What the Kelp Knows: A Conversation with Marine Biologist Yuki Nakamura
Yuki Nakamura studies kelp forests along the California coast. She is also a regular at Mavericks.
Stephanie Gilmore on Competing, Retiring, and What Comes Next
A rare extended conversation with the eight-time world champion — about the years she almost quit, the art of staying graceful under pressure, and what she plans to do with the next forty years.
Stephanie Gilmore
8× World Champion · Coolangatta, Australia
About this episode
Stephanie Gilmore sat down with us for over an hour in Coolangatta, speaking with an openness that surprised even her. We talked about the years she nearly stepped away from competition, the mental game behind eight world titles, and how she thinks about the next chapter of her life — one where surfing is still central, but the scoreboard is finally quiet.
We also got into the boards she's riding now (a twin-fin from a friend in Byron), the record collection she's assembled over two decades on the road, and what she means when she says she wants to be "useful."
Chapter marks
- Introduction
- Growing up at Snapper — the wave that made her
- The year she almost quit: 2019 and the counting
- What it feels like to be the best in the world — and to know it
- The boards she loves now and why
- Life after the tour: painting, reading, staying
- On being useful — what comes next
Links & references
All links mentioned in this episode are collected below. We do not use affiliate links.
World Surf League — worldsurfleague.com
Gilmore's shaper — Twin-fin boards by Hayden Shapes, Byron Bay
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