Beyond the Break

CHAPTER 11JAPAN AND BRAZIL: Invest in growth

Descending into Tokyo International Airport was like landing on a helipad in the ocean, with a metropolitan sea stretching all the way to the imposing white cap of Mount Fuji in the distance. By now I was into my seventh year on tour, and riding high on recent magazine and surfing video exposure. A bunch of surfing pictures had even been sent to Japan and used in their magazines as editorial and advertising images. From as soon as I landed, I was treated like royalty in Japan.

An unassuming Japanese man, slim, neatly dressed in surf-branded clothing and with a sparkling smile, picked me up at the airport in a sleek white mini-van to personally deliver me to my accommodation. I struggled to pronounce his name properly, but I mumbled out ‘Sheeeshe’, which made him smile. I was surprised and thrilled to find he was my personal host for the duration of the event, organised by one of my sponsors. He even had an envelope full of cash to cover our expenses.

He offered me the back seat of the car, but I preferred to sit up front — being ushered from place to place and having my every need attended to was the ultimate ‘rockstar treatment’. It felt very decadent — and I loved it!

Sheeeshe told me we were heading to the country, which to me looked very built up with a 7/11 general store every few minutes and busier roads than what I had grown up with.

The accommodation was like a hotel, but our suite had two rooms — one a lounge room and the ...