| Five
Minutes with Cori Schumacher: JettyGirl
Visits with the Women's Pipeline Pro Longboarding
Champion
CORI SCHUMACHER
©Maria
Cerda 2009
"To
any young girls (or anyone,
for that matter) who happen
upon these "five minutes"...
I want to encourage you to
strive to know yourself, to
be true to yourself and to
make a difference each moment
your eyes are open. You have
the power to change the world.
But first, take the time to
become you. Don't look at
anyone else... this is your
story. There is no comparison.
There
will never be another you."
--Cori
Schumacher
|
|
|
It's
the bane of every interviewer to open up
an email from a subject only to find one-word
answers that are dwarfed by the length of
the questions themselves. This edition of
"Five Minutes" is with Cori Schumacher
though, so we knew we'd be receiving a goldmine
of thought-provoking and insightful answers...and
she did not disappoint. The responses below
paint a picture of a rare person in this
world—one who's a champion in her
sport while at the same time, humble enough
that she routinely deflects praise onto
others.
Special thanks to Cori
for taking time to answer these questions...on
her birthday no less, and to Maria Cerda
for providing the photos. Read on and enjoy!
--Chris Grant
JettyGirl:
First off, congratulations on your recent
win at the Women's Pipeline Pro. Is the
whole experience a big blur or do some specific
memories stand out in your mind?
Cori Schumacher: Thank you, Chris! There
are some pretty clear moments I can recall.
The first would be Jen Smith noseriding
at Backdoor. Up until her heat, the girls
had been avoiding noseriding. She set the
pace with a jaunt up to the nose on one
of her takeoffs. After that, everyone was
racing to the nose. I also remember my semi-final
with Kaitlin Maguire and Bianca Valenti.
We had the best waves of the day roll through
during that heat. It was glassy, about 4
ft. (Hawaiian) and consistent. I was watching
Bianca going for these huge floaters and
pulling in at Backdoor on a board that she
borrowed from Surftech while Kaitlin was
racking up some tip time and throwing some
strong turns. During the final, I can remember
running up the beach and laughing. Surfing
Pipeline with only three other people is
one of the most amazing experiences I have
ever had.
JG:
Whenever I meet with longboarder friends
at San Onofre and paddle out on a shortboard,
I often have those "What am I doing
on a shortboard out here?" moments
since my equipment is not necessarily the
best match for the break. Did that ever
cross your mind as you paddled out at one
of the heaviest waves in the world...on
a longboard no less?
CS: Oh yes, that certainly crossed my mind.
The first day we surfed Pipe, I got pitched
and was compacted into the reef on a particularly
nasty drop. I hesitated in my thoughts but
only momentarily. I then reminded myself
of the days when Linda Benson rode Waimea
Bay... or any of the boys who first rode
Pipeline on flat, balsa wood tanks... or
Joel Tudor who makes riding Pipeline on
a longboard look effortless. I am going
to paraphrase something that Bianca Valenti
said that struck me: "If you haven't
surfed Pipeline often, it doesn't matter
what you ride. You are a novice out there.
Plain and simple." I work within the
belief that a good surfer can make any piece
of equipment work at any given location.
It might be tougher with an increase in
the surface area of the board, or a decrease
in some cases ;), but adjustments can
be made. For instance, we can get into waves
earlier at Pipe. We just had to learn to
draw the right lines. At Pipe, it's all
about the line you draw, not necessarily
what you draw it with. The other aspect
of this equation is the level of confidence
and commitment that you bring to the experience.
After Leah Dawson watched me get pitched,
she paddled up to me and reminded me that
I needed to paddle with everything I had
if I was going to paddle for a wave at Pipe.
I was confident in the board Donald Takayama
had shaped me and I was confident in my
fitness so really, it was fear that was
getting in the way, not the length of my
board.
JG:
You've been on quite a roll this past year
with big wins at the Roxy Jam Cardiff and
now at Pipe. Word on the street is that
you've been doing a lot of training on land
in addition to your regular surf sessions.
How large a part has your fitness regimen
played in your recent contest successes?
CS: My fitness regimen has played a huge
role in my recent placings. One of the first
things the girls said to me after my final
at Pipeline was, "You must be spent!"
I had been non-stop from the qualifying
round and during my semi-final and final,
catching waves and jogging up the beach
relentlessly. My reply: "I'm ready
for another round!" It was more than
adrenaline and the excitement of the event.
My stamina and strength have never been
this high. In last year's Roxy at Cardiff.
I surfed from the beginning rounds all the
way through to the finals and still had
energy to spare. Back in 2007, when I made
the Roxy final at Cardiff, I had no breath.
I was exhausted in the finals and this caused
me to lose focus. I decided that I needed
to do something more than the occasional
surf for my body. I think the most important
gift you can give yourself is a process
whereby you build trust with your body.
