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SouthBaydigS.com | 7.13.2012

Professional SuRFeR lives life to the Max

written By deniSe Kano

PhotoGraPhS courteSy of Body Glove.

Imagine for a moment that instead of clocking into your 9-5 tomorrow, you were waiting to find out if a swell in Tahiti was happening, and then whether you could get on a stand-by flight in the next 12 hours. This is Alex Grays reality chasing after big waves all around the world, and often packing at a moments notice.

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people

Starting Young
as a 10-year-old kid growing up in palos Verdes, gray was thrilled to catch his first wave at torrance Beach. i could barely carry the board, and i didnt even make it past the shore break, says gray. im in the shore break, crying, with the worst rash of my life from this old foam board from the 70s. But i think my dad pushed me and i got one wave that i stood up on. that was it. i just remember that moment. that was the best thing i ever felt in my life. it was grays older brother who, as a Junior lifeguard, came home one day and announced that he went surfing for the first time, and that he was now officially a surfer. as the younger brother, gray was constantly looking for ways to best his older brother in sports. although they did some skateboarding and snowboarding, surfing was obviously right in their backyard something they could do before and after school, and this made it the perfect, accessible sport. from that moment of him telling me he was a surfer, that was it, says gray. wed wake up in the morning and surf before school, and then instantly get to the beach as soon as possible after school. at 12 years old, gray got his first surfing sponsor, and its been fast forward ever since. he knew from that young age that he wanted to be a professional surfer, and he followed his occupational dream through high school despite a lack of encouragement from teachers. he considers himself fortunate for the support he received along the way from his parents and older brother, and mentors like Jim miller, greg Browning, and Joe Bark.

i was angry my attitude toward surfing changed, says gray. i lost the love and the fun. luckily, i have such great sponsors who basically came to me at the end of the year and said, hey, stop, take a break. everyone could see i just wasnt happy, i wasnt myself. they were like, just go do something new. gray realizes now that it took that frustrating setback for him to realize that competitive surfing is not what he was ultimately meant to be doing. now, i basically chase swells around the world, along with trips for magazine articles, and advertisements for my sponsors, he says. im typically living out of my suitcase nine months out of the year, and coming home when all my surfboards break. i come home, get new surfboards, maybe wash my clothes, and then get back on the road again.

Chasing Monster Swells

Surfing waves of consequence seems to mesh well with grays live-on-theedge personality. for me, i really enjoy pushing the limits, and finding what im physically and mentally capable of in big waves, he explains. thats my test in life. gray paddled Jaws this year; an area on maui known for having the tallest waves in the world and deemed un-paddleable. this was the third time Jaws had ever been paddled. the wind keeps you at the top of the wave, so when youre out trying to jump into the wave, its holding you up and then launching you out, he explains. you never want that to happen, but its the only way to do it there. my friend won the biggest paddle-in wave of the year from that session 52 feet. according to gray, ultra-challenging surfing areas that used to be considered only tow-in are now moving back primarily to paddling, and surfers are no longer even bringing tow boards. instead, they just try to physically paddle into these waves. people are trying to bring it back to the old school way of just making longer boards and trying to paddle, he says. its scary, but its cool. its really the most bad ass way you could go about doing it.

A Turn of Events
gray was entering approximately 25 contests per year up until about two years ago, when he caught a bacterial infection in hawaii. after a long recuperation period, he attempted to enter a local surfing contest and found out that due to a surfing membership snafu, all of his points had been taken away. he went through a selfdescribed tough year where he had to start over completely by entering lower contests in order to gain entry into the higher ones.

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The Universal Sport

Surfing has been described by some as a great equalizer an activity in which every person is equally up against the elements, and therefore it doesnt matter what you do on land for an occupation, or what stage you may be at in your life. its how you conduct yourself in the water that counts. this is yet another reason why gray loves the sport. you can be a professional surfer, a doctor, a lawyer, you can be any rank in society, and when you go surfing, everything vanishes because you can surf however you want, explains gray. theres nobody to tell you how to do it. its a freedom of expression; a form of art. and if youre having a problem during the day and you go surfing, you kind of lose yourself. whether you like it or not, you are forced to be in the moment, especially when youre riding the wave. every time ive come out of surfing, ive never felt worse than when i entered the water.

Always at the Beach

gray is also certified as a scuba diver, so when there arent any waves, he takes a boat out that he owns with friends and they go lobster diving or spear fishing. its a great way to build your lungs, he says. Both of these coincide with surfing. you find yourself underwater in situations youre not used to, and its all about calming yourself. its another form of meditation. gray is in the ocean as much as possible, whether it be surfing, paddling, or diving. and if hes not in the ocean, hes at the ocean working out and training, as he knows the importance of being physically fit and on top of his game in order to surf the biggest waves.

home sweet home

despite his worldly travels, gray says his favorite place to surf is when he can come home and surf the South Bay. here he can enjoy relaxing and surfing for the very same reason he started surfing in the first place: to have this is where my roots are, he says. for me, my favorite session being home is when i get to share it with friends. everybody sits in a line and the person closest to the wave gets that wave. and then it moves down the line. fun with his friends.

and who is his favorite surfer?

my favorite surfer is the person having the most fun, he says. Because theyre doing it for the right reason. alex grays life has not been without some tragedy, however. my older brother passed away from a drug overdose when i was 17, and he was 20, he says. hes the reason that i surfed and, to this day, hes a lot of my motivation. everything i do is dedicated to him and in his honor. for this reason, gray and his parents hope to eventually start a surf camp, particularly one in which those struggling to cope could participate. rather than guys having to go to a meeting that day, they can go surfing, he explains. the ocean is so healing. thats a goal of our family to start a foundation through surfing that can help people. were working toward that. gray also enjoys speaking to kids at local high schools and reminding them to stay true to themselves. theres always somebody who thinks that what youre doing isnt right, or someone to tell you youre doing it wrong, he said. i tell kids that the best they can do is be themselves. youre going to come to adversity, youre going to come to forks in the road, theres going to be peer pressure. Just listen to your heart and be true to yourself. you dont have to follow what everybody else is doing. with all of his travels, gray often wondered where he would want to put down roots. he was curious if he would someday discover that one perfect surfing location and he would never want to leave. it seemed like every time i came home i fell in love with the South Bay more and more, he says. it really is the people around here that i love. everybody supports each other. i always feel whenever i come back to the South Bay and palos Verdes, everyones just real. i realized this is where i want to spend the rest of my life. i want to raise a family here. gray recently bought a home in torrance, which he describes as, perfect, in a great community with young families. he fully enjoyed the house-hunting process and feels the South Bay is unique in that people can find whatever they are looking for here: a family home, a beach cottage, and everything in between. its really easy to feel at home around here, no matter what city youre in, he says. and the surfing community around here is so great; its such a good vibe.

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