Episode #79 - Marley Franco

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Welcome back to the show. Today we have our first ever Christmas special and we have an amazing guest, North Pro Rider Marley Franco. What an amazing young athlete. I had the pleasure of meeting Marley in Hood River this September at AWSI for the first time. I saw him crushing it on the dock, pump foiling. So I got some pointers from him, got to spend a little

[00:00:29] time with him there with his family. He graduated from the North Next Gen program and he was mentored by the one and only Jesse Richmond. Wow. He joins us today to talk about his upbringing in Maui, winging, kiting and life as a North sponsored athlete and much more. So I really do hope that you enjoy this episode. Last week we had our ninth episode of the GWA show with Tom Hartman. We recapped their last event of the season and Jerry Kokora

[00:00:59] Brazil and introduced their 2025 season. So make sure if you haven't seen it yet, make sure to check it out on our YouTube channel as we added some great video footage of the event to help make it a more immersive experience for you. Now I want to take this opportunity to thank our team for making the show a reality. We have Frank on media and consulting. We have Matias on guest relations and we have Stefan on audio mastering. A big thank you guys as a lot of work goes into each.

[00:01:29] And every episode. Next, I'd like to say a big thank you to our sponsors. We have North foils. You guys have supported us from day one. We are really looking forward to working with you for the 2025 season. If you want to see who else is sponsoring us, check out wing life podcast.com and sponsors. We have a few others that have come on board and they're helping make this show possible.

[00:01:55] Lastly, winter is here, but I think you want to come out to Bon Air in May. So check out wing life podcast.com. Click on trips and see what we have in store. Make sure to check that out. Once again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and enjoy the show.

[00:02:21] Welcome to the Wing Life Podcast, where we talk about wing foiling and the lifestyles of those who enjoy this great sport. Well, Merry Christmas.

[00:02:31] Merry Christmas to you too and everyone out there.

[00:02:35] That's a really nice little Christmas backdrop you're going on. That's amazing.

[00:02:39] Thank you.

[00:02:41] Whereabouts are you? You're at home for the holidays?

[00:02:43] Uh, yeah, I'm at home right now and then I'm actually leaving tomorrow in the morning. So

[00:02:48] no way.

[00:02:48] Yeah, I'm heading on a trip. So.

[00:02:50] Oh, nice. Where are you off to?

[00:02:51] Yeah, I'm off to India.

[00:02:53] Whoa. For how long?

[00:02:54] Yeah. Well, I think for like around seven to 10 days.

[00:02:58] Really? What are you going to be doing there?

[00:03:00] Um, it's just going to be kind of a fun trip just for some friends. We're going to be going around

[00:03:04] out there on a train. So.

[00:03:06] Oh, no way. Whoa.

[00:03:09] Exotic cuisine.

[00:03:10] Exotic cuisine. That place is supposed to be booming with people. That's going to be

[00:03:14] something different than Maui, right?

[00:03:16] Yeah, for sure. It's going to be an experience for sure.

[00:03:20] Wow. All right. So Christmas is going well for you so far?

[00:03:25] Yeah, it's been good. We had a little early Christmas with some family that was here. So I got,

[00:03:30] got to give them some gifts and exchange before I head out. So it was fun.

[00:03:34] Hey, nice. Nice. How was this year for you? Uh, wingfoil wise, life wise, everything was.

[00:03:41] Oh, man, it was amazing. I mean, it's super fun. It's not over yet, but we still got some big

[00:03:45] swell left. So, but, uh, yeah, it was, it was super fun. We had a lot of good wind,

[00:03:51] a lot of good experiences. So it was really cool.

[00:03:53] Any kind of highlights to top off 24?

[00:03:57] Ooh, AWSI was one of them. That was a really good, good, uh, good couple of weeks there.

[00:04:02] So that was pretty fun. And then M2O, M2O was it. So that was the highlight of the year, probably.

[00:04:09] How was M2O? Did you compete? Um, like how was your engagement with it?

[00:04:15] Yeah, I, uh, I did the, uh, Koakai triple crown. So I did all three races.

[00:04:19] So I did the, um, Padale Mua, uh, M2M Maui to Molokai and then the Molokai to Oahu. So it was a

[00:04:27] really cool experience and super fun. That's a check off the bucket list for sure.

[00:04:31] Those races are pretty close back to back, right?

[00:04:35] Yeah. So the Padale Mua was a week before. And then if I remember, I think Maui to Molokai was

[00:04:41] like on like the week, like Thursday. And then we were on Molokai for like one whole day. And then

[00:04:48] we jumped, my dad jumped on a plane over the next day. And then we had like a, we're like a one day

[00:04:54] break. So it was really, it was like a one day in between or something around there.

[00:04:59] And that was paddle, like paddle downwind or whatever. Wow. Yeah. Really tiring on the legs

[00:05:07] for sure. But I can imagine did obviously a lot of training involved in it. How, how serious do you

[00:05:14] take it? Yeah. I mean, we did, I did a lot of training, uh, like a lot of downwinders out on

[00:05:20] the water prehand and then a lot of gym training too. So it took a lot to work up to it and it was

[00:05:26] good cause I was prepared. How did it finish up then? Did you, were you happy? It finished

[00:05:31] up amazing. Yeah. Wow. How long does that take you? Uh, the Maui to Molokai I think was like

[00:05:40] two hours maybe. And then the Molokai to Oahu was I think three, no. Yeah. Around three hours.

