Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 991 | Bethany Hamilton on Women’s Sports, Faith & Motherhood

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

Today we sit down with professional surfer Bethany Hamilton to discuss the protection of women's sports, her surfing career, childbirth, and standing up for the pro-life cause. Bethany lost her arm in a shark attack when she was just 13 years old and overcame not just relearning how to surf with one arm, but how to compete again and win. She explains how her experience being launched into the public eye led her to share her relationship with Jesus. We talk about her decision to speak out against the World Surf League, which recently allowed men to compete in women's competitions, and the fallout of essentially being blacklisted by the league. --- Timecodes: (01:30) Surfing & re-learning to surf with one arm (17:14) Becoming well-known (21:25) Meeting her husband (23:00) Surfing while pregnant & motherhood (30:23) Protection of women’s sports (50:30) Everylife --- Today's Sponsors: Good Ranchers — If you want to secure your best price on meat until 2026, go to GoodRanchers.com and use code ALLIE for 10% off your subscription, free express shipping and a price-lock guarantee until 2026!  Jase Medical — get up to a year’s worth of many of your prescription medications delivered in advance. Go to JaseMedical.com today and use promo code “ALLIE". Birch Gold — protect your future with gold. Text 'ALLIE' to 989898 for a free, zero obligation info kit on diversifying and protecting your savings with gold. Seven Weeks Coffee — try Seven Weeks Coffee today at SevenWeeksCoffee.com and use the promo code: ALLIE to save 10% off your order. --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 903 | My VBAC Birth Story https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000634048843 Ep 466 | My Birth Story & Biblical Motherhood https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000531117988 Ep 947 | Bethany Hamilton Fights the Trans Tidal Wave | Guest: Ron Simmons https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-947-bethany-hamilton-fights-the-trans-tidal-wave/id1359249098?i=1000644534702 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Bethany Hamilton is more than just an amazing pro-surfer with an incredible testimony. She is also a mom, a wife, a Christian, and an advocate for women and girls competing fairly in sports. She is also a pro-life advocate. And so today she joins us to talk about her story, what the Lord has taught her throughout her life, and how he continues to use her testimony for the good of others. And we will also, of course, talk about the changes to Title IX why she decided last year to speak up for the rights and for fairness for women and girls in surfing. And we'll talk about so much more, too.

This episode of Relatable is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers. Go to Good Rangers.com. Use code Alley at checkout. That's good ranchers.com code Alley. Bethany Hamilton, thanks so much for taking the time to join us. My pleasure. Glad to be here, Allie. Yeah, it's so nice to meet you.

Okay, so many people out there have been following you, have been asking me for so long, can you please get Bethany on? Which I am so excited because I have been wanting to and hoping to and planning to have you on for a while. So praise God that it worked out. But for everyone who may not know your story, take us back to the beginning. When did you start surfing and what cultivated your love for that? So I was born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii. and both my parents surfed and they're both God-fearing people and they just had my brothers and I and threw us in the water at a young age, you know, probably on a surfboard before I could walk.

Yeah. And I just, I think in my like young childhood, I grew a passion for the ocean and riding ways and I had a knack for it and also just a strong drive. And yeah, as I was getting older, I started competing. of very competitive and it was just a really cool childhood like just amazing parents you know we my dad worked really hard we had like two to three jobs at a time so we had a very simple childhood but they gave me so much they gave me so much time and they gave me my faith in God they encouraged me so much in that area and then they gave me surfing which was just the dream playground

And so when I lost my arm, it was almost like I was ready because my mom had raised me in my faith. She would pray with me. She read the Bible to me at bedtime. We went to church. And they were just very active, I would say. And so when chaos hit, I was ready. Yeah. And while it wasn't the plan that I had in mind for my life, God allowed me to survive that day for a reason.

and I very much so could have died, but I made it. And then from there, things just continued to get really interesting. Like, I didn't wake up in the hospital thinking, like, wow, I'm going to surf with one arm. You know, I was more of like, oh, my gosh, I lost my passion, like, the thing that was more than just a childhood sport. And remember how old you were? I was 13 when I lost my arm. Gosh, so young. Yeah, so super young.

and to give you a little context, I had finished second in the national titles that summer before, also with my competitive drive, but I was only 13 and that was 18 and under. So very promising. Yeah. Kind of like, I don't know, compared to other sports, I feel like surfing, you can kind of pinpoint if someone's going to really succeed.

Whereas like soccer or baseball, like there can be a lot of, like really talented children, I would say, but you're not going to be like, oh yeah, my child's going to be the best, the next best. I mean, maybe the odd parent might think that. But with surfing, I feel like it's just a little different because now being a parent myself, I'm like, my parents really were all in, like almost too much. But I love that they were super supportive. Would you say that surfing, I've never surfed before, so I don't know that much about it, Would you say, based on what you just said, that you can kind of tell, like, who is going to be really good from an early age, would you say it's more intuitive, like a more innate skill than maybe some other sports?

