Name
- Marii Sugiura
Website - http://members.aol.com/mariisugiura
Age - 26
Hometown - Kota-town
Sponsors - Billabong,
Pacific
Dreams, Tools, Kustom, Nixon,
Damai, Doors
Surf Studio
Stance - Regular
Surfboards/Shapers
– 5'9" Steele Lowie, Brett Warner,
Chris Garrett
Career Highlights
- 2004 JPSA Grand Champion, 2005 JPSA 2nd Place,
US Open 13th Place, 2006 JPSA 2nd Place. (JPSA:
Japan Professional Surfing Association)
Marii Sugiura Story &
Interview conducted by Prue Jeffries at Oceanside
Harbor in California
 Marii
Sugiura is one of Japan's top female surfers.
We always seem to hear about the top US surfers
or the top Hawaiians or even the top Aussies and
lately even the top Europeans. Somehow the Japanese
get left out of the picture. Getting to sit down
and chat with Marii made me realize what a colorful
contribution Japanese surfers make to the surfing
scene. I would have to say surf-stoked is an understatement!!!
Marii comes from surf-stoked lineage, her father
owning a surf shop named after THE DOORS!
With the support of her father
and the spirit of Jim Morrison running in her
veins, Marii lives for the traveling experience
and the hunt for surf perfection. With her fiancé
who is a pretty hot surfer himself, she lives
a fantastical dream. Soon she will be dividing
her time between a well-paid career on the Japan
Professional Surfing Association tour, world qualifying
tour events in the USA and multiple trips to Indonesia
whenever she can.
Marii is following her heart
and her ability will surely support her on the
performance side of surfing. We caught up with
Marii right before she was due to head back east
for her first trip to Florida.
Prue Jeffries: What is your
full name?
Marii Sugiura: Marii Sugiura
PJ: How long have you been
surfing and where did you first paddle out on
a surfboard?
MS: I started surfing when
I was 16 years old. Now I am 26. So 10 years.
Actually, where I am living we call Irago Beach,
just one hour from my house.
PJ: The town where you go
surfing...what are the waves like there?
MS: The waves are very consistent...like
waist to chest high. If it gets big, it just closes
out. We have many jetties so we can surf everyday.
PJ: Is it very crowded there?
A lot of people surf in Japan.
MS: Yeah. When it's waist
high, there will be 100 to 200 people waiting
like this (points shoulder to shoulder).
PJ: I know, I have never
seen anything like it.
MS: That's why I like surfing
here better.
PJ: Where you live does
the water get cold in wintertime and warm in summer?
MS: Yeah, at my place we
need booties and gloves and sometimes a head cap
(wetsuit hood) from February to March.
PJ: And still, that many
people surf?
MS: Yeah. The summer time
is very hot, more so than here. We have very clearly
four seasons which change fast.
PJ: In the summer the sun
comes up at 4 am?
MS: Yeah. (smiles)
Marii Sugiura
Interview | 1
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3 | 4
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