[00:05:53] I don't know. I think it was like two or no, not two and a half, three for probably around three.

[00:05:58] I'll have to check, but. No, that's okay. So it's like a, it's a pretty, it's a marathon.

[00:06:03] Yeah. It was a while. Wow. Yeah. How did your whole journey with North start? You got a North

[00:06:12] hat. That Christmas hat is awesome. For those on audio, you're missing out.

[00:06:18] Yeah. Team North Christmas hat. No, this is a homemade improvised Christmas display.

[00:06:25] Awesome. Yeah. It, it started with the North next gen team a while back during 2020. I think

[00:06:33] that was when it first, first started. So you're four years now, almost five.

[00:06:39] Yeah. Four, almost five. So what is that next gen program for those who aren't aware?

[00:06:45] Uh, so the North next gen is, uh, essentially they had some of their like pro main riders and,

[00:06:52] uh, they took on like some groms that were like in their local areas that were into kiting and all

[00:06:59] this stuff. And essentially it was kiting. And then I was fortunate enough to have Jesse

[00:07:04] Richmond as a mentor. Come on. That was, that was really lucky. So yeah. So, uh, growing up around

[00:07:12] Jesse, it was super cool to watch him do all this insane stuff. And then the North next gen happened

[00:07:17] and he, uh, decided to take me on as a little grom and we started working. And then, uh, I was

[00:07:22] learning all this cool kite stuff from him and then we got into foiling and North started to come

[00:07:27] out with their foiling range. And then, yeah, that's where it started to grow.

[00:07:30] So that was four years ago. How old are you then?

[00:07:34] I think I was 12 around. Yeah. Like 12, 13, 12 years old learning from a legend. That's amazing.

[00:07:44] Wow. A really cool experience. Uh, did learned all disciplines like started with kiting. Did you do

[00:07:53] dabble in, I guess mainly, yeah, obviously he's mainly a kiter, but kite foiling, all that kind of

[00:07:58] stuff and then transitioned into wing foiling after? Yeah. So I kind of, uh, I learned to kite

[00:08:03] and learn to kite foil a little bit before, and I was still like just learning how to do jumps and

[00:08:08] stuff. And then Jesse came along and sped up that process a lot. So he definitely showed me how to

[00:08:14] jump and, uh, do some tricks, but yeah, it was really cool to like, just learn so much about the

[00:08:20] ocean and like the wind and water and everything.

[00:08:23] So from safety to how to get out, like, cause there's so many, cause obviously Hawaii is a lot

[00:08:28] of reef and there's a lot of current and you have to know what you're doing. So that was one part of

[00:08:33] his job, I guess, right. To kind of help educate you and all that stuff.

[00:08:37] Yeah, for sure. So I do remember there's a couple of times we went out to lanes and I was like 12

[00:08:42] and I was like on a foil. And if you know, lanes, it's like this really like long stretch of like reef,

[00:08:49] super shallow and lots of like sea urchins. And, and, uh, I was walking out there on a foil and

[00:08:55] the waves were big. So it was a, there's a lot of experiences that were like sketchy, but safe at

[00:09:00] the same time that I definitely learned a lot from.

[00:09:03] All right. Shallow reef, urchin, and that's just a freight train and there is no way through that,

[00:09:08] right?

[00:09:11] Nope. It was like you go through the keyhole at the smallest point where the waves are breaking,

[00:09:16] or you walk along the long reef and the waves are still breaking.

[00:09:20] And then you're potentially walking on, like you're walking on reef, right? So it's like

[00:09:24] super sharp and you could get an urchin in the foot.

[00:09:27] Yeah.

[00:09:29] You guys are just made tougher over there, I think.

[00:09:33] Yeah. We're, uh, we learned from a young age to withstand a lot in the ocean.

[00:09:37] So my buddy and I were there in 2012 and I can't remember what beach we went to.

[00:09:42] It was a black sand beach with like cliffs all along both sides. And there was a five-year-old

[00:09:48] or she must've been five to eight. That's hard to tell, but my buddy was at top and he wanted to

[00:09:53] cliff jump. And she was like, Oh, my uncle jumps. Cause like we were, we must've been, I don't know,

[00:10:00] mid thirties at 12 years ago, like late twenties, mid thirties or something. And she said, Oh, don't wait

[00:10:06] too long. My uncle freezes up there. Then he can't jump off. And then she goes and she paddles

[00:10:12] into this stuff that's way overhead on this little boogie board ripping away, calling them out. And

[00:10:18] he's like, bro, you better jump soon, man. Before she comes back. Yeah. So little, but I guess you

[00:10:25] can grow around the ocean. It becomes such a second home. Like when you travel to other places that don't

[00:10:31] have it, do you miss it? Is it so much baked into you at this point that it's just everyday life?

[00:10:37] Yeah. I mean, when I travel to like other places that are like, like beach breaks or like a lot

[00:10:41] different than Hawaii, it's, it's really good because you, you know, so much growing up in the

[00:10:47] ocean here and in the reefs and like the gnarly conditions that it just transfers over. So it's

[00:10:52] like, no matter where you are, you always know what to do and you're still like really safe and you just

[00:10:56] have so much knowledge. Pretty cool upbringing then being able to do that with Richmond.

