,051

Sentence Count

95

Misogynist Sentences

56

Hate Speech Sentences

29


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.760 Bethany Hamilton is more than just an amazing pro surfer with an incredible testimony.
00:00:07.300 She is also a mom, a wife, a Christian, and an advocate for women and girls competing
00:00:14.320 fairly in sports.
00:00:16.680 She is also a pro-life advocate.
00:00:19.180 And so today she joins us to talk about her story, what the Lord has taught her throughout
00:00:24.740 her life, and how he continues to use her testimony for the good of others.
00:00:30.000 And we will also, of course, talk about the changes to Title IX, why she decided last
00:00:34.960 year to speak up for the rights and for fairness for women and girls in surfing.
00:00:40.320 And we'll talk about so much more, too.
00:00:42.340 This episode of Relatable is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.
00:00:45.460 Go to GoodRanchers.com.
00:00:46.720 Use code Allie at checkout.
00:00:47.740 That's GoodRanchers.com, code Allie.
00:00:49.340 Bethany Hamilton, thanks so much for taking the time to join us.
00:01:02.980 My pleasure.
00:01:03.820 Glad to be here, Allie.
00:01:05.040 Yeah, it's so nice to meet you.
00:01:06.700 OK, so many people out there have been following you, have been asking me for so long, can you
00:01:11.460 please get Bethany on?
00:01:12.740 Which I am so excited because I have been wanting to and hoping to and planning to have
00:01:18.500 you on for a while.
00:01:19.420 So praise God that it worked out.
00:01:21.600 But for everyone who may not know your story, take us back to the beginning.
00:01:26.580 When did you start surfing and what cultivated your love for that?
00:01:30.340 So I was born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii, and both my parents surfed, and they're both God-fearing
00:01:37.580 people, and they just had my brothers and I and threw us in the water at a young age, you
00:01:44.420 know, probably on a surfboard before I could walk.
00:01:46.820 Yeah.
00:01:47.400 And I just, I think in my, like, young childhood, I grew a passion for the ocean and riding waves,
00:01:56.160 and I had a knack for it, and also just a strong drive.
00:02:00.680 And yeah, as I was getting older, I started competing, I'm very competitive, and it was
00:02:06.900 just a really cool childhood, like just amazing parents.
00:02:11.940 You know, we, my dad worked really hard, had like two to three jobs at a time, so we had
00:02:18.080 a very simple childhood, but they gave me so much.
00:02:21.480 They gave me so much time, and they gave me my faith in God, they encouraged me so much
00:02:27.440 in that area, and then they gave me surfing, which was just the dream playground.
00:02:34.160 And so when I lost my arm, it was almost like I was ready, because my mom had raised me in
00:02:41.740 my faith.
00:02:42.460 She would pray with me, she read the Bible to me at bedtime, we went to church, and they
00:02:48.240 were just very active, I would say, and so when chaos hit, I was ready.
00:02:54.340 Yeah.
00:02:54.980 And while it wasn't the plan that I had in mind for my life, God allowed me to survive
00:03:00.840 that day for a reason, and I very much so could have died, but I made it, and then from
00:03:09.200 there, things just continued to get really interesting.
00:03:12.160 Like, I didn't wake up in the hospital thinking like, wow, I'm gonna surf with one arm, you
00:03:18.180 know, I was more of like, oh my gosh, I lost my passion, like the thing that was more than
00:03:23.420 just a childhood sport, it's just a passion.
00:03:25.880 And remind me how old you were?
00:03:26.560 I was 13 when I lost my arm.
00:03:28.980 Gosh, so young.
00:03:30.220 Yeah, so super young, and to give you a little context, I had finished second in the national
00:03:38.260 titles that summer before, also with my competitive drive, but I was only 13, and I was 18 and
00:03:47.360 under, so very promising.
00:03:50.380 Yeah.
00:03:50.960 Kind of like, I don't know, compared to other sports, I feel like surfing, you can kind of
00:03:54.520 pinpoint if someone's gonna really succeed, whereas like soccer or baseball, like there
00:04:00.980 can be a lot of like really talented children, I would say, but you're not gonna be like, oh
00:04:05.700 yeah, my child's gonna be the best, the next best, I mean, maybe the odd parent might think
00:04:10.200 that, but with surfing, I feel like it's just a little different, because now being a parent
00:04:14.860 myself, I'm like, my parents really were all in, like almost too much, but I love that they
00:04:21.240 were super supportive.
00:04:22.860 Would you say that surfing, I've never surfed before, so I don't know that much about it,
00:04:28.400 would you say, based on what you just said, that you can kind of tell like who is going
00:04:32.600 to be really good from an early age, would you say it's more intuitive, like a more innate
00:04:38.100 skill than maybe some other sports?
00:04:41.080 I would say it's a mix.
00:04:43.060 There is innate ability, like my eight-year-old son, he innately reads the ocean so well, like
00:04:50.260 he can kind of like see a wave coming from forever away, and he's just in the spot.
00:04:55.600 That's so cool.
00:04:56.020 It's super natural, but it's also something you can work at and get better at, and nowadays
00:05:03.180 too, there's like wave pools, so there's some super talented surfers that have basically
00:05:08.680 like gotten themselves to a professional level by spending a lot of time in the wave pools,
00:05:15.880 and so yeah, it's a mix of both, I would say.
00:05:18.900 So at the end of the day, hard work, perseverance, pushing yourself, and like having the natural
00:05:24.980 talent as well.
00:05:26.560 So 13, you survive the attack, you wake up in the hospital, and you think, as you said,
00:05:33.380 wow, my dream is over.
00:05:34.760 You had had this super promising career already by the time you were 13, and you're thinking
00:05:39.700 it's all done.
00:05:41.660 Yeah, so I wake up, and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know what my life is going to look like,
00:05:47.220 and I think like when chaos like that hits our life, you're just like, everything feels
00:05:52.500 upside down, like the future feels unknown, and so that aspect was really hard, but then
00:05:59.500 I had a friend come in and visit me.
00:06:01.880 His name was Mike Coots, and I had a lot of family support and friends coming in and encouraging
00:06:06.500 me in so many amazing ways, but Mike Coots in particular, he had lost his leg to a shark,
00:06:13.040 and he had learned how to surf with one leg, and so he came in, he's like, hey, I think
00:06:17.120 you can surf with one arm.
00:06:18.720 I was practicing paddling out there this morning, and so he was my first like light bulb of like,
00:06:25.640 okay, maybe I can surf, and then from there, I was just on a mission to get back in the
00:06:30.320 water, and I think most people can't get past the whole shark thing, like they don't want
00:06:36.600 to go back in the ocean after something like that happens.
00:06:39.360 Yeah.
00:06:39.900 But, I don't know, you want to compare it to say driving in a car, like you're going
00:06:47.960 to get back in your car and like still go to the grocery store for the most part, maybe
00:06:52.700 the odd one out of a million might really struggle and never want to get back in a car, but for
00:06:58.960 me, like I said, surfing was more than just my childhood hobby, like I feel like it was a
00:07:05.300 way of life, and culture, and art, and sport.
00:07:10.140 You lived and breathed it.
00:07:11.380 Yes, exactly.
00:07:13.100 So, yeah, 21 days later, as soon as the doctor said I could get in the water, I was out there
00:07:20.500 trying and going for it.
00:07:22.580 Yeah, and your parents were totally on board, no pun intended.
00:07:26.380 My mom was like a little apprehensive.
00:07:30.480 My dad was like, yes, let's go, and then I think once my mom saw me surfing though, and
00:07:38.220 she had that same love and passion for the ocean, so she came on board after a bit.
00:07:43.900 Yeah, and they just knew that it was part of who you were, and that it would have been impossible
00:07:49.220 for you probably to stay out of the water, or it felt like it would have been.
00:07:53.180 I think too, I was exploring the unknown.
00:07:56.200 And I didn't know anyone with one arm, let alone a surfer with one arm, and same for my
00:08:02.440 parents, and so we were, you know, just exploring what was possible, and I think it was hard to
00:08:10.320 wrap your head around surfing with one arm for most people, like just popping up and catching
00:08:15.560 waves, and just the whole, it's one of the hardest sports in the world, so yeah, it was
00:08:22.740 just really cool though, that moment I popped up on my board and rode a wave all the way
00:08:27.240 to the beach, it was just like a tiny little wave, like nothing like very special as far
00:08:32.940 as the wave goes, but it still feels like one of the most beautiful waves of my life.