Surfing is an experience that constantly
challenges the body to respond at lightning
speeds. Supporting the intuition of the
body through training and strength allows
a surfer to push into new realms of his/her
potential. I workout with Liz Motshagen
of SWEAT (Surfers With Excellent Athletic
Training). She has zeroed in on a program
that focuses on strengthening reflexes and
building core strength. |
JG:
While contest surfing is more or less an individual
pursuit, pre-Pipeline Pro photos have been trickling
in and it appears that you had some teamwork going
on with fellow Pipe competitors Leah Dawson and
Ashley Lloyd. Tell us about that.
CS: Leah Dawson was kind enough to let me stay
with her for this event. When I walked in the
door the evening of my arrival, I was pleasantly
surprised to find Ashley Lloyd perched behind
an acoustic guitar in the living room, strumming
away. None of us had spent any length of time
with each other but we soon developed a bond that
I won't soon forget. We had a few nicknames rolling
around but the one that stuck was The Trifecta.
Leah ("The Conductor") was the grom,
charging Pipeline with little regard for the reef
below. She had won the Pipeline event the years
prior to this one and surfed both shortboard and
longboard in the event. She is the hardest charging
female longboarder I know and is among the hardest
charging female surfers, period. She was the first
girl to break a board at Pipeline during this
event. Ashley Lloyd ("The Situation")
is probably the most talented and underrated person
I know. She needs a manager who can sing her praises
because she never will. She plays amazing guitar,
writes beautiful, heart-touching songs, shapes
her own boards and is one of the best longboarders
on the planet. If I had to choose one word to
describe her it would be grace. She oozes
it. The problem with grace is that it can slip
under the nose of judges who don't notice that
when Ashley is taking off on an 8 foot face at
Backdoor, the leash is around her front foot because
she is riding switchfoot! She is too
smooth, too graceful, too... GOOD on a longboard.
Judges don't know what to do with her.
We stuck together on this
trip, pushing each other and supporting each other
in every way. The contest itself was a high pressure
event and we were waking up early every morning,
for nearly a week, to be told the contest wasn't
going to be held. We'd mentally prepare to surf
then would have to dissipate this energy somehow.
We would rock climb at Waimea Bay; go to yoga
in the Valley of Waimea; surf big waves; laugh
into the night; Leah and Ashley would play guitar
any spare moment they had; we shared smiles and
secrets and dreams and because of this, we share
a bond only this moment could have created.
Two memorable experiences
with The Trifecta-in-Effecta:
We were staying at a house
that Ashley's parents had rented on the beach
just south of Laniakea. The waves had come up
over night and we were chomping at the bit. We
loaded the car, with Ashley's parent's in tow-including
91 year old grandpa-and drove to Chun's. Chun's
to the right, Jaco's to the left... 6-8 ft. (Hawaiian),
we thought. Suited up and headed out. We tried
to get Kaitlin to come with us to Jaco's but she
wouldn't have it. She ended up surfing with Bonga
Perkins that day. Jaco's had a non-stop current
going that was strong enough that we had to paddle
consistently to keep our position. We were the
only ones out. We surfed for about an hour before
Leah got antsy and wanted to paddle south to Holden's.
Ashley and I surfed for a little while longer,
Ashley positioning herself into the tight pockets
perfectly while I tried to avoid the rocks directly
inside. We saw Leah catch a good left at Holden's
and both of us decided to paddle over simultaneously.
We paddled over and soon found that Holden's had
some 10ft. sets rolling through. Leah and I had
a quick conversation about how Ashley's continued
decision to hang inside was causing us anxiety
before Leah paddled for another wave. As I turned
around and cleared my eyes of the spray brought
by the nasty tradewind gusts, I saw the horizon
go dark. "Expletive!" I started paddling
out to sea. As I began paddling up the first 20+
foot face, digging as hard as I could to get over,
I prayed that Ashley and Leah were a good ways
inside. I was barely making it over these mountains.
As I crested the third, I turned and saw the heads
of Leah and Ashley. They were together, at least!
I paddled over 5 or so more then attempted to
catch a left. I was smashed all the way in and
ended up paddling up behind the other two girls
after having been swept to the most southern end
of Laniakea. We surfed outside Laniakea catching
waves that were disjointed and massive for another
couple of hours before paddling back to the house
on the beach at Papailoa. Despite being smashed
by the largest set of the day, Ashley and Leah
continued to surf for a half an hour longer than
I did and crawled up the beach laughing and smiling
as if having just surfed "fun" Malibu.
The waves got to be pretty
big for several days while we were over in Oahu.
One of the days we had been driving around not
really seeing anything that looked... fun? rideable?
sane?... and we ended up at Sunset Beach near
dusk. We were all just sitting watching the SOLID
10-12ft. walls (that's 20-24 foot faces in California-speak)
march through. It was peaky, unpredictable and
disjointed. The West peak was doing its nastiness,
something I remember from when I surfed it in
1996 but the inside looked clean. The car was
silent. Ashley piped, "Does anyone want to
go out?" I looked from the back seat and
caught Leah's eyes reflected in the rear-view
mirror. "Nah", "No."
