PETER HAMBLIN: I can share this.
Lovely… Do you like being interviewed?
CARISSA MOORE: I'm 50/50. That thing is so loud.
PETER HAMBLIN: I can't hear it, I can't hear it.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
NARRATOR: 37.2. 37.2 trillion.
That is the number of cells that make up Homo sapiens.
Homo sapiens would be you, the human. In Latin this means "wise man".
Why I mention the Latin definition?
Who knows. A shallow attempt to sound educated, clever.
It has nothing to do with this brief vignette,
the number of cells, however, does.
So, with that amount of cells,
there is bound to be deviations, differences.
Being similar or the same, well, that is just boring,
and would give us nothing to talk about.
So let's talk. Let's talk about this human, Carissa Kainani Moore.
Riss. Let's talk about what makes her different.
Not special, just different.
Remember, like your third grade teacher told you
while handing over a participant trophy, we are all special.
When asked what she does,
she generally says, in a mild, happy tone,
In a mild, happy tone, I'm a professional surfer.
I'm a professional surfer. I'm a professional surfer.
It sounds so weird. Just weird. I'm a professional surfer.
NARRATOR: Great, which in my opinion is a vast [BLEEP] understatement.
She is a three-times world champion, the youngest ever,
and a young lady whose rhythm,
[ENERGETIC MUSIC PLAYING]
yeah, I'll call it rhythm,
her rhythm has helped define where we are today.
By we, I mean surfing, and by define, I mean this.
[WAVES ROAR]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
As a side note, the vast majority of surfers out there don't do this.
They might think they are, but no, they are not.
For those of you who don't surf, and that is a shitload of you,
here is six-year-old Carissa explaining how.
She talks about the wetsuit, the leash, the board,
but the most important part...
How to catch a wave.
And so you need to be right in the middle, right about here,
and then you can start paddling for the wave.
And then, when you've caught the wave,
just quickly stand up with your right foot back and your left foot front.
NARRATOR: Let's rewind a little.
The riding of waves has likely existed
since humans began swimming in the ocean.
Standing up on what is now called a surfboard
is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians.
The influences from modern surfing can be directly traced
to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years,
and in modern Hawaii, Carissa Moore is born.
She would dance and sing and slide,
she had a flair for the dramatic, then all of this happened.
[ENERGETIC MUSIC PLAYING]
JOE TURPEL: It's a perfect 10!
Women's World Surf League champion, Carissa Moore.
In Carissa Moore's career,
she's proved to be the best surfer in the world.
NARRATOR: It has not been an easy road,
the details of which we will not disclose in this brief biopsy,
but like all of us, we grow, we learn and develop a set of values,
a code of sorts that we live by. Carissa refers to this as …
Moore Aloha
NARRATOR: What is "Moore Aloha", you may ask? Even if you didn't ask,
a somewhat analytical surfer feels the urge to tell you.
It's a common misconception that the word aloha
is simply a greeting, a way to say hello or goodbye.
In Hawaiian culture, it is more than this.
It is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect.
Its meaning starts by teaching us to love ourselves first
and then to spread it to others.
So I guess "Moore Aloha" means more love.
Means more love. Just simply more love.
I feel like the trophies,
the accolades, all those things are awesome,
but they're really short-lived, only temporary,
and what matters is how you make people feel
and sharing love.
If I was to put it in one word, it meant life.
It breathes so much life into me.
You want me to go into the 3 pillars?
NARRATOR: Just about to get there, Riss. This is Carissa's crew.
Well, the Moore Aloha crew.
Aside from throwing mean shakas, they are part of Moore Aloha,
Carissa's non-profit where she inspires young girls
to follow their dreams, be authentic, and make time for others.
I can hear you mumbling,
"Well that sounds like a bunch of self-absorbed mumbo-jumbo,
a vanilla surface-level cliché
which is grounded in nothing more than fairy dust and nursery rhymes."
Well, if that is the case, imagine Riss as your fairy godmother,
and you're getting tucked into bed.
Now, shut the hell up and enjoy the ride.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
This is an exploration into the fairytale.
Three brief vignettes captured in 2019 during the World Title race.
You want me to say something about this being a dream tour,
and that leads into the first section?
Okay.
NARRATOR: A cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
This is the definition of a dream. Well, at least the one we follow.
For young Carissa, hers was simple.
I want to be a pro surfer
so that I could travel the world with my board,
and that's really what I want to do, just enjoy surfing
and go surfing around the world with some of the girls.
NARRATOR: Now, I bet you are asking,
"What does this dream really look like?"
Is it just slow-motion lifestyle footage
captured on the set of a tropical paradise?
A slow walk on a long pier,
the thoughtful look beyond the bow of the boat.
Smiles, waves, friends, brews, bros and sisterhood, the great outdoors.
A utopia with little responsibility or consequence.
Or could it be something else? Something different?
So it starts on the Gold Coast of Australia.
Then Bells, Bali, West Oz, Rio, Jay Bay,
America, France, Portugal, Hawaii. Do we only have 9 events?
PETER HAMBLIN: Pardon?
"We only have 9 events? Did I count it wrong?
Oh, no, because there's a couple events in Australia, that's why.
And I was like, ""Nine? There are only nine?""
150 days on the road. Approximately 150 days on the road.
30 flights, crossing 88 time zones.
117 hours of airtime, 70,000 air miles,
excess baggage, so much excess baggage.
Hotels, B&Bs, homestays, car hires, insurance, taxis, jet lag, signings.
Taxis, jet lag, signings. 300 signatures a year?
A lot of selfies. Very uncomfortable selfies,
like when they hold you too close and you're just like, "Space, bro."
