My Goal is simple.  It’s to stay motivated and passionate about my sport.  The best way for me to do that is by continuing to look for new and exciting challenges. 

When I started in the sport I was motivated by pushing the extreme limit of what could be kayaked.  After setting several world records and over 50 first descents I started losing interest because it didn’t present the same challenge that it once did for me.

My next challenge was freestyle kayaking.  At the time many of my critics said I was too one dimensional in a kayak.  They didn’t know I would use their criticism as fuel for my motivation to prove them wrong.  After winning the Asian cup, the Japanese Open, and the 2002 pre-World Championships I started to bore of that also.

Next I decided to focus on extreme racing.  Over the past 5 years I’ve won over 80 percent of my races and only finished off the podium three times. 

Over the past couple of years I’ve found it was getting more difficult to train for my racing season.  I realized it was because I’d accomplished the goal I’d set for myself.  It’s hard to train when the motivation changes.

I knew I needed a new challenge.  And now I have it.   My goal is to surf the biggest wave that has ever been surfed in a surf kayak. 

Planning: Randy Phillips (the pioneer of kayak surfing) and I have designed a quad fin surf kayak that we think will have the speed and maneuverability to attempt to surf a wave between 30 and 40 feet. 

Now the waiting begins.  We have a professional forecaster we are working with to time the perfect swell.