A Weight Lifts From Barron Mamiya’s Shoulders

“The people highest up have the lowest self-esteem” – Kanye West. 

I don’t know if that applies to Barron, who is literally #1 in the world right now, but it’s no secret that high achievers are often highly self-critical, a trait that drives their relentless pursuit of excellence. 

Barron seems to be a man of few words who prefers to let his surfing do the talking. But when he won his emotional register suggested he’d been a bubble waiting to burst. Years of pressure and hard work had been finally validated against the world’s best. It was remarkable.

“I can’t believe it, I literally can’t believe it,” said Mamiya in his post-final interview. “I thought Pipe was going to be the event I was going to do really well in. I’m so comfortable at Pipe and I wasn’t really super prepared for this event but in my mind I just had to adapt to whatever the conditions are and figure it out. It doesn’t even feel real. I want to thank all my friends and family, my mom and my dad sacrificed so much for me, and I want to thank Shaun Ward too. He’s been with me since day one, and he’s really helped me so much through a lot of tough times.”

This actually hits pretty hard in the feels. 

We’ll see Barron in Portugal in just a few weeks, a wave CUSP hosts, Mikey and Stace believe is actually perfectly suited to his ability in “big barrels and big ramps.” At this point in time, he is already past the mid-year cut, meaning we’ll also get to see him in G-land, J-bay, Teahupoo, El Salv, Rio, and who knows? Maybe even the finals at Lowers.