00:08:38.780 I can just remember that emotion and tears of joy.
00:08:41.460 All right, quick pause from that amazing conversation to tell you about a new episode that I have
00:08:53.520 for Blaze TV Plus subscribers only.
00:08:56.820 It is a Q&A on relationships, so you guys asked me some very juicy relationship questions.
00:09:04.520 I had so much fun answering these, and this is going to be available at blazetv.com slash
00:09:11.960 Allie.
00:09:12.740 Use code Allie, you'll get $20 off your subscription, you'll have access to this, and all kinds of
00:09:20.160 subscriber-exclusive content.
00:09:23.240 Go to blazetv.com slash Allie, code Allie.
00:09:27.740 Was it a pretty straight line from A to B as far as recovery and getting better surfing
00:09:36.600 with one arm, or were there ever moments after that where you just felt yourself getting frustrated
00:09:43.420 or discouraged or even fearful of an attack like that happening again?
00:09:49.800 Yeah, so I would say it was a journey, of course, like any recovery, but it was a journey
00:09:57.740 The physical journey was actually pretty straightforward and easy, but there were definitely days
00:10:04.100 where I'd come in crying or I couldn't even make it out to the lineup because the waves
00:10:09.480 were so intense and I just didn't have the speed or the power and, like, the duck diving
00:10:15.640 abilities, so it took a while to regain my confidence in the ocean and adapt and figure out creative
00:10:24.520 ways to do things differently and so
00:10:26.900 as time went on, it started to feel more natural
00:10:30.740 and I just got used to it and I
00:10:32.640 became better at adapting and figuring out
00:10:35.400 Bethany's version of surfing and creativity
00:10:38.240 out there and how I can do it differently
00:10:40.740 and
00:10:42.500 I think outside of the water, too, is the same thing
00:10:46.600 like just trying to figure out how to do
00:10:48.460 life and there was
00:10:50.520 a lot of frustrating moments, though
00:10:52.320 a lot of tears and frustrations
00:10:54.340 and some down days, for sure
00:10:56.580 but I would say
00:10:58.660 that's where, like, my faith in God
00:11:00.220 really
00:11:01.000 propelled me forward through, like, the
00:11:04.500 hardship and just trusting
00:11:06.700 that God had a plan for my life
00:11:08.660 and knowing that
00:11:09.900 even at 13, I was like
00:11:12.580 well, maybe the Lord will use my story
00:11:14.740 and so I always had a
00:11:16.560 heart for other people, like
00:11:18.280 ever since I was little
00:11:20.240 I just could not wait to go on a mission trip
00:11:22.720 I wanted to go and serve people
00:11:24.320 and so
00:11:25.900 yeah, I think
00:11:27.700 I started getting letters to
00:11:30.040 once I started surfing again
00:11:32.240 from people, like, if you can surf with one arm
00:11:34.560 like, I can overcome my hardship
00:11:36.180 and that
00:11:37.920 as a 13-year-old was kind of weird
00:11:39.980 but also really cool and beautiful
00:11:41.860 yeah
00:11:42.600 and so
00:11:43.640 is that how you kind of dealt
00:11:45.460 with those moments
00:11:46.440 that I'm sure
00:11:47.300 that you had
00:11:48.320 of
00:11:48.760 why me?
00:11:50.620 why
00:11:51.140 why did this happen
00:11:52.380 to me?
00:11:53.960 of all people
00:11:54.960 is that how you kind of combated
00:11:57.140 those temptations
00:11:58.820 to have thoughts like that?
00:12:01.200 yeah
00:12:01.580 it's interesting
00:12:02.540 I think
00:12:03.560 my mindset
00:12:05.700 as a 13-year-old
00:12:07.400 inspires me
00:12:08.540 to this day
00:12:09.400 like, I don't feel like
00:12:10.960 I'm like the same person today
00:12:12.680 like, I mean
00:12:13.620 yes I am
00:12:14.600 and like, I carry a lot of that
00:12:16.180 but
00:12:16.460 I remember just waking up
00:12:19.060 in the hospital
00:12:19.700 and thinking
00:12:20.180 I'm so grateful
00:12:21.180 to be alive
00:12:21.980 like, I could have died
00:12:23.120 I knew
00:12:23.980 very clearly
00:12:25.400 that I could have died
00:12:26.860 and
00:12:27.540 I just think
00:12:29.140 having that gratitude
00:12:30.520 propelled me forward
00:12:32.100 and focusing on
00:12:33.540 what I could do
00:12:34.720 propelled me forward
00:12:36.280 instead of getting stuck
00:12:37.820 in a rut
00:12:38.480 of like, woe is me
00:12:39.760 I have felt that
00:12:41.640 woe is me
00:12:42.300 and that's really hard
00:12:43.780 to overcome
00:12:44.600 and
00:12:45.900 face in life
00:12:48.900 and
00:12:50.080 all I can say
00:12:51.280 is
00:12:52.140 just trying to figure out
00:12:53.480 what can you do
00:12:54.780 how can you move forward
00:12:56.200 what are you
00:12:57.200 what do you have
00:12:58.300 to be grateful for
00:12:59.440 instead of like
00:13:01.280 thinking what if
00:13:02.980 and
00:13:03.740 woe is me
00:13:04.980 because life's gonna
00:13:06.920 knock you down
00:13:07.700 and
00:13:08.300 as my favorite
00:13:09.260 Bible verse says
00:13:10.200 like, in this world
00:13:11.020 you will have trouble
00:13:11.840 John 16, 33
00:13:12.980 I've said these things
00:13:15.580 to you
00:13:15.900 that in me
00:13:16.520 you will have peace
00:13:17.420 in the world
00:13:17.920 you will have trouble
00:13:19.000 but take heart
00:13:19.760 I have overcome
00:13:20.460 the world
00:13:20.880 and I love that verse
00:13:22.360 because it reminds us
00:13:23.440 that
00:13:23.840 we're gonna have trouble
00:13:25.880 like
00:13:26.320 God didn't say
00:13:27.420 it's gonna be
00:13:28.140 all perfect and easy
00:13:29.420 like sin is
00:13:30.220 a part of the world
00:13:31.220 and we're gonna
00:13:31.720 have to face that
00:13:32.600 and it's gonna
00:13:33.140 jack things up
00:13:34.060 along the way
00:13:34.780 but to have
00:13:36.560 our hope in God
00:13:37.500 and to know
00:13:38.360 that he will
00:13:39.700 be there for us
00:13:41.120 through it all
00:13:41.840 and I think that
00:13:43.380 throughout my life
00:13:44.720 like no doubt
00:13:45.700 that's been my
00:13:46.740 sure and steady
00:13:47.640 foundation
00:13:48.340 to carry me
00:13:49.340 carry me on
00:13:50.880 yeah it is a shift
00:13:52.260 in thinking
00:13:52.940 from
00:13:54.080 I'm entitled
00:13:55.500 to everything
00:13:57.260 going well
00:13:58.140 I'm entitled
00:13:58.920 to my dreams
00:13:59.800 coming true
00:14:00.320 exactly how I
00:14:01.400 envision them
00:14:02.040 I'm entitled
00:14:03.060 to reap the rewards
00:14:04.360 of everything
00:14:04.980 that I have worked
00:14:05.860 for exactly
00:14:06.680 like I want
00:14:07.480 to reap them
00:14:08.240 going back
00:14:09.540 to the promise
00:14:10.240 that you just
00:14:11.800 repeated
00:14:12.440 that actually
00:14:13.260 what we can expect
00:14:14.480 is trouble
00:14:15.420 what we can expect
00:14:16.820 is trials
00:14:17.320 what we can expect
00:14:18.280 is for things
00:14:18.960 not to go our way
00:14:20.340 for things
00:14:21.260 not to always
00:14:22.240 just be a smooth road
00:14:24.000 and I love
00:14:25.220 that you brought up
00:14:26.040 that verse
00:14:26.600 because the comfort
00:14:27.540 is not that
00:14:28.680 but it'll all work out
00:14:30.000 in the end
00:14:30.460 how you want it to
00:14:31.440 the comfort is
00:14:32.680 but take heart
00:14:33.620 Christ has already
00:14:34.860 overcome the world
00:14:36.360 so it's in him
00:14:37.460 and it's not about us
00:14:38.900 and our abilities
00:14:39.860 but in his promise
00:14:41.900 and his gift
00:14:42.880 right
00:14:43.420 so after this
00:14:44.860 you didn't just
00:14:45.500 continue surfing
00:14:46.720 and riding some
00:14:47.760 little waves
00:14:48.560 you continued
00:14:49.460 competing right
00:14:50.320 yeah
00:14:51.280 so I went on
00:14:53.100 to win a national
00:14:53.900 title two years
00:14:55.140 later
00:14:55.480 and then
00:14:57.860 that kind of
