By Marc Graser
Photos by Zak Noyle
In partnership with Bentley Motors, meet five inspirational women — interior designer Breegan Jane, Olympic surfer Carissa Moore, wine expert Vanessa Price, Shaka Tea founder Isabella Hughes and business incubator Meli James — all passionate thought leaders in their communities who define success and what modern luxury means today through their inherent curiosity and appreciation for detail.
The secret to success for many people is being able to do what they love and pursue their passion. That can be a luxury for some. For Carissa Moore, it’s a way of life.
The five-time world champion and first female gold medal winner for surfing at the Summer Olympics, has become a role model for many, not just for her achievements in the ocean, but for her ability to accomplish what she sets out to do with an infectious level of humility.
Whether you surf or not, there are lessons to be learned from a professional athlete like Moore.
Success requires focus. “You have to be in the moment,” she says. That means no phones, no meetings, no distractions.
“The best feeling I get from surfing is being at peace, which has me addicted and coming back for more,” she says. “There’s nothing that I do that quite brings me back to the present as when I’m in the ocean. And it kind of feels like the rest of the world disappears and time slows down. It’s a very spiritual, mindful practice for me.”
The best feeling I get from surfing is being at peace, which has me addicted and coming back for more. There’s nothing that I do that quite brings me back to the present as when I’m in the ocean.
Carissa Moore
DON’T BE AFRAID
Anyone new to surfing shouldn’t be afraid to fail, Moore says, “because there’s a lot of failure involved in any journey. It’s honestly those moments that are going to shape you and help you learn and get better. Embrace those falls, because when you end up riding that wave all the way to the beach, it’ll end up feeling that much sweeter.”
Moore’s popularity was already growing in Hawaii before the Olympics. She started surfing at age 5. “It was all thanks to my dad,” Moore says. “He pushed me into my first wave at Waikiki Beach. I just love spending time with him and getting in the water, and feeling the sun on my skin and the salt water and playing in the sand. It was our time together.”
Moore competed in her first surfing events at 11. At age 16, in 2008, she became the youngest champion at a Triple Crown of Surfing event when she won the Reef Hawaiian Pro. At 18, she became the youngest person — male or female — to win a surfing world title.
But 2021 was a banner year for her, winning a fifth world championship just before making history at the Olympics in Tokyo.
She’s now a hometown hero who has been the subject of documentaries like Peter Hamblin’s captivating “RISS,” for Red Bull, and positioned alongside Duke Kahanamoku — the father of surfing in Hawaii, where surfing began — in a massive mural on the side of a building in Honolulu. Words like “legendary” are being put in front of her name.