No one's going to touch me from now when they see this,
they'll be like, "Oh, she doesn't like to be touched."
Every view that you can imagine.
Maybe a month out of the year, I wouldn't surf.
I wake up at 5:30 AM, go to bed around 9/9:30 PM.
Your eight best results are tallied at the end of the year
and the world champion is decided based on cumulative points.
Oh, and this year there's the Olympic factor.
That's a crazy list, bro."
NARRATOR: No shit. So, why is this your dream again?
For me, it's given me something so positive
to put all my energy into. When you're achieving your goals,
I don't know, for me it fills my soul.
So it makes me happy, if I'm happy,
I'm sharing it with others.
I don't really know if there's anything such as perfect,
but in a dream scenario
I think it would be amazing to win the world title
and obviously qualify and represent my country.
It would be an honor to be a part of that.
NARRATOR: To keep you up to speed, here is Pat O'Connell of the WSL
giving you a status of Riss's year on tour so far.
What do I say?
It is July 9th and we're headed to Jeffreys Bay.
This is a wave that Carissa absolutely loves,
although last year she didn't do very well.
She has not won an event this year on the tour.
A good result would put her back into her favorite color, which is yellow.
NARRATOR: Just to clarify, by yellow Pat means the maillot jaune.
That's French for yellow jersey. Tour De France do it, the WSL do it.
This signature chemise is worn by the surfer
leading the race for the world title.
It's basically like a big freaking target on your back,
highlighting the one to beat. To articulate this further,
at this point in time Sally Fitzgibbons has it,
with Carissa, Lakey, Steph, Courtney and Caroline
in striking distance to get it.
Got it? Good.
I am nervous/excited.
Yeah, there's just so many unknowns and I think,
yeah, I just need to let go and trust that it's going to work out.
NARRATOR: To be a total spoiler, it works out.
Wait, wait, sorry, can you say that again?
NARRATOR: Carissa went on to win J Bay in killer fashion,
not that I'm giving anything away, as this happened eight months ago.
If you didn't know, well, that's on you.
Get out from behind your rock and pay attention.
More importantly, I thought we could give you a shot
of some behind-the-scenes moments
that led to her raising the trophy.
She got a surf wedgie.
How did she combat it? She suited up, good to go.
She danced a little, this move is called the floater.
She went surfing with the locals and then danced with the locals.
[RHYTHMIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Evenings were spent keeping sharp with charades,
proving her competitive streak is alive and well off the field.
Oh, so I'm very, very good at acting it out and Luke is very, very good
at guessing what I'm acting out. We are going to take down you guys.
Lifting up heavy rocks? Squishing? Rolling? Bear crawl?
Alligator? Shark? Alligator? Crocodile?
-Okay, do you want to just go? -Yeah, I'm waiting for you, bro.
-Gossipy. Flirty. -Yes!
It's really fun. It's so fun.
NARRATOR: And mornings? Well, mornings went a little like this.
Riss recited lines from Lilo and Stitch.
Ohana means family, and no one gets left behind.
NARRATOR: And then, at the end of the day, made one final prediction.
I think it's on tomorrow, guys.
NARRATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Finals Day.
[QUIRKY MUSIC PLAYING]
It's on. The contest is on.
She made finals.
It's the first time she's had the yellow jersey in three years.
JOE TURPEL: Carissa Moore looking for her first win of the season.
COMMENTATOR 1: These are the mornings that you really dream about.
It's the perfect recipe for perfect J Bay.
Now she starts to go to town.
Big snap in the pocket, little bit of free fall drop.
COMMENTATOR 2: Right on the money.
The Hawaiian jams it, super powerful off the top.
Lay back hack to finish for Carissa Moore.
[TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYING]
Her first win of 2019.
Your new world number one, Carissa Moore,
the champion of the Corona Open, J Bay.
COMMENTATOR 3: She's been really consistent,
but with that victory she's on top
and she's going to be really hard to stop.
I just won. I'm so stoked.
[CHEERING]
...taking out the champion, Lakey Peterson also a great job
We'll let the boys send you into Tahiti.
So stoked.
PETER HAMBLIN: I need all the feelings out in one moment,
one moment.
I'm tired. I need a nap before we go out.
Winning a world title, that's the big goal,
but there's so many personal goals. I want to be more resilient.
I want to be able to get knocked down
and get back up and roll with the punches a bit more.
I want to be able to learn from my mistakes,
but also laugh at them, and take it a little bit more chill.
I want to back myself and not lose confidence
if I don't get the result I want.
I want to be defined by more than just a result.
I've just really worked on defining my own success
and my own happiness this year, and I'm really proud of that.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
NARRATOR: Ah, intermission.
Time for you to freshen up, grab some popcorn and a cooler,
and a chance for us to share a few fun facts
about Carissa's closest travel companions.
This is Dad, Chris Moore. He was a competitive swimmer,
has been Carissa's mentor and coach since day one.
He is not much of a hugger.
-I'm a total hugger, come on. -We're working on that.
NARRATOR: He gets nervous. He likes to sit alone during comp.
When happy, he fist pumps.
Luke, husband, was a competitive football player,
doesn't like to wear shoes, likes nature,
has some great dance moves,
and due to his time spent on exotic beaches around the world,
is somewhat of a shell collector.
One could say a connoisseur.
You know, I'm like a shell finding expert.
J Bay's probably like top three to five in the world, I'd say.
Yeah, it's kind of a competition,
who can find the most shells,
while we carry our wives' boards and cheer them on and stuff.
NARRATOR: That brings us to the end of intermission.
Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats.
The main feature will return in three, two, one.