SURF TIPS WITH LAYNE
PART ONE: FEAR IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD.

Fear is what keeps me sane. It's the mental aspect of what I do, and I actually enjoy the challenge of having to overcome it, even when I don't want to. Surfing shallow reefs, letting go of the rope my first time towing in or paddling out at Sunset and Waimea when I haven't been pounded for a while are all part of the process. I even got to the point where I had to face the fear of succeeding, getting to that point where I may not succeed anymore. The problem is, the more you fear something, the more you attract it. Kind of like the reef at Teahupoo.

I'm comfortable in big waves, but not when they break in shallow water. I don't enjoy losing skin off my body, and I hate the discomfort of how long it takes to heal. So, of course, the first time I went to compete in Tahiti in 1999, I got slammed into the reef on my first wave. So, I became really scared of the place. Here I am telling people to confront their fears all the time, but that was one fear I was unwilling to confront -- until I was forced to. I did not want to go back there, so I officially pulled out of the contest this year. Then I found out that I had to compete in order to maintain my number one ranking. I had no choice but to go out there and do exactly what it was I didn't want to -- confront that bloody reef.

I told myself, "Look, the reef is there, acknowledge that it's there. If I continue to remain scared of the reef, then I'm going to hit it, and I'm going to hit it damn hard." I appreciated what the consequences were and tried to relax. I went freesurfing between heats and took off on the biggest closeouts I could and got caught inside. Rochelle lost her board and I swam in and got it for her and brought it back out through some waves and just remained really calm and really relaxed and kept that thought of the reef out of my head. I got to the point where I really enjoyed surfing there. By the last day, I didn't want to go, and I was the last one to leave. I went freesurfing with [Vetea David] and a bunch of the guys and got to the point where I actually enjoyed it. The next time you paddle out of your comfort zone, keep a few things in mind:

Copy Cats Always Land on Their Feet:
When I was in Indo, back in shallow waters again, I saw one of the guys get caught inside and he just turned around and went in instead of fighting the impossible. I watched someone else turn their board upside down when they duck-dived so that it pressed into the reef on the wax side to prevent dings. When you're not sure how to deal with a new situation, work it out as you go along, or watch what other people do. I have learned a lot from just watching people.

Leave a Good Taste in Your Mouth
The first time I went tow-in surfing, I was terrified. So, of course, on my first wave, I got pounded and the board hit me twice. Ken [Bradshaw, Beachley's former boyfriend and tow partner] was freaking because he could see I was shaken up and wanted me to go in. I told him, "No. I just got destroyed, and if I don't go out and do it right now, I may never come out here again." I knew that if I didn't get right back out there I'd only remember the wipeout instead of coming away with a good impression --the old get back on the horse cliche. Your mind always remembers the last thing you do. That's why when I freesurf, I make sure that my last maneuver is a strong one because the next time I surf, my first memory is what I did on my last wave.

Sink or Swim
A lot of people get scared in bigger waves. You have to be confident with your ability to swim and remain calm under extreme duress. It doesn't matter how well you can hold your breath if you panic, so it's critical to be relaxed underwater. The best training that I've found for building my lung capacity and my confidence underwater is hypoxic swimming. You start by breathing on every fourth stroke, and then you build up to where you breathe on every fifth stroke, and then every sixth stroke to the point where you can swim 100 meters breathing only on every eighth stroke. It teaches you to commit yourself to experience the discomfort of not being able to breathe. After those first eight strokes, you take your first breath and realize you have 70 more meters to go. If you can do 100 meters breathing every eighth stroke, you'll have pretty good lung capacity.

The Last Word (Because I always get the last word!):
Embrace change; don't run from it.