I would say it's a mix. There is innate ability. Like, my eight-year-old son, he innately reads the ocean so well. Like, he can kind of, like, see a wave coming from forever away, and he's just in the spot. It's super natural. But it's also something you can work at and get better at. And nowadays, too, there's, like, wave pools. So there's some super talented surfers that have basically, like, gotten themselves to a professional level by spending a lot of time in the wave pools.

And so, yeah, it's a mix of both, I would say. At the end of the day, hard work, perseverance, pushing yourself, and, like, having the natural talent as well. Mm-hmm. So 13, you survive the attack, you wake up in the hospital, and you think, as you said, wow, my dream is over. You had had this super promising career already by the time you were 13 and you're thinking, it's all done. Yeah, so I wake up and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know what my life is going to look like.

And I think like when chaos like that hits our life, you just like everything feels upside down, like the future feels unknown. And so that aspect was really hard. But then I had a friend come in and visit me. His name was Mike Coots. And I had a lot of family support and friends coming and encouraging me in so many amazing ways. But Mike Coots in particular, he had lost his leg to a shark. And he had learned how to surf with one leg.

And so he came in. He's like, hey, I think you can surf with one arm. I was practicing paddling out there this morning. And so he was my first, like, light bulb. like, okay, maybe I can surf. And then from there, I was just on a mission to get back in the water. And I think most people can't get past the whole shark thing. Like, they don't want to go back in the ocean after or something like that happens.

Yeah. But I don't know. You want to compare it to, say, driving in a car, like, you're going to get back in your car and, like, still go to the grocery store for the most part. Maybe the odd one out of a million might really struggle and never want to get back in a car. But for me, like I said, surfing was more than just my childhood hobby. Like, I feel like it was a way of life and culture and art and sport. You lived and breathed it.

Yes, exactly. So, yeah, 21 days later, as soon as the doctor said I could get in the water, I was out there trying and going for it. Yeah, and your parents were totally on board. No pun intended. My mom was like a little apprehensive. My dad was like, yes, let's go. Yeah. And then I think once my mom saw me surfing, though,

and she had that same love and passion for the ocean. So she came on board after a bit. Yeah. And they just knew that it was part of who you were and that it would have been impossible for you, probably to stay out of the water, or it felt like it would have been. I think, too, I was exploring the unknown.

I didn't know anyone with one arm, let alone a surfer with one arm. And same for my parents. And so we were, you know, just exploring what was possible. And I think it was hard to wrap your head around surfing with one arm for most people. Like just popping up and catching waves and just the whole, it's one of the hardest sports in the world. So, yeah, it was just really cool, though, that moment I popped up on my board and rode a wave all the way to the beach. It was just like a tiny little wave, like nothing like very special as far as the wave goes. But it still feels like one of the most beautiful waves of my life.

I can just remember that emotion and tears of joy. Yeah. All right, quick pause from that amazing conversation to tell you about a new episode that. that I have for Blaze TV plus subscribers only. It is a Q&A on relationships. So you guys asked me some very juicy relationship questions. I had so much fun answering these and this is going to be available at blaisTV.com slash Alley.

Use code Alley. You'll get $20 off your subscription. You'll have access to this and all kinds of subscriber exclusive content. go to blazedtv.com slash alley code alley. Was it a pretty straight line from A to B as far as recovery and getting better surfing with one arm? Or were there ever moments after that where you just felt yourself getting frustrated or discouraged or even fearful of an attack like that happening again? Yeah. So I would say it was a journey.

of course like any recovery the physical journey was actually pretty straightforward and easy but there were definitely days where I'd come in crying or I couldn't even make it out to the lineup because the waves were so intense

and I just didn't have the speed or the power and like the duck diving abilities so it took a while to regain my confidence in the ocean and adapt and figure out creative ways to do things differently. And so as time went on, it started to feel more natural. And I just got used to it. And I became better adopting and figuring out Bethany's version of surfing and creativity out there and how I can do it differently. And I think outside of the water, too,

is the same thing, like just trying to figure out how to do life. And there was a lot of frustrating moments though. A lot of tears and frustrations and some down days for sure. But I would say that's where like my faith in God really propelled me forward through like the hardship and just trusting that God had a plan for my life and knowing that even at 13 I was like, well, maybe the Lord will use my story. And so I always had a heart for other people like ever since I was little like just could not wait to go on a mission trip. I wanted to go and serve people. And so, yeah, I think I started getting letters to once I started surfing again from people like, if you can surf with one arm, like I can overcome my hardship. And that as a 13 year old was kind of weird, but also really cool and beautiful.