A few minutes rolled by.
Ashley, "Well, I'm
going out." The declaration dropped like
a hammer. "I'll go with you," I might
have squeaked. Leah threw up her hands. "Ahhhhh!
Well I can't stay here!" Ashley was already
unstrapping the boards and after a little nervous
procrastination, we headed out. We paddled out
and all got our butts handed to us. I got crushed
by the west peak first... after telling Ashley
to watch out for it; went over the falls twice
on one wave, then got beaten by the next so hard
I tried to unstrap my leash so I would stop being
dragged. Leah got hit by the west peak and her
leash snapped. She had to swim in and ended up
being dragged over the dry reef in the inside.
Ashley sat, eyes glowing, taking it all in...
and then she got slammed by one wave so deep she
hit bottom... AT SUNSET. She opened her eyes and
saw only black. That ain't good. I managed to
get a couple. The first happened to be in front
of some poor bloke and the second jumped up in
front of me hissing "I'm going to crush your
brainzzzzzz!" so I kicked out. We eventually
made it back in and were able to laugh at our
crazy, impromptu excursion. I looked at Ashley,
still a little breathless, and told her she had
added another layer to her mystique. Ashley...
The Situation.
JG:
We hear that you donated half your Pipeline contest
earnings to the Rell Sunn Educational Fund. In
many ways surfing is a fairly selfish pursuit
but you have made it a point to give back. Two
questions, is giving back an important aspect
of your worldview and second, what is it that
makes the Rell Sunn Educational Fund special to
you?
CS: My surf history is littered with influences
of the most unselfish kind. Donald Takayama is
the most prevalent example of the "Aloha
spirit" that I try to embrace.
We think of waves sometimes
as "mine" or "yours" and we
don't like sharing waves, but I think this has
more to do with our beaches being overpopulated
and our society being competitive than the suggestion
that surfing might be inherently selfish. Competition
is selfish, but not surfing. That is how surfing
spread in the first place. The experience was
shared, given as a gift.
Since I compete, I fall
into this category of "most likely, probably
selfish" so what's the deal? Yes, giving
back is an important aspect of my worldview. One
of the reasons I stopped competing after my second
world championship win back in 2001 was because
I wanted to make a difference in the world and
I didn't think I could do it winning contests
in surfing. It seemed so self-serving. After 9/11,
I was a part of the forming of The San Diego Peace
and Justice Coalition which began marching through
the streets of downtown in protest of going into
Afghanistan and later, into Iraq. It was here
that I began to understand Ghandi's adage "Be
the change you wish to see in the world."
I heard so many people talk about making a difference
or taking a stand but so few actually did. I was
discouraged at this reality at first but then
I took a good hard look at myself and realized
that I wasn't creating the reality
that I wanted around me. So I began to change
myself, to become the difference.
Through this exercise,
I reconnected with my roots, with surfing. Being
a performer, I wanted to get back into competition
but I didn't want to feel the hollowness I felt
when I relied on validation from the surf industry.
Since the Roxy contest in Cardiff last year I
have been seeking ways to give back to the world
through my surfing.
Before Hawaii, Rell's documentary,
Heart of the Sea, was shown in Oceanside.
Although I wasn't able to attend, I was reminded
of the grace and spirit of Aloha that Auntie Rell
personified in her lifetime. I had the opportunity
to spend some time with her over the years before
she got sick and during the time she was trying
to fight her breast cancer. I was in a play at
the Surfing Hall of Fame with Rell, surfed with
her, attended Donald's famous barbecues with her
and listened to her talk story. My family was
a part of the Oceanside Longboard Club which put
on a benefit event to help pay for some of the
medical expenses that she had. It was a contest...
but it helped Rell. The event at Pipeline
was a benefit for the Girl Scouts of Hawaii...
all the little pieces began falling into place
on one of my sand-jogs... I have friends and family
that have been affected by breast cancer... "Why
not give back whatever I can to Rell's foundation?"
It is in this way that
I am seeking to break the cycle of "taking"
that has lead to the assumption that surfing is
a selfish endeavor. There are a surprising number
of women longboarders who feel the same as I and
who are actively pursuing ways to make the world
a better place through their surfing. I am simply
continuing the lineage as I originally received
it.
JG:
Final question, with your recent high profile
contest wins, you no doubt have earned quite a
few young fans. Do you have any advice for young
girls who may be coming up through the surfing
ranks?
CS: To any young girls (or anyone, for that matter)
who happen upon these "five minutes"...
I want to encourage you to strive to know yourself,
to be true to yourself and to make a difference
each moment your eyes are open. You have the power
to change the world. But first, take the time
to become you. Don't look at anyone else... this
is your story. There is no comparison.
There will never be another
you.
Special Note:
JettyGirl's good friend, Claire Bevilacqua, also
walked away with a Pipeline Pro victory that day,
her title coming in the shortboard division. Check
out her story on Surfline.com: Claire
Bevilacqua: "The Freebird"
|