[00:11:01] And then, and then North came along. They must've liked what they saw.

[00:11:05] Yeah. So, um, yeah. So we were, uh, it was just at the start of foiling and, um, me and Jesse were

[00:11:13] both new to foiling. So we both learned together and then, uh, something inside foiling just clicked

[00:11:19] and I was like, Oh, I love this. And I just wanted to keep going as far as I could. So, and, uh, North

[00:11:24] was like progressing. So throughout then we just kept building up and up with their foils and wings.

[00:11:31] Did you do any kind of early R and D with them before? Cause obviously it was a couple of

[00:11:37] years before they released something. I think they waited on purpose, which is cool. Um, cause

[00:11:41] their current stuff that I'm riding, we got an eight 30 underneath this, my, my Christmas

[00:11:47] Canadians towel. We got an eight 30 that's been doing pretty well, uh, for me here in Mexico.

[00:11:55] But, um, did, were you able to help with some early renditions of some foils?

[00:12:01] Yeah. So, um, it was, it was really cool because their stuff, they, they waited to come out with the

[00:12:06] foils for a little bit. And then a lot of companies, like they just, they make a foil and they push it

[00:12:10] out there and it's like this new foil. But the cool thing about North is that they like, they take

[00:12:15] their time and they, they put a lot of thought and effort into everything and they put on a good

[00:12:19] product for sure. So we, uh, we got the foils out and then we were just riding them as hard as we

[00:12:24] could. And we did a lot of research and development to those. So that's, that's sick. Yeah. Nice.

[00:12:30] And, uh, even, even still, who did you work with? Uli, um, some of those other guys, Hugh, Mike.

[00:12:37] Yeah. Uli, Hugh, Mike, all the guys. So it's super cool. I've, uh, just, they've seen me kind of

[00:12:42] grow up from 12 and like barely like knowing how to do stuff on a foil to these crazy waves now.

[00:12:49] That's awesome. And then pump foiling, like we pump foiled together in, uh, in Hood River,

[00:12:56] you were up in about 12 seconds. The rest of us took three days, but it's okay.

[00:13:01] It's okay. Yeah, that was a, Hey, I mean, it did take me three days to get it too. So I, uh,

[00:13:08] yeah, I on in Maui, there's not too many places to dock foil. It's either off of a rock or at

[00:13:15] Kahului Harbor, which is pretty tough. So, but, um, it's still like, there's so much opportunity.

[00:13:22] So it's super. Compared to kite foiling, how do you see wing foiling being different? Do you think

[00:13:30] that it's a little bit easier to access? Are there fun parts of kite foiling that you miss when you're

[00:13:36] wing foiling? Yeah. I think with kite foiling and wing foiling, the big difference is like mobility.

[00:13:42] Like there's so many things like in winging that you like would not be able to do kite foiling

[00:13:47] that open up a lot more doors. And I mean, I, I love kite foiling. Like whenever the wind gets super

[00:13:53] light, me and all my friends go out and like just do big jumps with the foils and like mess around.

[00:13:59] So I'll never forget, uh, the foil kiting too and regular kiting. So for, for surfing,

[00:14:06] like if you want to swell ride or if you want to surf, how do you ever see kites getting into the

[00:14:12] mix there? Yeah. So I'll keep up at my local breakdown at Hokepa, there's a lot of, uh, wind

[00:14:17] surfers and kiters. So it gets, uh, I think just like yesterday, there was like maybe five,

[00:14:23] five of us winger kids out there and then like 10 wind surfers and two kiters.

[00:14:27] Oh, sick. So yeah, it gets pretty like a really crowded with all these different disciplines.

[00:14:32] And then down the coast, like maybe a hundred feet, you'll have like a bunch of surfers.

[00:14:37] So it's, there's a lot of like a diversity in sports.

[00:14:40] That's cool though. Cause that's, that's exactly what you guys do there. Um, how was growing up

[00:14:45] in Maui of all tropical paradise places that you could have magically been born in, in the world?

[00:14:52] Yeah. So I grew up in Sprecklesville. It was, uh, it's like this little, this little, um,

[00:14:58] um, yeah, a little neighborhood on the beach and my house was, uh, we live with, uh, next to some

[00:15:04] friends of ours and it was like directly on the beach. So me and my mom used to like just jump off

[00:15:10] of the seawall into the water and like swim around and have fun and go fishing. Oh, no way. So yeah,

[00:15:15] right next to Sugar Cove. So, I mean, I was, as long as I could remember, I was messing around in

[00:15:20] the water there with a bridge Lenny, Kyle Lenny. So they were lived right behind us. So.

[00:15:26] Wow. The Lenny brothers on top. So I guess you grew up, watched each other progress,

[00:15:32] all that kind of thing.

[00:15:34] Yeah. I mean, I like some of my most, most, uh, fond memories of Sprex and living there was

[00:15:41] going to school in the morning and I'd like wake up and I'll have all my stuff ready.