Yeah. And so is that how you kind of dealt with those moments that I'm sure that you had of why me why why why did this happen to me of all people is that how you kind of combated those temptations to have thoughts like that yeah it's interesting I think my mindset as a 13 year old inspires me to this day like I don't feel like I'm like the same person today like I mean yes I am and like I carry a lot of that but I remember just waking up in the hospital and thinking I'm so grateful to be alive. Like I could have died. I knew very clearly that I could have died and I just think having that gratitude propelled me forward and focusing on what I could do propelled me forward instead of getting stuck in a rut of like, woe is me.

I have felt that woe is me and that's really hard to overcome and face in life. And all I can say is just trying to figure out what can you do. How can you move forward? What are you, what do you have to be grateful for instead of like thinking what if and woe is me? Because life's going to knock you down. And as my favorite Bible verse says, like in this world you will have trouble. John 1633. I've said these things to you that in me you will have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. And I love that verse because it reminds us that we're going to have trouble. Like, God didn't say it's going to be all perfect and easy. Like sin is a part of the world and we're going to have to face that and it's going to jack things up along the way. But to have our hope in God and to know that he will be there for us through it all.

And I think that throughout my life, like, no doubt that's been my sure and steady foundations or carry me, carry me on. Yeah, it is a shift in thinking from I'm entitled to everything going well. I'm entitled to my dreams coming true exactly how I envision them. I'm entitled to reap the rewards of everything that I have worked for exactly like I want to reap them going back to the promise that you just repeated that actually what we can expect is trouble. What we can expect is trials.

What we can expect is for things not to go our way, for things not to always just be a smooth road. And I love that you brought up that verse because the comfort is not that, but it'll all work out in the end how you want it to. The comfort is, but take heart. Christ has already overcome the world. So it's in him. And it's not about us and our abilities, but in his promise and his gift.

Right. So after this, you didn't just continue surfing and riding some little waves. You continued competing, right? Yeah, so I went on to win a national title two years later. And then that kind of projected me towards a professional career. And so that was super fun. Like, I am just a surfer and mermaid at heart. And so that's my happy place and my element.

Like, yeah, it was really fun to push myself and really. like push female surfing and so I had an awesome time. I wouldn't say my competitive career was as successful as maybe it could have been but there was a lot of rad moments along the way and I would say the highlight

of my surfing crew is probably creating my documentary Unstoppable which we started to create that as a 10 minute short film just me pushing it in the ocean and then it kind of turned into a bigger project but there is the 10 minute short film within the documentary

capturing me pushing female surfing and pushing myself in big waves, little waves, competitive, progressive female surfing. And so it was just so fun to push myself. And I had a baby along the way. So I share like entering into motherhood journey. And then we just bring our little guy along for the ride. He has more passport stamps and his passport than most humans, which is pretty cool for him. And it was just such an amazing adventure. With the support of my husband, of course, he was like, hey, you only have so much

more time to, like, really push it with surfing. So let's just, like, kind of go all in the next few years. And then we'll start a family, but the first little guy came a little earlier than planned. And then, but, yeah, it was just an awesome adventure. And I loved every second of it. And then four kids later, I'm still surfing pretty world-class level. Like, you know, I can make a heat. and still shine out there.

But just kind of focusing on motherhood and having fun and getting my children to the beach. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I have lots of questions about motherhood and all of that. But I'm curious how you felt as a teenager when your story became basically international news. Because I knew who you were when I was young, when I was a teenager, everyone knew what had happened to you. and even your testimony of faith. And I grew up in the evangelical world.

And so we love those testimonies, I think, for a great reason. And so I knew your story and your name and have for a long time. What did you think about that when it became this, you know, the testimony that was heard around the world? It was crazy because that was right when social media was just kind of barely getting off the ground. It might have been MySpace days or like early Facebook days. but my story went viral without the social media. It was crazy, like literally worldwide.

Yeah. And I actually, like, hated it. Like, I hated being in the public eye. I was, like, more reserved, like, just happy to be surfing. Like, just wanted to be with my friends, you know, teenager vibes. But, like, a good teenager vibe, too, though. Like, we were just rambling and adventuring in nature. So that was super hard for me.

but I also had that like heart to encourage and inspire others so I kind of like fought it fought the nature to want to like hide and was still willing to share my story and I think my mom mom and dad kind of pushed me along too you know but they were also awesome in the way that they did it I would say though they also probably didn't fully comprehend what was going on but I and then I remember it We went to write my book, Soul Surfer. I was like, okay, let's do this. Literally my teenage brain was like, I'm going to write this book, so I'd never have to tell my story again. So we write the book. I would sit with the pastor friend who's an author, Rick Bunchy, he would sit with me for like 10 minutes, and then I'm like, I'm done.

