AB: So let’s start at the beginning — back in your professional longboarding days. How did that all come about?

SM: I was about thirteen when it began. I had just started competing, and I loved it. It wasn’t like going to a soccer match or to a softball game. It was being at the beach with my friends and family for an entire weekend, getting to go surfing. I loved the whole vibe. And then I was like, “Hey, people get sponsored for this stuff and you get to go on trips and they get to do all these fun things. I want to do that!” So I took my horrible-looking little resume with all my fifth place contest results into the local surf shop and asked them to sponsor me. And they’re like, “Sure! We’ll give you wax and pay for your contest entry fees.” From there, it just kinda grew. 

AB: So who was sponsoring you in the very beginning? 

SM: Hansen Surf Shop, Joel Tudor surfboards…
I was with them for probably the longest. A mutual friend connected me with Joel’s parents. One day I went surfing with Joel’s dad — actually I went surfing and he sat on the beach and watched me. 

AB: His dad?

SM: Yeah. 

AB: That’s so intimidating!

SM: I know! I was like, “This is it! I have to surf well!” When I came in after, he told me, “Why don’t you just keep that board and we’ll sponsor you.” I was so stoked because I love their boards and they’re a great family — so supportive. So yeah Billabong and Tudors, Freestyle watches… Vans on and off. And Dakine. That’s kind of all how it started. 

Then I kept competing and doing better very, very, slowly, just working my way up. But I was determined. I really wanted to win the world title. That was my goal. Because to me, I felt like once I’d won that then I would have done as much as I could with my surfing. (Laughs) Everything just kind of built on itself and the summer after my freshman year of college, I won it. 

AB: What was that like, after you had worked towards this goal for so many years?

SM: It was such a dream. Everything about it was just so beautiful. The contest was in the south of France and was one of the best I’d ever had in terms of winning every heat and just feeling good about my surfing. I was with my mom, and it was cool to have her there, experiencing
everything with me. When I actually won, it was such a shock. I couldn’t even really process it for a few days. I just thought, “This can’t be real.” And then it slowly started to sink in. It was interesting seeing the sponsors’ reaction to it as well. 

AB: Why? What did the sponsors say? 

SM: For me I felt like “Yes! Personal goal met. Awesome. What’s next?” I wasn’t thinking, “I gotta win five more.” I kind of went through this period where I was a little like, “Oh.. that’s all?” Ok. Onto the next thing now… And I think my sponsors were kind of the same way. They were like, “Oh good job. That’s cute.” They didn’t sort of care as much as I thought they would. And it kind of showed me that I needed to be developing other parts of myself. I just felt the whole professional surfing thing winding down. 

AB: Have you competed since then?

SM: Yeah I went back the next year. I think I only made the quarters or something. It just didn’t hold the same interest for me. I was going to college.

AB: What made you gravitate towards the arts when you were in college? 

SM: There was always a creative outlet in my life growing up. My grandmother is an amazing watercolor painter, so I grew up painting with her. And my mom is a really good ceramic artist. For a few years, we’d go to the ceramics studio together once a week. So, there was always some creative part of my life and when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to study in college, that just seemed like the most obvious thing. I didn’t know what I was gonna do with a creative degree or a studio art degree, but I thought, “I’ll figure that out later.” 

AB: Do you feel like that impetus towards creativity or art making is what brought you to New York? 

SM: I think that’s probably the biggest reason I moved out here. San Diego was feeling very stale. It’s a beautiful town, and it’s fun living there and it’s perfect for young families, but I wanted to do more and I wanted to be somewhere more inspiring. And New York has been amazing so far. I can’t believe how great friends have been and the community here has been. I love the people here. I kind of felt like “My experience isn’t what most people’s transitions to New York are like — meeting people willing to open up their circle of friends, show you around, show you the cool spots and take you surfing. It doesn’t feel fair! (Laughs) 

AB: So the first time you ever came here was 2005, to surf. How did that come about? 

SM: A photographer, Jim Pigeon, asked me to be a part of the trip out here. It’s still one of the highlights trip I got to take. We scored such fun waves while we were out here. The water was warm, it was sunny, and the first day we got here it was head high and perfect. I was like, “We’re not in New York… this can’t be real. Where did you actually take me?” Plus it was September, so everything was really green, pretty.. and I thought, “Oh I kinda want to move out here one day! It’s like this all the time right?” (Laughs)

AB: Oh I wish. 

SM: I know. Now I’m realizing how lucky we were to get those waves. It was just an awesome week. 