[00:15:45] And then I would like go outside and watch Ridge, like surfing, like this insane barrel

[00:15:51] right in front of our house. And I was like, Oh, that's so awesome. And he was like getting

[00:15:57] such good barrels. And I was like, Oh man, I'm going to go to school. And then like, yeah,

[00:16:01] it was pretty cool.

[00:16:03] Whoa. That's crazy. So you must just absorb all that natural talent around you, right? Cause

[00:16:10] it's just everybody there there. Well, like obviously Ridge and Kai are like spectacular,

[00:16:14] insane athletes. So it's pretty special. Did you ever get to hang out and surf with Laird

[00:16:20] or any of those kinds of the other generation over there?

[00:16:23] Um, I don't think not, not too much. No, I, I, I do remember like maybe seeing Laird and

[00:16:29] those guys around and like, like looking up at like these insane figures in the, in the

[00:16:35] sport. So seeing Kai and Laird and everyone pushing the limits and, uh, Piaxi and everywhere.

[00:16:40] So even now there's still so many cool, like big wave surfers and foilers and kiters and

[00:16:47] everywhere. So.

[00:16:48] That is definitely an amazing Mecca. I remember seeing Laird and on the Island of Kauai with

[00:16:53] my brother and he walked in like six feet wide and eight feet tall. And it was just like,

[00:16:58] Whoa, that's what a surfer looks like. He's just so big. You felt like he could take on the

[00:17:04] world, but I guess in essence is what they're doing at Piaxi. It's so big. Um, how's your

[00:17:10] journey been with North? Cause you, you started so young, uh, especially through like some cool

[00:17:15] foundation years of, of still being like transitioning from elementary school to high

[00:17:20] school and stepping into that pro kind of world. Like how did that feel?

[00:17:26] Yeah. I mean, it's been really cool. It's been an experience. So I started when I was in,

[00:17:31] uh, I think, yeah, I think around elementary school, maybe just finishing elementary and,

[00:17:37] uh, yeah, I mean, I was just like doing my school, going to the water, having a lot of fun.

[00:17:43] And then, uh, with North, it's been cool because everyone here surfs. I have a lot of surfer friends

[00:17:47] and I grew up surfing, but when the wind, wind gets really windy and the waves get blown out,

[00:17:53] everyone like goes home and then I get to go out and go winging. So it's really cool.

[00:17:57] Oh, nice. Now, what, what do you think of the team over there?

[00:18:00] They obviously super friendly from, from what we we've had with at the podcast or one of the only

[00:18:08] companies that was extremely supportive of us. So hats off to them. Mike loves community initiative,

[00:18:13] um, and wants to help kids and wants to help everybody kind of access the sport.

[00:18:17] It's just different level of like, not even just like, um, not even like they're at the company,

[00:18:23] it's like their family too. So it's super cool to have them like being so supportive,

[00:18:28] like watching me and helping me, like I'll be out doing something. And then like, if anything

[00:18:34] happens or like, Oh, like if anyone there gets hurt, everyone's going to like be super supportive and

[00:18:40] like send as much like positivity. So it's a, it's a cool family.

[00:18:43] Yeah. Nice. That's awesome. What do you have planned for 2025? Any cool trips in the horizon?

[00:18:51] Yeah, definitely have some big plans this, uh, this winter. So that's pretty,

[00:18:56] pretty stoked on that. But, um, yeah.

[00:18:59] It all starts with this India trip.

[00:19:01] Yeah. All starting with India. So first a little break before the, uh, the push.

[00:19:06] So I have some really, really, uh, good plans for big wave foiling, big wave surfing, all this stuff.

[00:19:11] So super stoked on that. And, uh, yeah. And then yeah, GWA. So that's, uh, one of the goals I want

[00:19:20] to head out there to Cape Verde and all the events and have fun.

[00:19:23] Oh, you're going to test that wave out. Have you been out there before?

[00:19:29] No, I haven't. I saw some of my friends like cash, like on that insane wave last year.

[00:19:35] And I was like, okay, that's going to be really fun.

[00:19:38] Oh man. Can't wait to see you ride that thing. That thing is a menace.

[00:19:43] Yeah.

[00:19:43] Wow. Now, how do you train for something like that? Uh, do you just,

[00:19:48] is there anything comparable in Hawaii?

[00:19:50] I mean, it's tough. I like when we go out here, we go to Hokiepa and some days it's super big

[00:19:58] and it's like really gnarly and the other days we'll be super small. So it's really good to have

[00:20:03] variety. But I mean, most of the time, the best way to train is just getting pounded.

[00:20:12] The first time I went surfing at secrets beach, I got pounded to the bottom of the ocean and I,

[00:20:17] and I I'm standing on the bottom of the ocean and my brain is like, dude, I have no idea where I am

[00:20:22] right now, but I guess you have to kick off and come back up once again, a five-year-old waves at me

[00:20:27] and laughs. But, um, that's going to be a pretty fun trip. Have you ever been out to that? Like,

[00:20:33] have you ever been to Cabo Verde or any of those little islands around there?

[00:20:37] No, I haven't. So I really want to, uh, yeah, I really want to go out there for the event. So

[00:20:42] I'm super, super stoked that I might have the opportunity still needed to get into the world

[00:20:46] tour. So that should be fun. Wild card. Uh, yeah, hopefully. So I think, yeah, if I get a wild card

[00:20:53] and then I, I know I should do a fairly well at the events, I'm pretty confident. So I would love to,

[00:20:59] uh, see how that first year goes and have a lot of fun. Well, we'll have to, uh, to see.