Like 10 minutes at a time. So we like slowly inched along and wrote this book. And then it came out, and I didn't realize I had to do it. like a media tour. So they're like, I won't go to New York City. I'm doing all these interviews. I hated interviews. It was just not my forte. Yeah. But God was doing this thing and sharing my story and doing it for a good reason. And it was just so cool to hear so many people from so many different walks of life from all over the world, just so inspired by my story. And like, just so many children would pick up Soul Surfer and read that.

when they had never read a book before or just people going through immense hardship and remembering that they can keep going. And so it's just so amazing to see how even that dysfunctional teenager that wanted nothing to do with being in front of a camera or doing any sort of interviews or writing any sort of books. So God still worked through her. God used that. Totally. How'd you meet your husband? So Adam and I, he finished college. He had a teaching degree. And then he ended up out in Hawaii to help our friends start a young life chapter.

He was like, oh, I'm done with college, like a little free season. And then our friends just loved him so much they wanted to keep him out there and find him a wife. And they set us up. And then we kind of hit it off pretty quick. He just gave me a call and we met up at the beach and we jumped off a cliff into the ocean. And he's from Kansas. He's a ball guy, not an ocean guy. There's a big difference.

A lot of like muscle heads from the gems or like ball guys who are like super athletic. Like you get them in the ocean and they're just kind of like barely making it. Blondering. So it was so funny because I would like just such a mermaid and we're like really different background. But also like similar in upbringing. And yeah, we hid it off and kind of went from there, got married about a year later. Yeah. How long have you been married now?

10 years. 10 years for babies. Yeah. And doing life together. He helps kind of like keep everything going. And we just kind of teamwork all aspects of life. So. Okay.

How do you surf while pregnant? Yeah. So how I like to say, for me, surfing is kind of like walking. Like, you know, you're going to walk when you're pregnant. And for me, I kind of just surf while I'm pregnant. Yeah. Like I would say towards once I start getting a bit bigger, I put more weight up on my upper chest. Got it.

And kind of like perch. And then there's certain types of waves that are better for surfing when I'm pregnant. So I pick my waves a little more strategically. Yes. And I don't know. I surf till seven months with my first couple. couple. Yeah. And then six and a half months with my second too. Okay. So and there was never like a moment of like worry for baby. Yeah. And um, yeah. In Hawaii too, I will say a lot of women surf till literally the day they're

giving birth. Like it's a cultural thing. Part of what they do. So then you get on social media and you like post stuff like that and people are like, what are you doing? Like be careful. I'm like, of course be careful like duh yeah like thanks for reiterating what we all already know women can do a lot more just in general while pregnant than people think especially like for I you know I had like had a friend who was a crossfitter and she was really into crossfit and then when she got pregnant she continued to do crossfit like all through a pregnancy and of course like you said there are precautions that you take modifications and things like that but pregnancy isn't like a disease that you necessarily have to stop doing everything for. And I will say there was moments in certain pregnancies where I had to

slow down and ease up. Like I had pubic symphosis disorder at one point and had to do some rehabilitation after. And so like there's some element of like I do respect like what the body is going through. Like I think there is an element like I personally am not going to go on a run when I'm eight, nine months pregnant. Like I think for me it just wouldn't be good. I try to be really in tune with what's going on but surfing is actually more gentle than you'd think and so and like also someone who runs all the time like maybe their body is more used to that and can handle it though i think there's something to be said about the relaxing going through the body i'm really into health so i do dive deep on a lot of this stuff and try to problem solve any issues i might be having so there is an element

of like your body is going through a lot of transitions so i kind of like try to balance that out and with my fourth baby, I was way less active, but I feel like my recovery was amazing after. So it's just a balancing act, and I do think listening to your body and just paying attention. But yeah, being a surfer, like to me, it's like walking on the sidewalk. So just kind of get out there and do it. It didn't feel like a workout to you. I am like major waddler and pregnancy. Like after halfway, I personally can't imagine running.

even though I've never surfed and surfing would be like it would be probably really, really hard for me. But I can imagine if I did have surfing skills that being easier while pregnant than running because run, like you said, they're relaxing. It just makes every like your hips and your pelvis are so different. I can't imagine being able to run without waddling. But you do see the women who are, you know, they're track stars and that's just what they do. It's like surfing for you.

Like, they can do it. I can't imagine. I'm curious, too, though, is because you do see a lot of these stories. Like, I want to hear the ins and outs. Like, was there any issues that five, ten years following? Yeah. Like, me, I think I maybe pushed it a little too much. And so I've had to do some rehabilitation at times, like, with the pelvic floor.