00:14:59.220 projected me
00:14:59.920 towards a professional
00:15:00.880 career
00:15:01.520 and so
00:15:02.220 that was super fun
00:15:03.260 like I
00:15:03.980 am just a surfer
00:15:05.500 and mermaid
00:15:06.340 at heart
00:15:07.020 and so that's
00:15:07.960 my happy place
00:15:08.820 and my element
00:15:09.520 like yeah
00:15:10.960 it was really fun
00:15:11.880 to push myself
00:15:12.660 and really like
00:15:13.820 push female surfing
00:15:15.300 and so
00:15:16.300 I had an awesome time
00:15:17.840 I wouldn't say
00:15:18.540 I wouldn't say my
00:15:18.760 competitive career
00:15:20.400 was as successful
00:15:21.600 as I maybe
00:15:22.580 could have been
00:15:23.300 but there was a lot
00:15:24.880 of rad moments
00:15:25.580 along the way
00:15:26.200 and I would say
00:15:26.660 the highlight
00:15:27.220 of my surfing career
00:15:28.440 was probably
00:15:28.940 creating my documentary
00:15:30.120 Unstoppable
00:15:30.800 which we started
00:15:32.260 to create that
00:15:33.100 as a 10 minute
00:15:34.060 short film
00:15:34.840 just me pushing
00:15:35.820 it in the ocean
00:15:36.460 and then it kind of
00:15:37.300 turned into a bigger
00:15:38.180 project
00:15:38.820 but there is the
00:15:40.340 10 minute short film
00:15:41.440 within the documentary
00:15:43.080 capturing me
00:15:44.120 pushing female
00:15:45.060 surfing
00:15:45.640 and pushing myself
00:15:47.300 in big waves
00:15:48.360 little waves
00:15:48.940 competitive
00:15:49.620 progressive
00:15:52.300 female surfing
00:15:53.380 and so
00:15:54.080 it was just
00:15:54.740 so fun
00:15:55.760 to
00:15:56.560 push myself
00:15:58.180 and I had a baby
00:15:59.480 along the way
00:16:00.100 so I share like
00:16:01.040 the entering
00:16:01.880 in the motherhood
00:16:02.960 journey
00:16:03.480 and then we just
00:16:04.820 bring our little guy
00:16:05.660 along for the ride
00:16:06.540 he has more
00:16:07.220 passport stamps
00:16:08.560 in his passport
00:16:09.640 than most humans
00:16:11.460 which is pretty cool
00:16:12.440 for him
00:16:12.820 and it was just
00:16:14.160 such an amazing
00:16:15.140 adventure
00:16:15.600 with the support
00:16:16.660 of my husband
00:16:17.120 of course
00:16:17.700 he was like
00:16:18.940 hey you only have
00:16:19.700 so much more time
00:16:20.640 to like really
00:16:21.220 push it with surfing
00:16:22.140 so let's just
00:16:23.380 like kind of go
00:16:24.100 all in the next
00:16:24.960 few years
00:16:25.600 and then we'll
00:16:26.540 start a family
00:16:27.260 but the first
00:16:28.580 little guy
00:16:29.000 came a little
00:16:29.520 earlier than planned
00:16:30.560 and then
00:16:31.100 but yeah
00:16:32.620 it was just
00:16:33.220 an awesome adventure
00:16:34.300 and I loved
00:16:35.420 every second of it
00:16:36.360 and then
00:16:36.780 four days later
00:16:37.540 I'm still surfing
00:16:38.520 pretty world class
00:16:40.160 level
00:16:40.540 like you know
00:16:41.440 I can make a heat
00:16:42.320 and still shine
00:16:44.180 out there
00:16:44.680 but just kind of
00:16:45.860 focusing on motherhood
00:16:47.080 and having fun
00:16:48.220 and getting my children
00:16:49.140 to the beach
00:16:49.820 and yeah
00:16:50.500 yeah
00:16:50.860 well I have lots
00:16:51.680 of questions
00:16:52.080 about motherhood
00:16:53.080 and all of that
00:16:53.820 but I'm curious
00:16:54.580 how you felt
00:16:56.000 as a teenager
00:16:58.960 when your story
00:17:01.260 became basically
00:17:02.720 international news
00:17:04.620 because I knew
00:17:05.420 who you were
00:17:06.100 when I was
00:17:07.040 you know
00:17:07.360 when I was young
00:17:07.980 when I was a teenager
00:17:08.840 everyone knew
00:17:09.680 what had happened
00:17:11.560 to you
00:17:12.160 and even
00:17:13.140 your testimony
00:17:13.780 of faith
00:17:14.800 and I grew up
00:17:15.700 in the evangelical
00:17:16.420 world
00:17:17.040 and so we loved
00:17:18.080 those testimonies
00:17:19.020 I think for great
00:17:19.860 reason
00:17:20.300 and so I knew
00:17:21.620 your story
00:17:22.200 and your name
00:17:23.020 and have for a long
00:17:23.860 time
00:17:24.240 what did you think
00:17:25.480 about that
00:17:26.040 when it became
00:17:26.960 this you know
00:17:28.700 the testimony
00:17:29.400 that was heard
00:17:30.140 around the world
00:17:30.840 it was crazy
00:17:32.660 because that was
00:17:33.840 right when social
00:17:34.720 media was just
00:17:35.540 kind of barely
00:17:36.180 getting off the ground
00:17:37.000 it might have been
00:17:37.580 MySpace days
00:17:38.620 or like early
00:17:39.540 Facebook days
00:17:40.620 but my story
00:17:42.200 went viral
00:17:42.920 without the social
00:17:44.200 media
00:17:44.560 it was crazy
00:17:45.280 like literally
00:17:46.000 worldwide
00:17:46.720 and I actually
00:17:49.280 like hated it
00:17:50.240 like I hated
00:17:51.520 being in the public
00:17:52.560 eye
00:17:52.900 I was like more
00:17:53.660 reserved
00:17:54.080 like just happy
00:17:55.020 to be surfing
00:17:55.720 like just wanted
00:17:56.660 to be with my
00:17:57.320 friends
00:17:57.820 you know
00:17:58.180 teenager vibes
00:17:59.380 but like a good
00:18:01.040 teenager vibe
00:18:01.700 too though
00:18:02.120 like we were
00:18:02.840 just rambling
00:18:03.460 and adventuring
00:18:04.300 in nature
00:18:04.840 so that was
00:18:07.880 super hard
00:18:08.620 for me
00:18:09.200 but I also
00:18:10.440 had that like
00:18:11.200 heart to
00:18:12.080 encourage
00:18:12.480 and inspire
00:18:13.360 others
00:18:13.740 so I kind
00:18:14.380 of like
00:18:14.840 fought it
00:18:16.760 fought the nature
00:18:17.980 to want to like
00:18:18.860 hide
00:18:19.340 and was still
00:18:20.340 willing to share
00:18:21.080 my story
00:18:21.740 and I think
00:18:22.200 my mom
00:18:22.640 mom and dad
00:18:23.420 kind of pushed
00:18:23.940 me along too
00:18:24.620 you know
00:18:25.000 but they were
00:18:26.340 also awesome
00:18:27.020 in the way
00:18:27.700 that they did
00:18:28.380 it I would say
00:18:29.180 though they also
00:18:30.620 probably didn't
00:18:31.340 fully comprehend
00:18:32.120 what was going
00:18:32.860 on but
00:18:33.460 and then I
00:18:38.560 remember we
00:18:39.300 went to write
00:18:39.880 my book
00:18:40.360 Soul Surfer
00:18:41.160 and I was like
00:18:42.400 okay let's do
00:18:43.220 this
00:18:43.700 literally my
00:18:44.660 teenage brain
00:18:45.300 was like
00:18:45.740 I'm going to
00:18:46.380 write this book
00:18:47.040 so I'd never
00:18:47.640 have to tell
00:18:48.120 my story again
00:18:49.120 so we write
00:18:51.460 the book
00:18:51.940 I would sit
00:18:53.400 with the pastor
00:18:54.160 friend who's
00:18:54.940 an author
00:18:55.400 Rick Bunchy
00:18:56.100 he would sit
00:18:57.160 with me for
00:18:57.600 like 10 minutes
00:18:58.400 and then I'm
00:18:59.020 like I'm done
00:18:59.720 like 10 minutes
00:19:00.960 at a time
00:19:01.540 so we like
00:19:02.140 slowly inched
00:19:03.000 along and
00:19:03.480 wrote this
00:19:03.940 book
00:19:04.320 and then
00:19:07.000 it came out
00:19:07.700 and I didn't
00:19:08.400 realize I had
00:19:08.960 to do like
00:19:09.440 a media tour
00:19:10.400 so they're
00:19:10.880 like I
00:19:11.220 won't go
00:19:11.520 to New York
00:19:12.040 City
00:19:12.480 I'm doing
00:19:13.020 all these
00:19:13.380 interviews
00:19:13.980 I hated
00:19:15.200 interviews
00:19:15.860 it was just
00:19:17.180 not my
00:19:18.420 forte
00:19:19.660 but
00:19:20.440 God was
00:19:23.220 doing his
00:19:23.680 thing and
00:19:24.200 sharing my
00:19:24.780 story and
00:19:25.560 doing it
00:19:26.380 for a good
00:19:26.800 reason and
00:19:27.660 it was just
00:19:28.180 so cool to
00:19:28.940 hear so many
00:19:30.160 people from
00:19:30.840 so many different
00:19:31.660 walks of life
00:19:32.420 from all over
00:19:33.200 the world