[00:21:05] Well, I was just had Tom on the show, not that long ago, and it's going to be a tight race next

[00:21:12] year. I think there's a lot of good riders and, um, yeah, it's going to be a crazy year.

[00:21:21] Same on the freestyle. Like I was giving a lesson today and I was going downwind and I saw two or

[00:21:26] three F1 wings. And then sure enough, I see a backflip into a 720. So Chris is in town.

[00:21:34] Yeah. That kid's man. He's insane. I went with him in, uh, in hood river and I see him all the

[00:21:40] time and he's definitely pushing the limits on the freestyle for sure. So it's pretty cool to see.

[00:21:46] Yeah. Unbelievable. It was pretty clean too. And he looks around seeing what else there is,

[00:21:50] what kind of good kickers. It was a pretty decent day today. We had like some shoulder high

[00:21:54] swell or whatever. Waist to shoulder high swell. And, um, sorry. No, it's okay. Yeah.

[00:22:00] Yeah. It's a fun spot. Yeah. It's a fun spot. You'll find it weird compared to

[00:22:07] like you have sand, but then you have like tropical jungle forests and just all this cool

[00:22:13] stuff right here. It's sand and cactus. It's so weird. It takes a little while to get,

[00:22:17] to get used to it. Um, cause it's sun every day versus in Maui and stuff. There's like,

[00:22:23] you have different variety of stuff, which is more normal life, right?

[00:22:27] Yeah. But, uh, but, uh, sand and cactuses are pretty cool. It's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And the

[00:22:32] conditions it's like every day, every day, like it's crazy. And I, I live like about a minute from

[00:22:37] the beach. So I'll just walk down, jump over the reef and then you're into like rolling swell.

[00:22:42] So, um, yes, it's not too bad. So if you do get the chance, come out and visit, but, um,

[00:22:50] how did you guys pick India of all places? Not a lot of like younger people go there.

[00:22:56] No, I just, uh, I got invited on a trip with some friends and they were going to India. So I was

[00:23:00] like, Oh, for sure. Huh? Wow. No, no wind and water obviously. Right. No, just culture. Yeah. Just

[00:23:08] experience culture. Oh, sweet. Um, do you like Indian food? Like can you, or Americanized Indian

[00:23:14] food? So I'm curious to see what there's going to be over there. Uh, I like trying a lot of food when

[00:23:19] I travel, so I'm super excited for this. Nice. All right. Nice. And then

[00:23:24] you said, you're going to get into a bit of some bigger wave surfing when you get back.

[00:23:29] So with the products that are released that we're allowed to talk about, what is your favorite

[00:23:35] equipment to ride in those variety of conditions for those different sports?

[00:23:41] Ooh, that's a big question. Yeah, that is the, uh, the swell and the mid aspects are like super fun.

[00:23:51] Those are some of my favorites for sure. Hmm. What size? Uh, I've been using the, uh, the four

[00:23:59] two swell. I'm pretty sure. So I think it's the smallest size, but, um, I'm getting a little

[00:24:04] bit, a little bit bigger of a size for a bigger waves or I think it's four, four maybe. I can't

[00:24:11] remember the exact size, but it's super fun for like wing foiling and then toe foiling and

[00:24:17] all this super like crazy foil activities. I think Fabi was saying he really loved the

[00:24:23] MAs as well. Um, just for an all round, everything that you could do with them. So that's exciting.

[00:24:29] And how big of a wave are we talking here? As big as we can get this. That's the goal.

[00:24:37] We'll see how big we can get. All right. So what kind of, I guess you've been around it

[00:24:43] so much that what does big mean to you compared to like, I can tell you what big means to me.

[00:24:51] So is that like six, like five foot, six foot double, like what, what are you comfortable

[00:24:56] riding in and what's safe for you to be riding in? Yeah. I mean, what a big wave is, is,

[00:25:02] as a, is a tough question. I mean, it's unique to everyone too. Yeah. I think it's just a way

[00:25:07] that, uh, pushes you out of your comfort zone and that you, you're, uh, you can be in a,

[00:25:13] how do you say this? And I, and I like a, a position where you're like, really like,

[00:25:19] like open your eyes. Like, Ooh, this is a, this is a something for sure. Where you just can really

[00:25:24] see like what it is and what everything is to you. And like, it pushes you out of your comfort

[00:25:29] zone. Meanwhile, you're also like having a really cool, like adrenaline experience, but you're also

[00:25:35] like taking in a lot at the same time. And that can mean a one foot wave for somebody who's never

[00:25:41] done it to a four foot wave to a 60 foot wave. It doesn't matter. I think it's, it's individualized

[00:25:47] individualized. Yeah. And I think what we're trying to say is stay within that safety comfort zone,

[00:25:53] but just push just a little bit. And that's kind of what you're explaining. Okay. That's cool.

[00:25:59] Nice. Being safe, but also outside your comfort zone and taking risks, but calculated risks at the

[00:26:06] same time. And training to see if you can take down cash next year. His episodes coming out soon too.