But for the most part, I would say I took a really good care of my body. always focus on alignment because of having one arm. And so I can nerd out on that. I probably won't do that with you today, Ali. That's okay. You can. We like talking about pregnancy and birth and all those things a lot. So you're welcome to you. Thanks. So, okay, so you met your husband about, and you said that she dated like a year or so. Yeah, it was just over a year. We were met in May and then married the next August. But I was traveling a lot in between that time. So it felt like, you know, probably like nine months. But yeah.

Yeah. And then now you have four kids and your youngest is how old? My youngest as of today, she's 10 months. And then we have three boys. My oldest is eight and it's awesome. You have three boys and a girl? Yeah. Oh my goodness.

That's amazing. And they help take, do they help take care of their sister and protect their sister? Yeah. My boys are so sweet. It's so beautiful to see their like brotherly. love and I look at it as paternal instinct as well like one day hopefully god willing mama can have some grandma grandchildren yeah um but yeah it's been really fun I definitely think having like four my fourth was definitely the easiest because I had the helpers yeah so true yeah they're

there to help support you know if a laa's fussing in the car while we're driving I'm like hounder toys, give her snacks, make her smile. And they're super helpful. Yeah. How soon do you get your babies on the water? Alea, I haven't gotten her on a surfboard or in the ocean even that much. It's just been life's been kind of hectic. And in the winter, it gets more blestery and kind of just like less desirable.

But this summer will get out there and get her in like little splash pools all along the ocean. Yeah. Just as soon as possible, you kind of get them, like, used to the water. Yes, but, like, my three-year-old, he doesn't really surf, but he'll surf on Daddy's shoulders. So, Dad will take him out and he'll ride on his shoulders. Or they, like, tandeming. My six-year-old loves tandeming and bittyboarding. Yeah.

Oh, that's so fun. Let's talk a little bit about a subject that you've started speaking up about in the past couple of years, that I'm sure that you got a lot of support. on social media and then a lot of detractors, of course, because it can be a polarizing subject. And that is the protection of women's sports. And my audience doesn't need an explanation for that. We've seen changes with Title IX. Of course, this is something that unfortunately has been pushed for quite a few years now, but allowing males to compete against women in the name of accepting gender identity.

You decided to speak out about this. And so I just, I want to hear why you decided to make a stand because you could have decided not to. Yes. So it was super interesting. The World Surf League, I was competing in a women's pipe event that was just before the World Surf League, which is kind of like our main competitive tour. and they emailed the entire tour, hey, like, this is a new rule, just giving you a heads up. So, and the new rule was they were allowing males to compete against females. And nobody got any precursor or pre-warning.

It was just in an email, boom. And I was, I had heard whispers and I told a couple of the girls that were on the main tour. And I was like, hey, did you hear about this? Like, I'm hearing whispers. Like, this is crazy. And they're like, no way it's going to happen, like kind of doubting. And they said the new role was, did they say transgender women or did they just say it's going to be co-ed? I don't remember the exact wording, but basically males could not compete in the female division.

Trans males. Got it. And so I was just like, oh, my goodness, this is horrible. Like, I've seen what's going on in other sports. and I just knew that my, like, first of all, I'm very much so against that. And so, you know, I kind of hold two my values, and I stand firm with what I believe and try not, you know, I don't really deviate much, you know, in my life. I guess that sounds weird. I am very, like, kind of like more black and white, I guess.

Yeah. But what really upset me about what was going on was the World Surf League in January prior to telling the girls what was going to go on and the guys. They had all the athletes sign no disparaging agreement. You cannot say anything against the World Surf League. And so here you have all the girls on tour. I would say at least 70% of them for sure were against it. and they've all signed a non-disperaging agreement. You'll get kicked off and you'll be fined if you speak out.

Wow. And so I'm like, oh, my goodness. Like none of the girls, you know, they could have spoke out. They make enough money to receive the fine, but they would be throwing their careers in the trash. So, you know, all of them decided not to speak out. Yeah. It wasn't like I was really having conversations with them,

but, you know, you can just go on social media and find out real quick. And so I just decided it was my time to shine. Woo-hoo! Yeah. Not very excited about it, though, because I knew it was just going to be gnarly out there. And, yeah, I just, I mean, my approach was very much just asking questions. I'd even state my opinion in the public. I just asked a bunch of questions.

