Still a "grom." And proud of it. Carissa Moore has traveled the globe and won two ASP world titles in three years — the second earlier this month in Portugal — but she has remained true to herself and true to her roots. Just one of the "Keiki o Kewalos."
This week was no different, as Moore hit one of her favorite spots, jumping in after her shortboard, trying to coax something out of the gentle right-side reef break. There wasn’t much of a lineup to bust into during the short session; there were more people driving through the parking lot earlier and yelling out congratulations.
They knew Moore would show up at some point. She always did, just as she had done for years. Barefoot and with a sweet smile unchanged by success.
"I knew when I was 10, maybe 12, that I wanted to be the best in the world," said Moore, now 21. "I think it’s why last year was so difficult for me. After winning (in 2011), I didn’t know how to look past that first world title. I had worked so hard to reach that goal and then it was, ‘Now what?’
"I was lost in translation for a while.
"Then I went back to the reasons I’m out there. I love competing. I love surfing. I want to keep doing it. So I said, let’s do it again. For me, it’s about performing at my best because that’s when it all falls into place. It’s a better goal than winning. Performing at my personal best is a more positive thing to strive for than just winning."
In the subjective world of surfing, peak performance does not always result in top scores. But Moore rode into the ASP World Tour finale off Praia de Carcavelos, Cascais, Portugal, with confidence backed by three tour wins, three equal thirds and an equal-fifth-place showing.
The standings were so close that it would come down to who advanced farther in the EDP Cascais Girls Pro — Moore or Australia’s Tyler Wright. Moore won her quarterfinal against Bianca Buitendag and, when the second-ranked Wright lost to countrywoman Sally Fizgibbons, Moore knew she had the title wrapped up before paddling out for the semifinals.
There was no pressure on her to win the event, but she did, in the tricky and random 2- to 3-foot beach break. Moore won her semifinal against Sage Erickson and then defeated the No. 3 Fizgibbons in the final.
"It could have gone either way," Moore said. "I could have looked at it like I’m close but I could lose because someone else deserves it, or hey, I’m really close, I need to fight for it.
"It was great for the sport to be that close, great that it would come down to the last day."
The outcome might have been different even two years ago. Moore admits that she has let pressure get to her in the past, including when she was the only female going against more than 200 men as a wild-card entry in the 2011 Triple Crown of Surfing on the North Shore.
"I know I could have done a better job enjoying the process," said Moore, who was eliminated in the round of 96. "I could have just said, ‘Hey I’m a girl, there’s nothing to lose.’ I know I put pressure on myself and took myself out of it."
That all has changed. Some of it has come with age, more of it has come with love. Moore and Luke Untermann, her classmate at Punahou, have become more serious since graduating in 2010.
"I am much more balanced now, having a balanced life; it’s not just about surfing," Moore said. "Luke was able to travel with me and now I’m enjoying where the tour takes me. In the past it was get to (a) place, surf and rest.
"Portugal was awesome. We went to Sintra, saw castles. We went to Paris, rode bikes, saw the ‘Mona Lisa’ at the Louvre, put our lock on the ‘Lovers Bridge.’ It was sweet.
"I’m happy, more happy than I’ve ever been. I’m in love. Life is good."
Moore said that she’ll be "cruising" until going back on tour in February. She and Untermann, a student at the University of Hawaii, have a new puppy, Tuffy, a Labrador-terrier mix.
Saturday, she and her family hosted a barbecue for the "Kewalos Locals" to thank anyone and everyone who showed up for their support during her career.
"My world title is dedicated to you," read the posters that she put up around Kewalo Basin Park on Wednesday.
What’s next for Moore is as unpredictable as the surf. She has enjoyed her work with AccesSurf and helping those with disabilities get into the ocean.
"I’d also like to do something to help young girls with their confidence," she said. "There’s a lot of bad influences out there, so much focus on body image. I want to help them embrace their inner beauty, get them active, happy and proud of themselves for who they are.
"I hope I’ve been a good role model by just being me. I want people to be inspired to be themselves, too, because everyone brings something unique to the world just by being themselves."
And Moore being Moore?
It’s about knowing who she is wherever she is, still a grom — the term for a pre-teen surfer — at heart.
It’s knowing that — as it did this past week — all it takes is a jump off the breakwater at Kewalos into the familiar waters that will soothe her soul and rejuvenate her spirit.