[00:26:15] We just talked about his world championship and that, that movie that he put out with Armstrong and,

[00:26:21] and, um, how, how cool is it to have like cash and Otis and so many other rippers that you guys are

[00:26:27] all, you're all buddies, but, and then, but you all happen to be at this kind of elite level, right?

[00:26:35] Yeah. That's pretty cool. It's a, it's, it's really cool to see. So I remember we used to be like

[00:26:39] Groms at Shuriko messing around and now they both graduated high school and they're going off and

[00:26:44] I'm like, yo, wait for me, but it's really cool to see them pushing the limits too. So it's,

[00:26:50] it's super fun. Like we get to a level and then one person goes up and the next person,

[00:26:54] it's just a ladder of just positivity as far as you can go.

[00:26:59] Hmm. Have you snowboarded, skied? Uh, what kind of hobbies are you into when you're not on the water?

[00:27:05] I love skiing. So skiing is super fun. Skateboarding is probably one of my seconds.

[00:27:12] So I've always grown up skating and surfing. So, and, uh, funny enough, mountain biking,

[00:27:18] I love mountain biking. So every year we go out with the North team after,

[00:27:23] after AWSI. So we went out last year. That's pretty fun.

[00:27:28] I think Hugh went to, um, Whistler. He did this year. They got a ball out there.

[00:27:36] Yeah, he did. So he was sending it. He sends it.

[00:27:40] Shout out Hugh. He's a, he's a ripper, man. Like I remember watching him at the,

[00:27:45] at the dock when he was pumped, like just trying to get the pump going. And then I said,

[00:27:50] if I can put like how his mindset was, is it if you, obviously you do, it's the same level of

[00:27:57] intensity designing products as it is trying this. Cause it is kind of cool. Like he'll walk in.

[00:28:04] This is what's so neat about talking to you guys. Like, cause you can, Oh, this is why this is done

[00:28:09] this way. And this is this. And like, all that was pretty interesting, pretty neat to find out a

[00:28:14] little bit more. Um, is your entire family into wind and water sports? Like who got you into it

[00:28:22] initially? Yeah. Um, I say probably my parents, both of my parents were, uh, kiters and surfers. So

[00:28:29] growing up with them, I used to go out and kite, like standing in between their legs,

[00:28:33] holding on. And my dad used to do jumps. Yeah, that definitely sparked, uh, sparked a love for,

[00:28:40] for the jumping in the air. And yeah, obviously he probably jumped one foot or two feet, but you

[00:28:45] probably felt like it was 20. Yeah, for sure. I think, yeah, it wasn't too high, but I was so small.

[00:28:53] It felt really high. Yeah. No kidding. Um, anything else you want to mention about North equipment?

[00:29:00] Have you gotten to ride other brands in comparison? Yeah, I've ridden a couple other, uh, foils and,

[00:29:08] and, uh, in kites and gear and they're, they're all really good. But like I went back to North,

[00:29:14] just, they put a lot of effort and a lot of time at creating a really nice product and then putting

[00:29:18] it out. Sometimes it's a little bit later, but there's so much quality and effort.

[00:29:23] What is that back there? Is that a little gecko? Yeah. It's like, wait a second. Is that my eyes?

[00:29:32] I just saw that too. Nice. Yeah. We have a couple, we have so many around the house,

[00:29:39] around the island. Nice. Um, so have, how Jaws has obviously gone off a couple of times so far

[00:29:47] this year? Have you gone out to check it out? Yeah, I've caught a couple of fun waves towing

[00:29:53] and surfing this winter. So that was fun. But, um, yeah, I just got a new paddle gun board sitting

[00:30:00] over there. So, Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah. I need to pad that up and then I definitely want to catch

[00:30:04] some paddle waves this winter. Sweet. Any, um, trips with North planned? Yeah, there's a couple trips.

[00:30:12] Yeah. So I have some fun, some fun, yeah, some fun media stuff coming out soon. So make sure to look

[00:30:17] out for that. Got some, yeah, some big projects. I'm super stoked that I, uh, starting to work on.

[00:30:22] So, and now you're getting close to graduating. Are you thinking university? What are you thinking

[00:30:28] school-wise? Yeah. So I have one more year of, I have the rest of this year and then one more year of

[00:30:33] high school. So I think for now I'm going to, yeah, start, uh, start really pushing on the, uh,

[00:30:40] sports wise and athletic career, but definitely, yeah. Have a, have a love for sports and I don't

[00:30:46] think that'll ever go away, but yeah. No. Yeah. That's awesome. And especially with kind of all the

[00:30:52] encouragement and support that's around you, just go for it. Especially with that hat.

[00:30:58] Yeah. But the North Christmas hat is what motivates me. Definitely. Yeah. But it's,

[00:31:05] it's really cool. You see like all these people who, who create these, these lives and it's like,

[00:31:10] I look at them and they're like, they're just having fun, like doing these sports for a living.