like because in the rule it talked about you know must be on a hormone replacement for like nine or 12 months and must reach a certain number on the hormone levels see even still to this day I can barely even talk about it in like a political fashion like I'm not very political I just think of it from more of like everyday Joe perspective so still I'm like are you kidding me like we're not just a hormone level here. And yeah. So yeah, it was crazy, but I'm really happy I did it. Like I just, and that was before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, but I was like, if I ever have a daughter and I don't stand up for her and like somehow she's one day competing and a super talent in surfing or whatever sport she might choose. Like, I want her to have the opportunity to

win a world title without competing against males. Yeah. And so when I had my daughter, I was like, oh, my gosh, this is emotional, like, thinking about, like, her future and all the young girls that are up-and-comers and just thinking, you know, as of now, there haven't been any males competing on the main world surf league that I know of. There was one male that won a men's event, and then he went and won the women's event, like a year or two later. and so that was just crazy to me that people are accepting that. I'm like, this doesn't really equal up to me to have someone compete in the men's win and then compete in the women's and win, and everyone's like just whispers and chip-chips. But I would say people out of the woodworks were thanking me. Like I would say the majority of people are in agreement with my viewpoints or with me standing up against it. I would say I am pretty disappointed that not more women spoke up.

Like none of the former world title women spoke up, women who have had amazing opportunities to compete in an equal playing field. So that was super disappointing. And none of the men really spoke up either. I'm like, where's the men out? Just because it's not your issue, it is in a sense. especially if you guys have daughters someday or something. So that to me was pretty disappointing as well.

And so you said you were not going to compete. So I said I'm not competing in any World Surf League events. I did cheat a little because I surfed in this one event that was like sanctioned World Surf League. But the only reason why they sanctioned it was because they wanted to have the world tour surfers be able to be a part of the event. But I checked in advance to see if any guys were going to be. going to be in the girls division and there weren't and so I was like I'm going to bend my own rules for this one because it was that pipeline too which is just a world renowned wave and it's really hard to have a moment out there without any other surfers but and the company who puts on that event

they didn't even want the World Safe League a part of it they just did the sanctioning so they could have a few of the athletes from their into their event okay and so did they respond to you at the time because this was February of last year, right? Yeah, February last year, I don't think I ever got a response. I think I just got silencing. Yeah. I don't know if you know this part, but so fast forward a little bit. They have, they do this special event where all the athletes can put a woman who they admire on their jersey, so their last name on their jersey. And then they can like give kudos to that in their post interviews if they win their heats and i think there was like a large number of athletes i mean maybe not large maybe at least five five or more athletes who wanted bethany on

their jersey they're applauding me they're like she is you know i don't know what they're saying about me but anyway the world surf league did not allow them to have bethany on their jersey and they just either put some name, they just changed the name for them or they ask them for another name. I'm not even sure all the details. I didn't talk firsthand. I'm not really one to like go and like,

you know, dig out the juicy details. Like I just do my thing and I live my life and I move on. And so, but that was just like embarrassing to me for the World Surf League to silence me. And then this year they didn't even do that jersey O'Day. So that was interesting. They were afraid that more people would be training on there.

Yeah, they got a lot of backlash and whatnot, I think. I think there was, I mean, I don't know how much backlash. I saw a little bit of backlash online. But I'm literally one of the most, I'm probably the most world-renowned female surfer ever known in all of history. And maybe the most renowned surfer in all of history. And the World Surf League was like, nope, not having her on your jersey. Wow. Oh my goodness. So whatever, whatever. I just laugh about it. You know, you can't get too upset about all this political drama and like, well, I think we do need to be upset to a certain extent. Yeah. But like don't let it like eat away at your life. Like I feel like I had a learning season where things were eating away at me. And I'm like, I don't want to live my life with that like just being annoyed with the world around me. Like I just want to be like a happy.

mom and a happy wife and like a good friend to the people around me and like a good example to those around me and so it's definitely a balance because on the one hand you see things like the changes to title nine and like as a mom of daughters is a lot of people who are mothers with daughters but sons too because it affects everyone yeah it's like of course you're upset about this and of course you're thinking about the future and you're like well like you have to think well girls even have girl sports or will it just be basically you've got boys sports and then you've got co-ed sports. You've got boys bathrooms and then you have co-ed bathrooms, boys locker rooms, co-ed locker rooms. And the same thing with prisons, with rape shelters, domestic abuse shelters.

Oh my goodness. Like all of these places where vulnerable women or girl and girls are being forced to be with men and boys and they're put in danger. And so I think there is a level of frustration and anger and angst that someone should have because it motivates them like it motivated you to say something. But you're absolutely right. It can't dominate your whole life because, frankly, there's not something that we can do about it every second of every day.

And most of our day is filled with the mundane, quote unquote, of being a mom and being a friend and being a church member and being a wife. And all those things matter too. And they can't just be shrouded by our frustration and anger. So there is such a balance, I agree. Yeah. It's like the best mundane ever, too. Totally.

