Destiny's child, Karina Petroni, ready for the world. Photo: Scott Teitler/ Sobe

IT'S ABOUT TIMING
HOW 2008 WCT WOMEN'S QUALIFIER KARINA PETRONI FINALLY LIVED UP TO THE EAST COAST'S EXPECTATIONS -- AND ULTIMATELY, HER OWN

By Matt Walker/ Surfing Magazine 

Is it her North Florida roots? The long list of amateur titles and early professional wins? Her formative years surfing Australia's top breaks with Stephanie Gilmore? Or could it just be the way her first name ends in "a" -- as in Lis-a, Fried-a, even Falin-a...? Whatever the reason, it feels like the East Coast has been expecting Atlantic Beach, FL's, Karina Petroni to qualify for the WCT ever since she won her first amateur heat, only to watch those very expectations wither-- along with her results. After finishing a solid 13th in 2006, Karina missed this year's opening 5-star (Roxy Pro Women's Surfing Festival), lost her first heat at Newcastle's 5-star Midori Pro, and made just one round at West Oz's 6-star Drug Aware Pro Margaret River. By July, she'd slipped not only in the ratings, but right off the competitive map. And maybe that's what she needed. Because while no one was watching, she sucker-punched the 6-stars at Huntington Beach (Honda U.S. Open) and Haleiwa (Reef Hawaiian Pro) to finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively, qualifying for the 2008 WCT before anyone realized what was happening, herself included. "I think people expected this out of me a looooong time ago," Petroni admits. "But it had to be at my time. The right time within my mind."  

What's funny is, now that it's happened, we can finally step back and see that Karina's not only the first East Coast woman to make the tour since Lisa Andersen, but she's only 19 -- the youngest 'CT qualifier since Kelly Slater himself -- which means, with any luck, we'll be expecting things out of her for years to come.  

ESM: How long has it really been?
KP: Oh, forever. I'm getting ready to retire [laughs]. Not really, but it has been a long time. I've been on the WQS for four years. And I think I was 10 the first time I entered a contest. The first one I won, I was maybe 11.  

ESM: That means you started around 1998. Right after...
KP: ...Right after Lisa won her fourth world title. 

Karina works on applying proper face treatment in Indonesia. Photo: E. Petroni

ESM: Obviously that had some impact.
KP: Well, not right away. But once I got older, I realized how cool both Lisa and Frieda were. Actually, Frieda and I were just in the Mentawais surfing these huge, macking lefts. All these guys are on the boat suiting up, waxing up, putting on their thicker leashes. Here comes this massive set and Frieda airdrops six feet. How tall is she, like 4'11"? All the guys look up, watch her make the drop, and start putting their stuff away. Not one of them went out [laughs]. She's a legend. And I do remember looking at her and Lisa and saying to myself, "I want to be the third person after them." 

ESM: And that's what happened.
KP: Yeah, it just took seven years [laughs].  

ESM: What changed?
KP: You know, this year's been really, really hard for me. My dad suffered a brain aneurysm last November; he shouldn't even be living. Then this April, I lost my best friend in a hit-and-run. I think all that turned my mindset around more than anything. Because I knew I could surf and get through heats. But I didn't care... at all. I didn't care for the last three years really. But once I saw everything that was going on around me, I realized life is short and I should probably use all these funny talents God equipped me with. And everything just started falling into place. I went into the U.S. Open without even standing up on a wave for two weeks prior and came in 2nd. Nobody was expecting it. When I got into the quarters, they were like, "Whoa, she's making it through heats!" But I just got lucky. It wasn't like I said, "I'm going into this event and I'm gonna win it."  

ESM: What about Haleiwa? Did you go in thinking, "It's make or break time."
KP: Heck no! Coming from Jacksonville!?! I was like, "Man, I hope I get knocked out!" [laughs]... I mean, some of those sets were scary. It was the biggest surf I'd ridden all year in an event, the current was ripping out the back -- it was pretty treacherous. I was saying, "I hope I don't have to do this again." But I ended up squeaking through all those heats. It was quite surreal. I got out of the water and people were freaking out. It was the first time Megan (Abubo) won at her homebreak, which is incredible, and at the same time, I had qualified. I was just like, "Whoa, calm down, everybody!" [laughs]... But I'm excited about next year. Most of all, I'm excited to be the underdog.