[00:31:13] And I'm like, all right, if I push hard enough, I can do that too. And I mean, that's kind of the

[00:31:18] ultimate life. Yeah. Having fun. And then being able to like bring in a little

[00:31:26] money with the passion that you're doing, which is, which is a special thing. And it's

[00:31:31] a light like around Christmas time. It's an amazing beacon of light for others who might

[00:31:37] not think it's possible. Um, yeah. Like I know that's something that a lot of athletes

[00:31:43] do and that's what Richmond, like a mate, like imagine you like learning and Richmond taking

[00:31:48] you under your arm and say, Hey kid, like, let me show you what's possible and here's what

[00:31:52] you can do. Like, yeah, that's pretty much the story of Christmas right there.

[00:31:57] Yeah, for sure. It's pretty cool to watch him. I mean, he had like an insane, like one

[00:32:02] of the best kiter, like, uh, careers of all time. And he's an insane kiter. And then now

[00:32:10] I see him, he's surfing these huge waves. He has his family. So it's, it's really cool to

[00:32:15] see.

[00:32:15] Any plans for the new year's evening? Cause that's coming up pretty quick.

[00:32:21] Yeah, I think, I think that should be, this should be fun. That's my mom's birthday. So

[00:32:25] we'll have a little birthday party and have fun. So yeah.

[00:32:28] Oh, cool. Anything else you want to touch on, put out there to the world on this very special

[00:32:34] day?

[00:32:35] Yeah. Um, uh, yeah. If you support Christmas, Merry Christmas to everybody. If you don't

[00:32:41] then happy holidays, no matter what your holiday is. So yeah. Um, yeah. If there's any other

[00:32:47] little subjects you want to touch on, then, uh, what are you thinking?

[00:32:50] Oh, I'll be heading down there. I think in March.

[00:32:53] Awesome.

[00:32:54] March and potentially April.

[00:32:57] Maybe.

[00:32:58] We'll see.

[00:32:58] So many people, so many people coming out here now and I'm like, yes, I get to see all

[00:33:02] my friends from Canada and Mexico and everywhere.

[00:33:05] I am going to hopefully get to Kanaha and do some windsurf wave sailing, which I think

[00:33:12] would be super fun. But after I want to start to dabble into a little waves as well in the

[00:33:19] foil. So we'll have to see how that goes.

[00:33:21] Yeah, for sure.

[00:33:22] I'm not going to follow you guys in a double overhead, but if there's a small day, I'll

[00:33:26] come out.

[00:33:27] Yeah. We'll have to go Kanaha too. And it's super fun. Even the outer race out there.

[00:33:31] So prone foiling, e-foiling, all those stuff.

[00:33:34] Oh yeah. Nice.

[00:33:35] Yeah.

[00:33:36] All right. We'll have to keep that in mind then when I get out there.

[00:33:38] Is Mama's Fish House still around?

[00:33:41] Yep. They're still there. It's like maybe months in advance to get in, but it's, yeah.

[00:33:46] It's that busy.

[00:33:48] Yeah. It's super crowded.

[00:33:50] Wow. How, like pay has exploded, right? Since like five, 10 years ago.

[00:33:55] Obviously it's changed a lot.

[00:33:58] Yeah. So it's, it's pretty cool.

[00:33:59] So, uh, Toby's Poke, they're doing really good. So yeah.

[00:34:03] Okay.

[00:34:04] One of my favorite spots.

[00:34:06] Nice. Now, how are you training crosswise? Are you hitting the gym? Um, what do you do

[00:34:11] for water training and I guess land training as well?

[00:34:14] Yeah. So I actually, I'm fortunate enough to work with, uh, Auntie Sam at a deep relief.

[00:34:20] So she's a, she owns deep relief, which is a really, really cool gym. There's so much versatility

[00:34:26] there between like physical therapy and then like the actual gym. So it's really cool. It's a athlete

[00:34:33] performance center. So it's, it's cool. It's like a, she trains a lot of Red Bull athletes and, uh,

[00:34:38] a lot of these high, high end athletes. So it's really cool to have a lot of this mentoring and

[00:34:42] training.

[00:34:43] And what about water training? Like, what do you guys do for that? Cause you might get,

[00:34:48] you do breath hold training, swim training, all of that.

[00:34:52] Yeah. So I think every, every two years, the, the brag course comes to Maui, the big wave risk

[00:34:57] assessment group. So that that's another tight family of really cool big wave surfers and people

[00:35:03] that are just super awesome. So, yeah.

[00:35:06] So you've gone, you've gone through that?

[00:35:09] Yeah. So every two years, uh, I, this is my second year and not too, I think it was maybe

[00:35:13] like a month ago we did it. And, uh, it's just a really good refresh of like all like breath

[00:35:18] training, like rescue. So it goes over like all the medical stuff too. So like tourniquets and,

[00:35:26] and how to like stop bleeding and wounds and a lot of this stuff.

[00:35:30] Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah. That makes sense.

[00:35:33] Yeah. CPR and a lot, a lot of good information that if you're in the water, you need to know.

[00:35:38] Yeah. Yeah. There's, especially with foils, right? Have you guys seen anything there or

[00:35:42] you've been fairly fortunate so far?

[00:35:45] There's been a couple issues that are pretty, that are pretty rough. So there's been a couple,

[00:35:50] but I mean, other than that, it's, it's been not too bad.

[00:35:53] Hit any turtles with your foil yet?

[00:35:55] Uh, I don't know if I can speak on that.

