Watch: Patti Zhou In Her Element(s)
Snow, water, but mostly air.
I Googled Patti Zhou before meeting her at Stab High.
Headline: Prodigy child.
A condition that nowadays suggests: Homeschooled. Rudimentary social skills, at best. A personality pruned by parents like a bonsai shrub. Probably with one good friend named Herbert, the inbred pug.
Next line: Origin; The People’s Republic Of China
A second barrier. I prepared for the most awkward interaction since running into Erik Logan at Active Culture.
One conversation with Patti Zhou, named after Patti Smith, dismantles these preconceptions.
“Hiiii, it’s so nice to meet you, Coral,” she said with exuberance, wrapping her tiny arms around me, “I am so happy to be here. How are you?”
After the delightful exchange, the [then] 13-year-old landed a full rote, despite not having touched a surfboard in over a year. With a countenance of sunlight and one-liners only rivaled by those of Caity Simmers, the Beijing-born snowboarder became quite popular at Stab High Japan.
Among those in her orbit was Mason Ho, who split several sessions with Patti in the Shizunami stadium. “Real recognizes real,” he said, “The reason I wanted to go surfing with her was because she’s Chinese, and so am I. We grew up with so much respect.”
At just 10 years old, Patti Zhou went viral for chlorinated feats your knees would only dream of. The internet concluded Patti was among the first of a generation of surfers who would not require the ocean.
However, in Sun Bum’s film, “In The Air,” we learn Patti did, in fact, find surfing in the ocean. “I remember my coach pushed me into a 10-foot wave once, when I was like seven, and everybody on the beach was freaking out, “ she told us in an interview.
“In The Air” offers a holistic view of Patti’s career and a glimpse into her goals for the future. She’s now 14.
“Right now my focus is the 2030 and 2034 Olympics,” Patti says. “My dream is to be an Olympic champion. After that, I hope I’ll have time to go to the WSL and surf with some of the best girls in the world.”
If you’re feeling less sentimental, skip to the Mason x Patti Stab High session 08:41 and enjoy the serotonin drip. When will Patti Zhou be reunited with the ocean? We’ll ask the Chinese starlet that and more in our upcoming episode of Stab Mic.