00:19:33.600 just so
00:19:34.300 inspired by
00:19:34.900 my story
00:19:35.500 and like
00:19:36.080 just so many
00:19:36.740 children would
00:19:37.500 pick up Soul
00:19:38.140 Surfer and
00:19:38.720 read that
00:19:39.480 when they had
00:19:40.360 never read a
00:19:41.020 book before
00:19:41.660 or just
00:19:43.220 people going
00:19:43.860 through immense
00:19:45.880 hardship and
00:19:47.100 remembering that
00:19:47.920 they can keep
00:19:48.520 going and so
00:19:49.500 it's just so
00:19:50.780 amazing to see
00:19:52.960 how even that
00:19:54.540 dysfunctional
00:19:55.740 teenager that
00:19:56.580 wanted nothing to
00:19:57.540 do with being in
00:19:58.320 front of a camera
00:19:59.000 or doing any
00:19:59.940 sort of interviews
00:20:00.660 or writing any
00:20:01.480 sort of books
00:20:02.180 still God
00:20:04.780 still worked
00:20:05.280 through her
00:20:05.760 God used
00:20:06.300 that totally
00:20:07.380 how'd you meet
00:20:20.100 your husband
00:20:20.480 so Adam and
00:20:22.540 I he finished
00:20:24.460 college he had a
00:20:26.400 teaching degree and
00:20:28.160 then he ended
00:20:28.620 up out in
00:20:29.120 Hawaii to help
00:20:30.560 a friend start
00:20:31.180 a young life
00:20:31.760 chapter he was
00:20:32.840 like I'm done
00:20:33.440 with college like
00:20:34.160 a little free
00:20:34.820 season and then
00:20:36.400 our friends just
00:20:38.280 loved him so much
00:20:39.120 they wanted to
00:20:39.760 keep him out
00:20:40.400 there and find
00:20:41.700 him a wife and
00:20:43.480 they set us up and
00:20:44.760 then we kind of
00:20:45.960 hit it off pretty
00:20:46.960 quick he just gave
00:20:48.100 me a call and we
00:20:49.280 met up at the
00:20:49.880 beach and we
00:20:51.980 we jumped off a
00:20:53.160 cliff into the
00:20:54.260 ocean and he's
00:20:55.840 from Kansas
00:20:56.440 he's a ball
00:20:57.520 guy not an
00:20:58.560 ocean guy yeah
00:20:59.560 there's a big
00:21:00.340 difference like a
00:21:01.380 lot of like muscle
00:21:02.560 heads from the
00:21:03.380 gyms or like
00:21:04.660 ball guys who
00:21:05.760 are like super
00:21:06.480 athletic like you
00:21:07.480 get them in the
00:21:08.040 ocean and they're
00:21:08.820 just kind of like
00:21:09.980 barely making it
00:21:11.060 so it was so
00:21:12.560 funny because I
00:21:13.200 was like just
00:21:13.820 such a mermaid and
00:21:14.880 we're like really
00:21:16.560 different backgrounds
00:21:17.440 but also like
00:21:18.820 similar in
00:21:19.780 upbringing and
00:21:21.440 yeah we hit it
00:21:22.580 off and kind of
00:21:23.840 from there got
00:21:25.660 married about a
00:21:26.860 year later and
00:21:27.820 yeah how long
00:21:28.660 have you been
00:21:28.960 married now
00:21:29.500 10 years
00:21:30.420 10 years
00:21:31.520 four babies
00:21:32.660 yeah and doing
00:21:33.920 life together he
00:21:34.920 helps kind of like
00:21:36.420 keep everything
00:21:37.140 going and we
00:21:38.200 just kind of
00:21:38.740 teamwork all
00:21:39.740 aspects of life
00:21:40.720 so okay how
00:21:43.040 do you surf
00:21:44.360 while pregnant
00:21:44.980 yeah so how I
00:21:48.440 like to say for
00:21:49.600 me surfing is
00:21:50.580 kind of like
00:21:51.360 walking like you
00:21:53.380 know you're
00:21:53.780 gonna walk when
00:21:54.360 you're pregnant
00:21:54.840 and for me I
00:21:55.880 kind of just
00:21:56.340 surf while I'm
00:21:56.980 pregnant yeah
00:21:57.800 like I would say
00:21:58.640 towards once I
00:21:59.660 start getting a
00:22:00.380 bit bigger I put
00:22:01.440 more weight up on
00:22:02.540 my upper chest
00:22:03.620 got it and kind
00:22:04.900 of like perch and
00:22:06.100 and then there's
00:22:06.820 certain types of
00:22:07.520 waves that are
00:22:08.200 better for surfing
00:22:09.240 when I'm pregnant
00:22:10.120 so I pick my
00:22:10.900 waves a little more
00:22:11.840 strategically yes
00:22:13.380 and I don't know I
00:22:14.460 surf till seven
00:22:15.660 months with my
00:22:16.760 first couple yeah
00:22:18.080 and then six and a
00:22:19.380 half months with my
00:22:20.260 second too okay so
00:22:22.460 and there was
00:22:23.740 never like a
00:22:24.940 moment of like
00:22:25.800 worry for baby
00:22:27.080 yeah and yeah
00:22:29.700 in Hawaii too I
00:22:31.600 will say a lot of
00:22:32.760 women surf till
00:22:33.820 literally the day
00:22:34.820 they're giving
00:22:35.260 birth like it's
00:22:36.340 it's a cultural
00:22:37.220 thing part of what
00:22:37.960 they do so then
00:22:38.540 you get on social
00:22:39.380 media and you like
00:22:40.180 post stuff like
00:22:40.860 that and people
00:22:41.300 are like what are
00:22:42.080 you doing like
00:22:43.220 yeah be careful
00:22:44.320 I'm like of course
00:22:45.620 be careful like
00:22:46.520 yeah like thanks
00:22:48.380 for reiterating what
00:22:49.540 we all already
00:22:50.440 women can do a
00:22:52.480 lot more just in
00:22:53.280 general while
00:22:53.920 pregnant than
00:22:54.660 people think
00:22:56.520 especially like
00:22:57.420 for I you know
00:22:58.440 I had like had a
00:22:59.120 friend who was a
00:23:00.360 crossfitter and she
00:23:02.080 was really into
00:23:02.620 crossfit and then
00:23:03.440 when she got
00:23:03.880 pregnant she
00:23:04.520 continued to do
00:23:05.260 crossfit like all
00:23:06.200 through her
00:23:06.480 pregnancy and of
00:23:07.260 course like you
00:23:08.100 said there are
00:23:08.680 precautions that you
00:23:09.420 take modifications
00:23:10.280 and things like
00:23:10.980 that but pregnancy
00:23:12.260 isn't like a
00:23:13.020 disease that you
00:23:14.020 necessarily have to
00:23:14.900 stop doing
00:23:15.580 everything for
00:23:16.500 and I will say
00:23:17.420 there was moments
00:23:18.160 in certain
00:23:18.740 pregnancies where
00:23:19.800 I had to slow
00:23:20.580 down and ease
00:23:21.660 up like I had
00:23:22.560 pubic symphosis
00:23:23.540 disorder at one
00:23:24.440 point and had to
00:23:25.420 do some rehabilitation
00:23:26.320 after and so like
00:23:27.880 there's some element
00:23:29.140 of like I do
00:23:30.160 respect like what
00:23:31.520 the body is going
00:23:32.500 through like I
00:23:33.540 think there is an
00:23:34.880 element like I
00:23:36.000 personally am not
00:23:36.920 going to go on a
00:23:37.580 run when I'm eight
00:23:38.680 nine months pregnant
00:23:39.580 like I think for me
00:23:41.380 it just wouldn't be
00:23:42.400 good I try to be
00:23:43.580 really in tune with
00:23:44.760 what's going on but
00:23:45.740 surfing is actually
00:23:46.520 more gentle than you
00:23:47.580 would think and
00:23:48.980 so and like also
00:23:50.800 someone who runs
00:23:52.260 all the time like
00:23:53.360 maybe their body is
00:23:54.340 more used to that
00:23:55.520 and can handle it
00:23:56.280 though I think there
00:23:56.940 is something to be
00:23:57.600 said about the
00:23:58.200 relaxing going
00:23:59.080 through the body
00:23:59.600 I'm really into
00:24:00.160 health so I do
00:24:00.980 dive deep on a lot
00:24:02.100 of this stuff and
00:24:02.820 try to problem
00:24:03.840 solve any issues I
00:24:05.200 might be having so
00:24:07.320 there is an element
00:24:08.560 of like your body
00:24:10.040 is going through a
00:24:11.260 lot of transitions so
00:24:12.800 I kind of like try to
00:24:14.020 balance that out and
00:24:15.480 with my fourth baby I
00:24:17.100 was way less active
00:24:18.280 but I feel like my
00:24:20.660 recovery was amazing
00:24:22.380 after so it's just a
00:24:24.580 balancing act and I
00:24:25.680 do think listening to
00:24:27.560 your body and just
00:24:28.440 paying attention but
00:24:29.720 yeah being a surfer
00:24:30.960 like to me it's like
00:24:32.080 walking on the
00:24:32.840 sidewalk so yeah just
00:24:34.680 kind of get out there
00:24:35.580 and do it.