[00:35:59] I might have, I don't know. There's been a couple incidents. I've definitely been foiling and then

[00:36:04] something hit my foil. So I've hit, yeah, maybe a turtle or two. And then I don't know,

[00:36:11] a couple of big animals that are not turtles.

[00:36:14] Yeah. Okay. Oh, really?

[00:36:17] Yeah. I was, uh, out, out of Sprex one time and I hit something. It was like soft. It wasn't a

[00:36:23] manta ray, but it was soft. So it was, yeah, like a big fish or something.

[00:36:30] Okay. Wow.

[00:36:31] Yeah.

[00:36:32] I just saw, I saw a turtle foiling here the other day, yesterday. It was a little guy. It

[00:36:37] wasn't massive, but it was still kind of neat to see him up there.

[00:36:41] Yeah. Yeah. They're really cool.

[00:36:42] You don't see that too often. The turtles in Hawaii, their heads are like this big though.

[00:36:47] Yeah. There's some big ones. So luckily it doesn't happen too much if you, you, you hit them, but,

[00:36:52] uh, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty good. They pop up randomly, but you can see them in time

[00:36:56] and they have a really, really dense, uh, shell. So my foil does get more hurt than them, which is good.

[00:37:03] Yeah. I guess that's true. Yeah. I guess that's true. Well, I really do hope that you enjoy your

[00:37:11] trip, uh, to India and thanks for meeting us on Christmas day. Wow. Absolutely amazing. And we

[00:37:19] do wish everybody a happy holidays and a happy new year wherever you are in the world. And, uh,

[00:37:25] hope you take this time to spend with friends and family and look back and be, I guess if you're

[00:37:30] listening to this and you're into these sports, give some gratitude and, um, just be, I guess

[00:37:36] we're fairly fortunate to be able to even afford to dabble into these sports. Pretty, uh, exclusive

[00:37:43] sport world. So, I mean, it takes a lot to learn and a lot of time. So if you're in here and yeah,

[00:37:50] I mean, props to you because foiling and kiting, all that stuff's really tough. So yeah. Yes.

[00:37:56] I've been chasing down clients here and, um, just practicing my, like just standing on the board

[00:38:03] and just kind of chugging around and, um, yeah, it's getting my skills. My, my skills are improving

[00:38:10] by just chugging around a little board. And, uh, I, one guy today stood up for the first time. So he was

[00:38:17] super excited and the other lady came super close to standing up. So it's nice to see a next generation,

[00:38:23] regardless of what the ages are, but getting into this and, uh, cause who knows where it,

[00:38:30] where it takes them. Could you have envisioned your life? What would you think you'd be into if

[00:38:34] you weren't into this? I don't know. That's tough. I mean, I'd probably be, be surfing still,

[00:38:40] but I don't know if, if, if I never got into foiling and be an interesting, interesting path,

[00:38:44] but I'm super glad I did. Do you think you'd be like a Russian mafia guy, tattoos,

[00:38:49] you know, running stuff like that? Maybe.

[00:38:54] Maybe. There's always a, always possible.

[00:38:59] Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the Marley cash M, MLC.

[00:39:05] Yeah. Okay. We got to watch out for you guys when I get there.

[00:39:09] Bro, get off my beach. All right. All right.

[00:39:13] Regulating he'll keep up.

[00:39:16] Yeah.

[00:39:19] Nice buddy. Well, Hey, thanks for coming on. And, uh, especially during this holiday season,

[00:39:23] thanks for sharing with us and, um, I hope you have an amazing trip and keep in touch and let us

[00:39:29] know how your trips go for the new year. And I'm really looking forward to see what you do this year

[00:39:34] and hope you get into that come GWA event. That'd be unreal for you.

[00:39:38] Yeah. I'm super stoked. So thank you guys. And, uh, yeah, I'm super stoked to be on here and then

[00:39:44] maybe come back soon. So yeah, be fun.

[00:39:47] Anytime you let us know, you let us know what you want to chat about. We can chat. Like,

[00:39:51] do you play cash and backgammon? Apparently he's pretty good at it.

[00:39:54] Backgammon. Ooh, uh, I'm actually great. Yeah.

[00:39:57] I'm pretty good too.

[00:39:57] So we'll have to, yeah.

[00:39:58] All right, cash. We're calling you out buddy. And we're going to put this on an Instagram reel.

[00:40:02] So you're not going to be able to run away. All right. Marley, cash.

[00:40:06] We have to set up a tournament with everyone. So yeah, that'd be fun.

[00:40:11] Yeah.

[00:40:12] I didn't know it would be. Well, uh, still amazing little Christmas backdrop back there.

[00:40:18] And, uh, yeah, it was nice to see you again. We'll chat soon. All right, everybody. We'll

[00:40:24] see you in the next one.

[00:40:25] Okay. Goodbye, everyone. Have a good one. Happy holidays.

[00:40:28] Oh, and how do they follow you? How do they follow you?

[00:40:31] Yeah. If you want to, uh, search me up on Instagram or social media, my, uh, my social

[00:40:36] medias are gnarly, G N A R L Y dot Marley. M A R L E Y.

[00:40:41] Cause you're a gnarly Marley. All right, everybody. We'll see you in the next one.

[00:40:46] Thank you everybody. Have a good one.