Griffin Colapinto Exclusive: Death Threats, the Real Side of Surfing, Paris Olympics Training & More: ”Silence Is Best”

A giant wave approaches. 25-year-old Griffin Colapinto is all set to cut through, despite almost losing balance. And then, the crowd stands up applauding & cheering for him as he celebrates his Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal 2024 title. For every surfer, it takes one location to taste success, and for Colapinto, it was Portugal. After all, he replicated history after 2022, defeating Ethan Ewing to pick up the crown. “It’s a good sign that what you’re doing is working and that you should keep doing it,” Griffin commented, wearing a yellow jersey that guided him to the win. And then, he flew back to the States, training for the Paris Olympics.

Recently, Griffin Colapinto sat down with journalist Atharv Phadke to discuss his win, alongside a few other things. In an Exclusive Interview With Essentiallysports, he spoke in great detail about Carrisa Moore, his goals for the Paris Olympics & most importantly his charity “To Write Love on Her Arms.” So, let’s surf in!

Griffin was quite young when he got into the sport – he recalled in the Exclusive tête-à-tête with EssentiallySports. It was his father who introduced him to the roaring waves & since then, it’s just been history. But that’s not all, as the Colapinto family sacrificed enough to help their son’s dreams. Griffin has a younger brother, Crosby Colapinto – equally a man of waves, too. Both are considered some of the greatest surfers, thanks to the WSL rankings. But to talk about sacrifices and dreams, here’s what he had to say.

“As young kids, my brother and I, all we did was wanted to compete in surf contests. And every weekend, they would sacrifice their weekends to help us and take us to these events. And then on the weekdays, when they weren’t working, they’d come down to the beach and film us and pretty much dedicated their lives to us. It’s a lot to do with our parents they support us so much, helping us with our finances and travel and taking care of the little things that can be stressful at times. They’ll pick up the load for us. And so, yeah, it’s definitely a big team effort, and super, super grateful.”

They say, every success story has its flawed side and, for Griffin, it was in 2022. Apparently, his mom fell right into the trap, not knowing what to do next. This is when the surfer learned the power of silence, narrating to us the hilarious yet sensitive incident. Colapinto cruised the Surf City El Salvador Pro, defeating Filipe Toledo on home soil. Unfortunately, it didn’t sit well with the Latin surfing community as they rallied with death threats. The issue spread like wildfire and Camille Colapinto had to step in.

“some people were posting on Instagram online just that they thought the judging was unfair. And then it started catching traction and people started saying some crazy stuff. But my mom fell for the trap and ended up replying to some people. She learned a good lesson there because it’s always it’s better to just silence. For things like that, silence is the best way to go.”

And that’s not the only bad part of the sport. Talking to Colapinto, we learned a clear picture of where surfers actually stand. Yes, there are opportunities & WSL is doing all it can to create more. But except for the 10-20 millionaires, the sport is struggling.

“The big brands have been having a hard time. So Surfing on the World Tour, I’d say the top 10, top 15 surfers in the world are making a solid living. And then the ones below that are struggling a little bit. But as far as the World Championship Tour goes, there’s some good money to be made there. If you win an event, you can win $100K. And then last place is $12K. So if you’re doing really well in those events, you can make a pretty decent living. But I’d say to set yourself up for retirement as a surfer, you’re going to want to be in the 10 to top 15 surfers in the world.”

Yet, there’s hope. Since surfing was introduced to the Paris Olympics, Griffin Colapinto feels, things may change.

“I’d say I think right now it’s just going through a little bit of a tough time trying to figure itself out. So much is changing, in social media. It’s thrown a wrench in the whole thing, and everyone’s learning how to adapt to it. But the cool thing is there are now there’s new companies totally outside of the surf world that are coming in and sponsoring athletes to represent supplement companies or toothpaste companies. Like, random companies are coming in to sponsor surfers. And a lot of that has to do with the Olympics. So, yeah, I’d say it’s still a good dream to have as a young kid.”

But interestingly, this little kid didn’t grow up just to be an Olympian. He didn’t want to bring change, but to be the change. So, he partnered with P&G’s Athlete’s For Good Program alongside his brother Crosby.

“Athletes For Good: Athletes for Good is a joint initiative between P&G, the IOC, and the IPC that recognizes the efforts of athletes to improve their communities off the field of play, while also giving their best every day on their journey to their ultimate performance at Paris 2024. P&G is awarding 20 Athletes for Good grants of $24,000 each to support causes championed by recipient athletes.”

“As a pro surfer, Griffin knows the pressure of performing at his highest can get to him, and how mentally navigating that pressure can determine his success. Through his highs and lows, he’s found an outlet in journaling, which helps him process all the moments in between. As part of the P&G Athletes for Good program, he is working with To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Through the grant, Griffin and TWLOHA will be able to provide increased mental health resources to the youth community, as the nonprofit hosts ‘Between the Bells’, a free, one-week interactive program designed for students to help spark authentic conversations about mental health.”

Indeed, Griffin Colapinto wants to be the change. He’s going all in at Tahiti with what he knows best!

“Well, my training hasn’t really changed much. I’ve been doing this for a while now. And every day, I do my best to be the best person I can be and stay disciplined with my routines of meditating, doing Pilates, activities, writing in my journal, surfing a lot, and just keeping an overall good balance of life, keeping a good healthy mindset.”