I really feel like if you are stressing out about everything going on in the world all the time, it affects the most beautiful God-given gifts and rules that you've been given. And so for me, like, I just try to find that balance of, like, I stand, you know, I stand where I stand, and then I'm, I try not to, like, let it, eat away at me. But I'm also not going to just sit on the sidelines. Right. I feel like too, a lot of, like, it's just such an interesting thing because I feel like if women just said no, like this wouldn't be an issue. Like if all the female surfers, if the 70%

that disagreed with that, if they all said no, then the World Surf League would not have an option but to disregard the rule. Yeah. I mean, they could try to disregard it. I agree with that. I and see what happens. I mean, there are some other girls that maybe would qualify and make a new tour, but I feel like if 70% of the women just said no, like it literally wouldn't be an issue.

And so that's also kind of frustrating to see. What do you say to people who say, well, why does it really matter in surfing? You know, someone could say, I could see how it matters in a sport where teams are interacting, like contact sports, but how does it really make a difference? male, female, and surfing?

Yeah, I mean, the strength of men in general is just substantially stronger. Like, for example, my husband, he's two years older than me, but he's quite a bit bigger than me. I literally work out probably, for a while, I worked out way more than him, especially when I was, like, training a lot for surfing. And there's just no way I could, like, keep up with his strength levels. It's just not humanly possible. And I know there's some women that, like, get crazy nuts and, like, push it with weightlifting and, like, and cross-it.

Like, you see these, like, beastly women. I don't know what other word to use, but, like, they're just super strong and they're incredible and they're, like, lifting. I don't know if it's all natural or what, but, like, you see these women doing these crazy things. But in surfing, there is quite a big gap. Like, there's a lot of women absolutely shredding, absolutely ripping. But for example, big wave surfing. Men just paddle way faster and way stronger. Yeah, there's the odd girl.

But like, if you're going to be put into like a speed race, like men are just way faster and way stronger. And so you get into a big wave situation and you have men and women competing against each other. For example, there's a Eddie I cow. It's the biggest one of the most respectable big wave events. in Hawaii in memory of Eddie I. Cow, who was just an incredible Hawaiian surfer who dedicated his life to the people around him, to his culture, and he died trying to save people.

And he was the first Hawaiian Olympian. But they had this event, and they just put a girl in each heat to make it fair, because Hawaii has some rules that if you do a men's event, you have to have a woman's opportunity as well. but I'm like the girls aren't making heats like they're getting smoked by the guys like it's just not we're just not probably ever going to fully bridge that gap and while I think it's actually really fun to try to bridge that gap and like you have some of these of-and-coming girl shredders that are doing like crazy airs and pushing it in big wave serving but the truth is I just I don't see that gap fully being bridged. And there's just the strength difference in particular is just, it's different.

And it's like the bone structure too is different. And so there's elements of like the female body. And me personally like having buried children, like I just feel the difference. I don't know. Yeah, definitely. I'm sure it's just like, you know, almost any other sport, the fact that their hearts are bigger, they've got more muscle mass. They've got greater lung capacity. And I didn't even think about just like the speed of paddling but of course i mean i don't know all of the ends and out of surfing but that makes sense if you're faster and have longer arms it's going to give you an advantage and then i often think about when i was a little girl i would compete in all the boys divisions because i wanted to like push myself and try to beat the boys but then once they hit

puberty puberty things change like the guys that i was beating when i was little i'm not beating Like, they're surfing quite a bit better than me. And I'm still inspired by them and I'm still, like, pushed by them in my own way. Like, I love, like, I think most of the best of the best female servers are watching the guys to glean off of inspiration, you know. Yeah. But, yeah. And that's, of course, that's why Title IX has existed because especially in puberty when boys testosterone skyrockets and women's don't, that's what makes all the difference. and that's really irreversible. And, you know, like the questions that you asked in your original Instagram post, like,

are women really just levels of hormones? Of course, we're not. Because even a man who gets cross-sex hormones and gets estrogen, he still went through male puberty, period. And so he's got all the advantages of that. Yeah, and it's interesting. There's that one trans guy, Caitlin Jenner's. Is it Caitlin?

Or the Jenner's. Well, he was the runner. Yeah. Yeah. He, like, I've heard rumors that he, he or they or whatever, they are just as strong. And even though he's been on hormone, like, he's super duper strong and super duper fast. Leah Thomas. Leah slash Will Thomas. Yeah. It's weird that this is even a conversation. That's my, that's where I always end up. I'm like, why am I even talking about this? But I mean, it's, you know, it's like throughout history, there's always been that two plus two equals. five question that tyrants want you to want to be able to control your thoughts and detach you from reality. I think this is the question of the time. But there's also, I mean, there's other issues too. I think of the denial of morality and reality and abortion. Like denying that it's a baby inside the womb and that it's a human being with value. And that's also something that you have advocated for on behalf of the dignity of babies, right? Yeah. I'm so honored to have