00:24:35.660 It didn't feel like a
00:24:36.300 workout to you.
00:24:37.220 I am like major
00:24:39.320 waddler in pregnancy
00:24:41.300 like after halfway I
00:24:43.040 personally can't imagine
00:24:44.340 running even though I've
00:24:45.880 never surfed and
00:24:46.660 surfing would be like
00:24:47.920 it would be probably
00:24:48.940 really really hard for
00:24:50.100 me but I can imagine
00:24:52.420 if I did have
00:24:53.740 surfing skills that
00:24:54.940 being easier while
00:24:56.300 pregnant than running
00:24:57.540 because run like you
00:24:59.660 said the relaxing it
00:25:01.040 just makes every like
00:25:02.480 your hips and your
00:25:03.380 pelvis are so
00:25:04.200 different.
00:25:05.060 I can't imagine being
00:25:06.240 able to run without
00:25:07.360 waddling but you do
00:25:08.500 see the women who are
00:25:09.600 you know they're track
00:25:10.380 stars and that's just
00:25:11.320 what they do it's like
00:25:12.460 surfing for you like
00:25:13.680 they can do it I
00:25:15.340 can't imagine.
00:25:16.460 I'm curious too though
00:25:17.960 is because you do see
00:25:19.000 a lot of these stories
00:25:19.800 like I want to hear the
00:25:20.900 ins and outs like was
00:25:22.440 there any issues that
00:25:23.780 five ten years following
00:25:25.460 yeah like me I think I
00:25:27.720 maybe pushed it a little
00:25:29.020 too much and so I've had
00:25:31.640 to do some rehabilitation
00:25:32.840 at times like with the
00:25:35.460 pelvic floor and but for
00:25:38.320 the most part I would say I
00:25:39.820 took really good care of
00:25:40.860 my body always focus on
00:25:42.100 alignment because of
00:25:43.460 having one arm and so I
00:25:44.980 can nerd out on that I
00:25:46.000 probably won't do that
00:25:46.960 with you today Allie.
00:25:48.100 That's okay you can we
00:25:49.380 like talking about
00:25:50.340 pregnancy and all those
00:25:52.060 things a lot so you're
00:25:53.500 welcome to.
00:25:54.980 Thanks.
00:25:56.420 So okay so you met your
00:25:58.220 husband about and y'all
00:25:59.860 you said that you dated
00:26:00.900 like a year or so.
00:26:03.420 Yeah it was just over a
00:26:04.920 year we were met in May
00:26:06.680 and then married the next
00:26:07.640 August but I was
00:26:09.080 traveling a lot in
00:26:09.940 between that time so it
00:26:11.700 felt like you know I'm
00:26:12.780 probably like nine months
00:26:14.180 but yeah yeah and then
00:26:15.960 now you have four kids and
00:26:18.200 your youngest is how old?
00:26:20.120 My youngest as of today
00:26:21.700 she's ten months and then
00:26:23.740 we have three boys my
00:26:25.020 oldest is eight and it's
00:26:26.740 awesome.
00:26:27.160 You have three boys and a
00:26:28.460 girl?
00:26:28.940 Yeah.
00:26:29.320 Oh my goodness that's
00:26:30.840 amazing and they help take
00:26:32.500 do they help take care of
00:26:33.520 their sister and protect
00:26:34.560 their sister?
00:26:35.260 My boys are so sweet
00:26:37.820 it's so beautiful to see
00:26:39.760 their like brotherly love
00:26:41.820 and I look at it as
00:26:43.000 paternal instinct as well
00:26:44.740 like one day hopefully
00:26:45.840 God willing mama can have
00:26:48.440 some grandma
00:26:49.140 grandchildren.
00:26:50.900 Yeah.
00:26:51.820 But yeah it's been really
00:26:54.080 fun.
00:26:54.580 I definitely think having
00:26:55.700 like four
00:26:56.580 my fourth was definitely the
00:26:58.980 easiest because I had the
00:27:01.400 helpers.
00:27:02.040 Yeah so true.
00:27:03.740 Yeah they're there to help
00:27:05.340 support you know if
00:27:06.580 Aaliyah's fussing in the
00:27:07.620 car while we're driving
00:27:08.740 I'm like hand her toys
00:27:10.340 give her snacks
00:27:11.020 make her smile
00:27:12.220 and they're super helpful.
00:27:14.220 Yeah.
00:27:14.560 How soon do you get your
00:27:15.860 babies on the water?
00:27:17.460 Aaliyah I haven't gotten
00:27:18.680 her on a surfboard or in
00:27:20.360 the ocean even that much
00:27:21.680 it's just been life's been
00:27:23.380 kind of hectic and in the
00:27:25.680 winter it gets more
00:27:26.620 blustery and kind of just
00:27:27.900 like less desirable but this
00:27:30.100 this summer we'll get out
00:27:32.120 there and get her in like
00:27:33.480 little splash pools along
00:27:36.840 the ocean and yeah.
00:27:38.800 Yeah.
00:27:39.720 Just as soon as possible
00:27:40.740 you kind of get them like
00:27:41.820 used to the water.
00:27:43.020 Yes but like my three year
00:27:44.820 old he doesn't really surf
00:27:46.760 but he'll surf on daddy's
00:27:48.340 shoulders so dad will take
00:27:50.380 him out and he'll ride on
00:27:51.600 his shoulders or they like
00:27:53.340 tandeming my six year old
00:27:54.900 loves tandeming and
00:27:56.400 boogie boarding.
00:27:57.700 Yeah.
00:27:57.920 Yeah.
00:27:58.180 That's so fun.
00:28:00.100 Let's talk a little bit
00:28:12.840 about a subject that you
00:28:14.660 started speaking up about
00:28:16.000 in the past couple of
00:28:17.460 years that I'm sure that
00:28:19.000 you got a lot of support
00:28:19.940 for on social media and
00:28:21.460 then a lot of detractors of
00:28:23.880 course because it can be a
00:28:25.260 polarizing subject and that
00:28:26.880 is the protection of women's
00:28:29.180 sports and my audience
00:28:31.060 doesn't need an explanation
00:28:32.140 for that.
00:28:33.100 We've seen changes with
00:28:34.160 Title IX of course this is
00:28:36.120 something that unfortunately
00:28:37.080 has been pushed for quite a
00:28:38.820 few years now but allowing
00:28:40.660 males to compete against
00:28:43.100 women in the name of
00:28:44.520 accepting gender identity.