Layne Beachley, Petroni, Megan Abubo, and Leilani Gryde share stage time on the North Shore. Photo: Hank

ESM: Do you really feel like an underdog? You've surfed against most of those girls before. Hell, you pretty much grew up with newly crowned ASP Women's World Champion Stephanie Gilmore.
KP: Well, Theodore Roosevelt always said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." If you live by that motto, people don't have all this intense focus on you. But I do think all those girls on tour are probably chuckling like, "Oh, Karina Petroni made the tour." Because I'm known more for entertainment patrol, the crazy one. But I'm definitely excited to be surfing with Stephanie again. We were inseparable when we were younger. Even our ponytails would swing in synchronization when we were running down to the surf. We fell apart for a few years, but now we talk to each other like three times a week. She was really stressed out because the world title was weighing on her shoulders. It's like, "You're 19 years old. Be happy whatever happens. Don't listen to that community of people barking at you to 'Win! Win! Win!'"

ESM: Do you think you'll travel together?
KP: Well, we haven't talked about it, but I'm sure she'll want to. She better! [laughs]

ESM: Obviously, the WCT is tougher now than ever, but -- and we asked Lisa this same question -- it seems the focus on women's surfing...
KP: Focus on women's surfing? Oh, nobody gives a shit! Because they're marketing it the completely wrong way. Women should be portrayed and marketed as women. If you create this foundation where these are actually women's events -- that we actually have breasts and are competing in this incredibly challenging environment -- and then do a week-long deal with demos and fashion shows where everyone could interact, people would understand. Then it would be the Revlon Pro or the Pantene Pro-V Pro. But if they don't market it in the correct way, it'll never be like that, because women are an afterthought to the men.  

 

Karina matches punk with spunk en route to a 3rd-place finish at the Reef Hawaiian Pro -- and a coveted berth on the 2008 Women's World Championship Tour. Photo: Hank

 

ESM: Does that make you scratch your head over why you're doing it?
KP: No, because that's what drives me. I love to compete. You regain and keep your legitimacy throughout the sport through competition and earning results. But you know, before the U.S. Open my mom was saying, "Karina, go get a job. What are you doing? You're not making it through heats." I'll tell you, living in this household is kind of... rough. They ask a lot out of me. Which they should. If your mind works and your body works, you should strive to be your best. 

ESM: At the same time, you've always backed yourself up with the modeling thing. Is that something you'll continue?
KP: I would never label myself as a model. If you could see me right now just getting out of bed [laughs]... But it's a lot of fun. I did a shoot with FHM last year -- they put makeup on me, and I was topless and holding my boobs -- it was pretty funny. I'm the girliest tomboy you'll ever meet. I love to shoot rifles and ride dirt bikes. But I think keeping your female outlook, for people to recognize you as a lady, is really important. A lot of girls on tour go, "Will you do my hair and take me shopping?" I actually think it would be really fun to have a makeover show on tour. 

Karina slaps one in Mexico. Photo: E. Petroni

ESM: Obviously you got some airtime this year with Dave Rastovich's protest of the dolphin massacre in Japan. Is that something you'll be doing more of?
KP: Definitely. I think competing is great. It really fuels me, makes me tick, all that good stuff. But it can become very self-absorbed. I was just searching for something more gratifying, a group effort where I could actually say, "I made a difference in the world today. Maybe I was part of a revolution." And I came across this organization, the Oceanic Preservation Society. But that wasn't so much a protest as an intervention; a way of educating these people and saying, "what you're doing is wrong." And those 10 days were very intense, moving, and powerful. I think if anything happened to my surfing career, that's what I would do, dedicate my time to causes like that. Actually, Erik and I really want to pursue a TV show about the crazy adventures I've had -- but showing it from a 19-year-old girl's point of view. Those shows on The Discovery Channel are all great, but they're all with older men. Maybe this would put it into peoples' heads to explore the world at a young age, to see the earth as this incredible playground.

ESM: You obviously love to travel. At the same time you sound way stoked to be from Florida. And what's funny is you could actually claim Australia. You could claim Panama. But you still claim the East Coast.
KP: Definitely. Because these are my roots. This is where my career all started -- in Florida and doing the ESA up and down the coast. If I can prove that a girl from Atlantic Beach -- and I'm looking at the ocean right now and it is flat -- can do it, anything is possible for anybody in the world. 

Soaking up some sagely advice during island time with Frieda Zamba. Photo: E. Petroni