partnered with every life. I love what the company is doing. Not only they're creating great diapers, but they're fighting for life. They're the only pro-life or life-affirming diaper brand on the market, which is so weird to me. Or that I know of at least, you know. It's awesome, but it's like, why? But it's so true. A lot of these big diaper companies, they advocate for killing their future customers. You would think that they would all be pro-life, but they're really not. Yeah, and I think when you think of pro-choice or pro-abortion, the movement, to me, it's founded with selfishness. Like, it's just all about the woman and what she wants versus, like, acknowledging that there's a human life. I finally just watch this movie, what was it called? Unplanned. Yeah, so good. It was really great. It was a little corny

for me, I'll be honest, but like some of the points hit in the film are just pretty heart-wrenching. And I don't know, now being a mom too and like feeling my baby wiggling in me at like 13 weeks, 14 weeks. It's just hard to deny that. And I just think that society has normalized convenience, and they just don't want to be a mom or dad, and so they'll just kill the baby. And I just want to inspire our next generation that, to me, motherhood's the greatest gift I've ever been given. And I'd like to think that if I was in a worst case scenario and happen to conceive a baby, you know, I don't need to divulge what the worst case scenarios are. But I hope and pray that I would choose life and that I would allow that beautiful baby to enter into the world. And I would hope, you know, I have a friend who

she's a single mom. And she's one of the most inspiring moms I know. Like every conversation I have with her inspires me to be a better mom. And it hasn't been easy for her, but she's rocked it and her son is doing amazing. And so, yeah, I just think it needs to be more of an open conversation, too, for our young people to hear because our young people are constantly being told, like, pro-choice, like, kill your baby, like, it's fine, like, it's not that big of a deal. But there are a lot of repercussions that come with it. On top of being guilty, you're killing a human, in life and like God calls us to not kill. And so to me, that alone is like the greatest reason. Just thou shalt not kill. Yeah, that shall not murder, definitely. And I mean,

organizations like every life and pro-life pregnancy centers, which I've visited so many and talked to so many, I mean, they're doing amazing work. Like those desperate situations that you were referencing are real. Of course, they're moms in crisis. moms and abuse situations, moms in poverty, all kinds of situations in which a woman might get pregnant and say, like, I just can't do this right now. And of course, Planned Parenthood is going to say, sure, just pay us or 800 bucks or however much and we'll kill your baby. You'll never regret it. It'll never be a problem. But it's not true. It's a lie. They never show them the truth of what an abortion is or what is happening inside their womb. But these pro-life pregnancy

centers and pro-life organizations truly are just like the hands and feet of Jesus. us in the most non-judgmental, loving, and embracing way. They take these women in. They not only share the gospel with them, but they provide to them with so many resources, help material needs. They help connect them to adoptive families. If they want to put their child up for adoption. And so, like, there are ways for anyone out there who's like, well, I don't want to be pro-life

because, or I don't want to vote pro-life or whatever it is because these moms are in desperate situations will be a part of the solution rather than just talking about the problem. Because there are a lot of institutions already working to serve these women. And we can be a part of like that life saving effort. We don't just have to advocate for killing babies because that's the easier thing to do. I love, I just did a speaking event for the organization Save the Storks. Yeah. And I love what they're doing because they're trying to create or they're buying.

and making mobile pregnancy crisis trucks or vans. So they're going to areas where they know it's a crisis area. And they're coming alongside of the women and supporting them to just have the full scope. What's it called? The full, not scope, but. Like, are you talking about prenatal care? Yeah, or to have all the knowledge of what's actually going on. Yes.

If you abort your baby and the full, or. of your options, so to say. But they're even helping the women, like, find jobs and figure out a place to live. Like, they're going the extra mile. They're really coming alongside of these women in supporting them. And sometimes the fathers, if the father's, if the father's a part of the situation. And I think of adoption a lot. And I think it's just so beautiful.

And there's so many couples that are having a hard time conceiving now. And so I feel like that's an area where we could, like, kind of dig into and figure out a better way of doing it because it seems like every couple I've talked to who adopts it's a really hard process so I almost feel like maybe that scenario we tackle as a nation whoever's out there who's a mover and shaker and has nothing to do maybe this can be your thing um but yeah there's options and I just think saving life is so important and our God-given duty to put human life at the utmost value. Yeah, amen.

Well, thank you so much just for your courage and sharing your story. And I know that the Lord is giving you that courage and giving you that strength. But even as you've just like the different stages of your life have evolved and now you're a mom still surfing, but you are, I don't know, embodying like a new kind of strength and courage with every stage that you're in. and I just appreciate it as a woman. And I look up to you and I know I speak for so many in my audience when I say that. So I just appreciate you so much. Keep standing up for these things that matter because all of us appreciate when someone with a platform uses their voice.

Thanks, Sally. Glad to be here.