00:28:46.740 You decided to speak out
00:28:48.140 about this and so I just I
00:28:50.860 want to hear why you
00:28:52.280 decided to make a stand
00:28:54.420 because you could have
00:28:55.900 decided not to.
00:28:57.180 Yes.
00:28:58.060 So it's super interesting
00:28:59.480 the World Surf League
00:29:00.880 I was competing in a
00:29:03.980 women's pipe event
00:29:05.160 that was just before the
00:29:09.620 World Surf League which is
00:29:10.800 like kind of like our main
00:29:12.160 competitive tour and they
00:29:16.300 emailed the entire tour
00:29:18.760 hey like this is a new rule
00:29:20.880 just giving you a heads up
00:29:22.500 so and the new rule was
00:29:24.520 they were allowing males to
00:29:25.820 compete against females
00:29:26.840 and nobody got any
00:29:30.000 precursor or pre-warning
00:29:31.720 it was just in an email
00:29:33.220 boom and I was I had heard
00:29:35.700 whispers and I told a couple
00:29:37.100 of the girls that were on the
00:29:38.640 main tour and I was like hey
00:29:39.720 did you hear about this like
00:29:40.900 I'm hearing whispers like this
00:29:42.220 is crazy and they're like no
00:29:45.740 way it's gonna happen like kind
00:29:47.580 of doubting and they said the
00:29:49.560 the new rule was did they
00:29:51.500 say transgender women or did
00:29:53.300 they just say it's gonna be
00:29:54.360 co-ed?
00:29:55.820 I don't remember the exact
00:29:57.700 wording but basically males
00:29:59.340 could not compete in the
00:30:00.520 female division of trans males.
00:30:02.640 Got it.
00:30:03.960 And so I was just like oh my
00:30:07.340 goodness this is horrible like
00:30:09.100 I've seen what's going on in
00:30:10.740 other sports and I just knew
00:30:15.200 that my like first of all I'm
00:30:18.240 very much so against that and
00:30:20.340 so you know I kind of hold to
00:30:24.100 my values and I stand firm with
00:30:27.120 what I believe and try not you
00:30:29.860 know I don't really deviate much
00:30:31.840 you know in my life I guess that
00:30:34.540 sounds weird I am very like kind
00:30:36.660 of like more black and white I
00:30:38.340 guess yeah but what really upset
00:30:41.300 me about what was going on was the
00:30:43.820 World Surf League in January prior
00:30:46.340 to telling the girls what was
00:30:48.180 going to go on and the guys they
00:30:51.060 had all the athletes sign no
00:30:53.300 disparaging agreement you cannot
00:30:56.580 say anything against the World
00:30:58.400 Surf League and so here you have
00:31:00.700 all the girls on tour I would say
00:31:03.620 at least 70% of them for sure were
00:31:06.380 against it and they've all signed a
00:31:09.460 nine non-disparaging agreement you'll
00:31:11.560 get kicked off and you'll be fined if
00:31:13.340 if you speak out well and so I'm
00:31:16.620 like oh my goodness like none of
00:31:18.380 the girls you know they could have
00:31:20.360 spoke out they make enough money to
00:31:21.940 receive the fine but they would be
00:31:23.660 throwing their careers in the trash
00:31:25.600 so you know all of them decided not
00:31:30.520 to speak out yeah it wasn't like I
00:31:33.800 was really having conversations with
00:31:35.580 them but you know you can just go on
00:31:37.360 social media and find out real quick
00:31:39.000 and so I just decided it was my time
00:31:43.880 to shine yeah not very excited about
00:31:48.120 it though because I knew it was just
00:31:50.040 going to be gnarly out there and yeah
00:31:55.040 it just I mean my way my approach was
00:31:57.420 very much just asking questions I'd
00:31:59.700 even state my opinion in the public I
00:32:03.220 just asked a bunch of questions like
00:32:05.300 because in the rule it talked about you
00:32:08.180 know must be on a hormone replacement
00:32:10.920 for like nine or twelve months and must
00:32:13.560 reach a certain number on the hormone
00:32:17.000 levels see even still to this day I can
00:32:19.900 barely even talk about it in like a
00:32:21.660 political fashion like I'm not very
00:32:23.820 political I just think of it from more
00:32:25.860 of like everyday Joe perspective so
00:32:29.340 still I'm like are you kidding me like
00:32:31.720 we're not just a hormone level yeah here
00:32:34.620 and yeah so yeah it was crazy but I'm
00:32:39.580 really happy I did it like I just and
00:32:42.640 that was before I found out I was
00:32:44.240 pregnant with my daughter but I was
00:32:46.220 like if I ever have a daughter and I
00:32:48.340 don't stand up for her and like somehow
00:32:50.740 she's one day competing and a super
00:32:53.520 talent in surfing or whatever sport she
00:32:55.580 might choose like I want her to have the
00:32:59.060 opportunity to win a world title without
00:33:01.220 competing against males yeah and so when I
00:33:06.280 had my daughter I was like oh my gosh
00:33:08.200 this is emotional like thinking about
00:33:10.760 like her future and all the young girls
00:33:14.700 that are up-and-comers and just thinking
00:33:17.940 you know as of now there haven't been
00:33:20.180 any males competing on the main world
00:33:23.380 surf league that I know of there was one
00:33:27.200 male that won a men's event and then he
00:33:30.100 went and won the women's event like a year
00:33:32.160 or two later and so that was just crazy to
00:33:38.060 me that people are accepting that I'm like
00:33:40.540 this doesn't really equal up to me to have
00:33:43.680 someone compete in the men's win and then
00:33:45.900 compete in the women's and win and
00:33:47.520 everyone's like just whispers and chip
00:33:49.820 chips but I would say people out of the
00:33:52.720 woodworks were thanking me like I would
00:33:55.560 say the majority of people are in agreement
00:33:58.240 with with my viewpoints or with me standing
00:34:01.860 up against it I would say I am pretty
00:34:06.440 disappointed that not more women spoke up
00:34:09.220 like none of the former world title women
00:34:11.920 spoke up women who have had amazing
00:34:15.980 opportunities to compete in an equal playing
00:34:20.480 field so that was super disappointing and
00:34:25.500 none of the men really spoke up either I'm
00:34:28.340 like where's the men out just because it's
00:34:30.640 not your issue it is in a sense especially if
00:34:33.940 you guys have daughters someday or something
00:34:36.300 so that to me was pretty disappointing as
00:34:39.760 well and so you said you're not going to
00:34:54.560 compete so I said I'm not competing in any
00:34:57.680 world surf league events I did cheat a
00:34:59.940 little because I surfed in this one event
00:35:01.680 that was like sanctioned world surf league but
00:35:03.740 the only reason why they sanctioned it was
00:35:05.720 because they wanted to have the the world
00:35:08.260 tour surfers be able to be a part of the
00:35:10.400 event but I checked in advance to see if
00:35:13.260 any guys were going to be in the girls
00:35:15.660 division and there weren't and so I was
00:35:17.600 like I'm gonna bend my own rules for this
00:35:20.240 one because it was that pipeline too which
00:35:22.220 is just a world-renowned wave and it's
00:35:25.000 really hard to have a moment out there
00:35:26.620 without any other surfers but and the
00:35:29.200 company who puts on that event they didn't
00:35:31.660 even want the world surf league a part of
00:35:34.020 it they just did the sanctioning so they
00:35:36.320 could have a few of the athletes from there
00:35:38.380 into their event okay and so did they
00:35:43.600 respond to you at the time because this
00:35:45.480 was February of last year yeah February
00:35:47.860 last year I don't think I ever got a
00:35:52.780 response I think I just got silencing yeah
00:35:56.440 I don't know if you know this part but so
00:36:00.080 fast forward a little bit they have they do
00:36:02.820 this special event where all the athletes
00:36:05.600 can put a woman who they admire on their
00:36:09.400 jersey so their last name on their jersey
00:36:11.600 and then they can like give kudos to that
00:36:15.740 if in their post interviews if they win
00:36:18.500 their heats and I think there was like a
00:36:22.240 large number of athletes I mean maybe not
00:36:24.500 large maybe at least five five or more
00:36:27.040 athletes who wanted Bethany on their jersey
00:36:30.020 they're applauding me they're like she is you
00:36:32.700 know I don't know what they're saying
00:36:34.480 about me but anyway the world surf league
00:36:37.400 did not allow them to have Bethany on their
00:36:40.300 jersey and they just either put some name
00:36:45.480 they just change the name for them or they
00:36:48.100 ask them for another name I'm not even sure
00:36:50.360 all the details I didn't talk firsthand I'm
00:36:53.260 not really one to like go and like you know
00:36:56.140 dig out the juicy details like I just do my
00:36:58.940 thing and I live my life and I move on and
00:37:02.040 so but that was just like embarrassing to
00:37:05.020 me for the world surf league to silence me