AB: How are you finding managing surfing without without consistent waves? What’s your expectation level for getting out there?

SM: It’s been interesting. Since I’ve been it has been so flat — abnormally bad waves. So I’ve just found other things to fill my time. I’ve started getting more into doing creative projects to fill the time that, at home, I would have spent surfing. I think it’s been a really good growing season for me because I’ve been forced to be without surfing for long periods of time. I’ve had to do different things and stretch myself. 

AB: What are some of the creative things that you’ve been doing? 

SM: I’ve gotten more into painting, specifically watercolors, and sketching — just fun stuff to try and keep myself fresh. 

AB: I was looking at some of your board bags and some of the other stuff you’ve designed like the wetsuit and swimsuit for Almond. What’s your point of inspiration for those types of projects?

SM: Gosh, that Almond suit was a couple years ago. I’m trying to remember what inspired me. I was trying to make something a lot simpler than what was out there, and then to make it feminine. I added a belt around [the wetsuit] to lengthen the torso and try to be more flattering. 

AB: Is it a similar process with the board bags? Did you just find a set of patterns or materials that you liked and then start from there? 

SM: No. Actually that came about because my grandma on my dad’s side had made my dad a board bag out of a Mexican blanket, back in the seventies, to take on his surf trips. He would use that as a sleeping bag too. One day I saw it and I was like “This is really cool. How can I make it better?”, because it was super basic and was starting to fall apart a little bit. So I added the little leather accents and seam binding, without making it overly designed. That’s kinda where that started.

AB: So your parents surfed? 

SM: Yeah. Growing up, we would end up at the beach every single weekend. And you could either go surfing with Mom and Dad or just sit on the beach all day, build sandcastles and get bored. They taught my brothers and I, but my two brothers ended up getting hit in the head a bunch of times. They didn’t have very good experiences with it. I was the only one that actually enjoyed it and took to it. 

AB: How do you feel about the way that women are portrayed in surfing? 

SM: Now? All the butt shots and stuff? 

AB: I wasn’t referring to that specifically, but yeah, that’s part of it I think. Did you ever feel pressure to go in that direction, from people you were working with? 

SM: No. Everyone I’ve been sponsored by — everyone in the industry — seemed to be very supportive of whatever you were about. I never wanted to go that direction myself — market myself that way.

AB: Do you feel like maybe that’s because you’re a longboarder? I feel like longboarding is just a whole different attitude. 

SM: Yeah, you’re not under a microscope. No one really cares that much. You just do your thing and it’s great. But if you’re shortboarding, you have to cultivate a brand around yourself — an image — and really market yourself differently. 

AB: Who’s the most inspirational longboarder to you? Who do you try to emulate? I’m thinking about people who are alive.

SM: I think the biggest influence for me was this guy named Kevin Connelly. He was shaping in San Diego right around the time I was starting to get into longboarding. He and his then-wife were at Swami’s almost every day. I’d go there and see them both surfing, and think, “This guy is amazing. If I could surf like anyone I would surf like him!” So I would watch him every day — study him. I loved his style. 

AB: Can you describe it?

SM: He’s like Joel Tudor, but better. He was just so smooth, but also had a little bit more flare I think than Joel — more spontaneous. Kevin would throw certain moves in that made him really exciting to watch. So I think he’s been the biggest inspiration. I saw him a few times traveling and every time I thought “Wow. He’s gotten even better.” 

AB: Did he mentor you at all? 

SM: He would give me little tips out in the water. I was probably thirteen or fourteen and just trying to figure out how to noseride — how to ride this giant board. He would be out there and would kind of coach me and then take a few waves. It was cute. He was super nice. I also bought old boards from him that he’d made for his wife. Those boards are my all-time favorite. I still have both of them, but the longboard is still the best noserider that I’ve ever ridden.

AB: Do you think that if you weren’t competing in surfing you would’ve been competing in something else? Are you a natural competitor? 

SM: I think it’s much more that I just loved surfing. It was actually hard for me to flip the competitive switch and get really into the competitive zone for contests. It got really draining after awhile and that’s partly why I stopped. It took so much out of me, physically and mentally. I’m not that actually that competitive. I don’t care that much. 

AB: Ok. Last question: what’s your favorite wave in the world — that isn’t a secret spot?

SM: Just purely on wave quality, Malibu or Leo Cabrillo, or this spot Teetri in Noosa in Australia. It’s so fun. I like point breaks.

This story originally appeared in WAX Issue 4.