00:37:07.040 and then this year they didn't even do
00:37:09.200 that jersey
00:37:10.500 oh day so that was interesting they were
00:37:14.360 afraid that more people yeah they got a
00:37:16.680 lot of backlash and whatnot I think I think
00:37:19.280 there was I mean I don't know how much
00:37:21.140 backlash I saw a little bit of backlash
00:37:22.820 online
00:37:23.220 um but I'm literally one of the most I'm
00:37:27.620 probably the most world-renowned female
00:37:29.760 surfer ever known in all of history and
00:37:32.440 maybe the most renowned surfer in all of
00:37:35.340 history and the world surf league was like
00:37:37.880 nope not having her on your jersey
00:37:40.320 wow
00:37:41.220 so whatever whatever I just laugh about it
00:37:45.100 you know you can't get too upset about all
00:37:47.320 this political drama and like well I think
00:37:50.820 you we do need to be upset to a certain
00:37:53.500 extent yeah but like don't let it like eat
00:37:55.900 away at your life like I feel like I had a
00:37:59.520 learning season where things were eating
00:38:01.400 away at me and I'm like I don't want to
00:38:03.360 live my life with that like just being
00:38:06.460 annoyed with the world around me like I
00:38:08.240 just want to be like a happy mom and a
00:38:11.340 happy wife and like a good friend to the
00:38:13.860 people around me and like a good example
00:38:15.820 to those around me and so it's definitely a
00:38:19.260 balance because on the one hand you see
00:38:21.320 things like the changes to title nine and
00:38:23.560 like as a mom of daughters is a lot of
00:38:26.000 people who are mothers with daughters but
00:38:28.000 sons too because it affects everyone yeah
00:38:30.660 it's like of course you're upset about this
00:38:32.940 and of course you're thinking about the
00:38:34.400 future and you're like well like you have
00:38:37.340 to think well girls even have girls sports
00:38:39.120 or will it just be basically you've got
00:38:41.360 boys sports and then you've got co-ed
00:38:43.000 sports you've got boys bathrooms and then
00:38:45.300 you have co-ed bathrooms boys locker rooms
00:38:47.320 co-ed locker rooms and the same thing with
00:38:48.960 prisons with rape shelters with domestic
00:38:50.680 abuse shelters like all of these places
00:38:53.380 where vulnerable women or girl and girls
00:38:56.900 are being forced to be with men and boys
00:38:58.840 and they're put in danger and so I think
00:39:01.680 there is a level of frustration and anger
00:39:05.500 and angst that someone should have because
00:39:07.780 it motivates them like it motivated you to
00:39:09.920 say something yeah but you're absolutely
00:39:12.580 right it can't dominate your whole life
00:39:15.120 because frankly there's not something that
00:39:17.620 we can do about it every second of every
00:39:19.720 day and most of our day is filled with the
00:39:22.960 mundane quote-unquote of being a mom and
00:39:27.520 being a friend and being a church member
00:39:29.620 and being a wife and all those things
00:39:31.640 matter too yeah and they can't just be
00:39:34.020 shrouded by our frustration and anger so
00:39:36.680 there is such a balance I agree yeah it's
00:39:39.340 like the best mundane ever too and I really
00:39:42.600 feel like if you are stressing out about
00:39:45.020 everything going on in the world all the
00:39:47.180 time it affects the most beautiful god-given
00:39:51.640 gifts and rules that you've been given and
00:39:54.820 so for me like I just try to find that
00:39:58.300 balance of like I stand you know I stand
00:40:02.280 where I stand and then I'm I try not to
00:40:05.840 like let it eat away at me but I'm also
00:40:08.380 not gonna just sit on the sidelines
00:40:10.560 and right
00:40:11.860 I feel like to a lot of like it's just
00:40:26.720 such an interesting thing because I feel
00:40:28.760 like if women just said no like this
00:40:31.020 wouldn't be an issue like if all the
00:40:33.100 female surfers if the 70% that disagreed
00:40:36.360 with that if they all said no then the
00:40:39.460 world surf league would not have an
00:40:42.080 option but to disregard the rule yeah I
00:40:46.220 mean they could try to disregard it and
00:40:48.560 see what happens I mean there are some
00:40:50.540 other girls that maybe would qualify and
00:40:52.400 like make a new tour but I feel like if
00:40:55.440 70% of the women just said no like it
00:40:58.020 literally wouldn't be an issue and so
00:41:00.140 that's also kind of frustrating to see
00:41:03.360 what do you say to people who say well
00:41:06.360 why does it really matter in surfing you
00:41:08.880 know someone could say I could see how
00:41:10.720 it matters in a sport where teams are
00:41:13.340 interacting like contact sports but how
00:41:16.860 does it really make a difference male
00:41:18.820 female and surfing yeah I mean the
00:41:22.760 strength of men in general is just
00:41:26.080 substantially stronger like for example
00:41:29.540 my husband he's two years older than me
00:41:33.120 but he's quite a bit bigger than me
00:41:34.700 I literally work out probably for a
00:41:38.960 while I worked out way more than him
00:41:40.640 especially when I was like training a lot
00:41:42.240 for surfing and there's just no way I
00:41:45.380 could like keep up with his strength
00:41:47.480 levels like it's just not humanly
00:41:49.200 possible and I know there's some women
00:41:51.360 that like get crazy nuts and like push it
00:41:54.600 with weightlifting and like in CrossFit
00:41:56.920 like you see these like beastly women I
00:41:59.860 don't know what other word to use but
00:42:01.360 like they're just super strong and
00:42:02.940 they're incredible and they're like
00:42:04.220 lifting I don't know if it's all natural
00:42:06.460 or what but like you see these women
00:42:08.320 doing these crazy things but in surfing
00:42:10.980 there is quite a big gap like there's a
00:42:14.740 lot of women absolutely shredding
00:42:17.140 absolutely ripping but for example big
00:42:19.240 wave surfing
00:42:19.860 men just paddle way faster and way
00:42:25.900 stronger yeah there's the odd girl but
00:42:28.920 like if you're gonna be put into like a
00:42:31.740 speed race like men are just ways faster
00:42:34.780 and way stronger and so you get into a
00:42:37.220 big wave situation and you have men and
00:42:39.540 women competing against each other for
00:42:41.060 example there's a Eddie I Kao it's the
00:42:43.100 biggest one of the most respectable big
00:42:47.860 wave events in Hawaii in memory of Eddie I Kao
00:42:52.400 who is just an incredible Hawaiian surfer who
00:42:55.600 dedicated his life to the people around
00:42:58.600 him to his culture and he died trying to
00:43:02.100 save people and he was the first Hawaiian
00:43:05.160 Olympian but they had this event and they
00:43:08.560 just put a girl in each heat to make it
00:43:10.540 like fair because Hawaii has some rules that
00:43:14.280 if you do a men's event you have to have a
00:43:16.260 woman's opportunity as well but I'm like the
00:43:20.200 girls aren't making heats like they're getting
00:43:22.600 smoked by the guys like it's just not we're
00:43:25.840 just not probably ever gonna fully bridge that
00:43:29.860 gap and while I think it's actually really
00:43:32.220 fun to try to bridge that gap and like you
00:43:35.040 have some of these up-and-coming girl
00:43:36.940 shredders that are doing like crazy airs and
00:43:39.280 pushing it in big wave surfing but the truth
00:43:43.180 is I just I don't see that gap fully being
00:43:46.100 bridged and there's just the strength
00:43:48.140 difference in particular is just it's
00:43:50.700 different and it's like the bone structure
00:43:53.460 too is different and so there's elements of
00:43:56.600 like the female body and me personally like
00:43:59.180 having bared children like I just feel the
00:44:03.080 difference I don't know yeah definitely I'm
00:44:05.880 sure it's just like you know almost any other
00:44:09.000 sport the fact that their hearts are bigger
00:44:11.060 they've got more muscle mass they've got
00:44:12.900 greater lung capacity and I didn't even think
00:44:15.640 about just like the speed of paddling but of
00:44:18.120 course I mean I don't know all of the ins and
00:44:20.140 outs of surfing but that makes sense if you're
00:44:23.760 faster and have longer arms it's gonna give you
00:44:26.320 an advantage and then I often think about when
00:44:28.700 I was a little girl I would compete in all the
00:44:31.320 boys divisions because I wanted to like push
00:44:33.520 myself and try to beat the boys but then once
00:44:36.580 they hit puberty puberty things change like the
00:44:41.640 guys that I was beating when I was little I'm
00:44:44.480 not beating now like they're surfing quite a bit
00:44:47.480 better than me and I'm still inspired by them and
00:44:52.860 I'm still like pushed by them in my own way like I
00:44:56.180 love like I think most of the best of the best
00:44:58.900 female surfers are watching the guys to glean
00:45:01.280 off of inspiration you know yeah but yeah that's
00:45:04.820 of course that's why title nine has existed
00:45:06.780 because especially in puberty when boys testosterone
00:45:10.200 skyrockets and women's don't that's what makes all
00:45:14.660 the difference and that's really irreversible and
00:45:17.220 you know like the questions that you asked in your
00:45:19.600 original Instagram post like are women really just
00:45:23.240 levels of hormones of course we're not because even
00:45:26.620 a man who gets cross-sex hormones and gets estrogen he
00:45:30.520 still went through male puberty period and so he's got all
00:45:33.800 the advantages of that yeah and it's interesting there's
00:45:36.280 that one trans um guy um Caitlyn Jenner's
00:45:41.660 is it Caitlyn or the Jenner's the runner yeah yeah he like I've
00:45:47.540 heard rumors that he he or they or whatever they um are just
00:45:53.560 as strong and even though he's been on hormone like he's
00:45:57.620 super duper strong and super duper fast it's just weird
00:46:01.420 yeah it's weird that this isn't even a conversation that's my
00:46:04.920 that's where I always end up I'm like why am I even talking
00:46:07.600 about this talking about this but I mean it's you know it's
00:46:10.900 like throughout history there's always been that two plus
00:46:14.440 two equals five question that tyrants want you to want to be
00:46:19.960 able to control your thoughts and detach you from reality I
00:46:23.400 think this is the question of the time but there's also I
00:46:26.280 mean there's other issues too I think of the denial of
00:46:29.340 morality and reality and abortion like denying that it's a baby
00:46:33.180 inside the womb and that it's a human being with value and that's
00:46:37.800 also something that you have advocated for on behalf of the
00:46:40.800 dignity of babies right yeah I'm so honored to have partnered
00:46:45.660 with every life I love what the company is doing um not only are
00:46:50.080 they creating great diapers but they're fighting for life they're
00:46:54.340 the only um pro-life or life-affirming diaper brand on the
00:47:01.120 market which is so weird to me so weird that I know of at least you
00:47:04.960 know but it's like why but it's so true a lot of these big diaper
00:47:09.400 companies they advocate for killing their future customers you would
00:47:14.520 think that they would all be pro-life but they're really not yeah and I
00:47:18.200 think when you think of pro-choice or pro-abortion
00:47:24.900 the movement to me it's founded under founded with selfishness like it's just
00:47:32.140 all about the woman and what she wants versus like
00:47:36.800 acknowledging that there's a human life um I finally just watched this movie uh
00:47:43.440 what was it called unplanned yeah so good it was really great it was a little
00:47:47.900 corny for me I'll be honest but like some of the points hit in the film are
00:47:53.120 just pretty heart-wrenching and I don't know now being a mom too and like
00:47:58.580 feeling my baby wiggling in me at like 13 weeks 14 weeks um it's just hard to deny
00:48:06.640 that and um I just think that society has normalized convenience and they just
00:48:14.680 don't want to be a mom or dad and so they'll just kill the baby and I just want
00:48:21.260 to inspire our next generation that to me motherhood's the greatest gift I've ever
00:48:25.400 been given and I'd like to think that if I was in a worst case scenario and
00:48:30.620 happened to conceive a baby and you know I don't need to divulge what the
00:48:35.720 worst case scenarios are but I hope and pray that I would choose life and that
00:48:42.100 I would allow that beautiful baby to enter into the world and I would hope you
00:48:48.620 know I have a friend who she's a single mom and she's one of the most inspiring
00:48:54.120 moms I know like every conversation I have with her inspires me to be a better
00:48:58.280 mom and it hasn't been easy for her but she's rocked it and her son is doing
00:49:04.680 amazing and so yeah I just think it needs to be more of an open conversation
00:49:10.760 too for our young people to hear because our young people are constantly being
00:49:15.060 told like pro-choice like kill your baby like it's fine like it's not that big of
00:49:19.760 a deal but there are a lot of repercussions that come with it um on top
00:49:24.300 of being guilty you're killing a human life and like God calls us to not kill and
00:49:29.160 so to me that alone is like the greatest reason just thou shall not kill yeah
00:49:34.700 thou shall not murder definitely and I mean organizations like um every life and
00:49:42.520 pro-life pregnancy centers which I've visited so many and talked to so many I
00:49:47.460 mean they're doing amazing work like those desperate situations that you were
00:49:52.760 referencing are real of course there are moms in crisis moms and abuse
00:49:56.980 situations moms in poverty all kinds of situations in which a woman might get
00:50:01.420 pregnant and say like I just can't do this right now and of course Planned
00:50:05.400 Parenthood is going to say sure just pay us your 800 bucks or however much and we'll
00:50:09.860 kill your baby you'll never regret it it'll never be a problem but it's not true
00:50:14.460 it's a lie they never show them the truth of what an abortion is or what is
00:50:18.040 happening inside their womb but these pro-life pregnancy centers and pro-life
00:50:21.740 organizations truly are just like the hands and feet of Jesus in the most
00:50:27.360 non-judgmental loving and embracing way they take these women in they not only
00:50:32.520 share the gospel with them but they provide them with so many resources help
00:50:37.200 material needs they help connect them to adoptive families if they want to put
00:50:44.020 their child up for adoption and so like there are ways for anyone out there who's
00:50:48.980 like well I don't want to be pro-life because or I don't want to vote pro-life
00:50:52.360 or whatever it is because these moms are in desperate situations well be a part of
00:50:56.740 the solution rather than just talking about the problem because there are a lot of
00:51:00.820 institutions already working to serve these women and we can be a part of like
00:51:06.600 that life-saving effort we don't just have to advocate for killing babies because
00:51:11.660 that's the easier thing to do I love I just did a speaking event for uh the organization
00:51:17.580 save the storks yeah and I love what they're doing because they're trying to create or they're
00:51:23.720 buying and making mobile um pregnancy crisis trucks or vans so they're going to areas where
00:51:32.480 they know it's a crisis area and they're coming alongside of the women and supporting them to
00:51:38.920 just have the full scope what's it called um the full not scope but like are you talking about
00:51:46.240 prenatal care yeah or to know have all the knowledge of what's actually going on if you
00:51:51.220 abort your baby and the full uh array of your options right so to say and but they're even helping
00:51:59.540 the women like find jobs and figure out a place to live like they're going the extra mile they're
00:52:06.380 really coming alongside of these women and supporting them and sometimes the fathers if
00:52:10.980 the father's a part of the situation and I think of adoption a lot and I think it's just so beautiful
00:52:18.020 and there's so many couples that are having a hard time conceiving now and so I feel like that's an
00:52:23.800 area where we could like kind of dig into and figure out a better way of doing it because it seems like
00:52:28.740 every couple I've talked to who uh adopts has it's a really hard process so I almost feel like maybe
00:52:35.560 that's an area we tackle as a nation whoever's out there who's a mover and shaker and has nothing to do
00:52:41.620 maybe this can be your thing um but yeah there's options and I just think saving life is so important
00:52:50.840 and our god-given duty um to put human life at the utmost value yeah amen well thank you so much just
00:52:59.700 for your courage and sharing your story and I know that the lord has given you that courage and giving
00:53:04.180 you that strength but even as you've just like the different stages of your life have evolved and now
00:53:09.740 you're a mom still surfing but you are I don't know embodying like a new kind of strength and courage
00:53:17.520 with every stage that you're in and I just appreciate it as a woman and I look up to you
00:53:22.920 and I know I speak for so many in my audience when I say that so I just appreciate you so much keep
00:53:29.440 standing up for these things that matter because all of us appreciate when someone with a platform
00:53:34.840 uses their voice thanks Sally glad to be here
00:53:47.520 thank you
00:53:50.920 you
00:53:52.920 you
00:53:54.920 you
00:53:56.920 you
00:53:58.920 you
00:54:00.920 you
00:54:02.920 you