TIME

SURFERS

PHOTOGRAPHY

7 min

Garazi Sanchez

@garazisanchez

Hey! Who is Garazi in and out of the water?

Someone who lives between two sides: a passionate little girl who dreams big, and a serious adult who takes care of her. Sometimes, I feel like my job as an adult is to make sure those dreams don’t remain just dreams.

How did you start surfing?

My parents used to kayak, surf, and climb along the beach, while my brother and I played on the shore with a boogie board. Nothing very original. We just wanted to stand up and surf. At first, I only wanted to copy my older brother and beat him. Eventually, I did.

"Travelling the world through surfing has brought me so much joy and many places that feel like home."

What does a typical day in your life look like?

I don’t really have a strict routine. My life moves between the two sides I mentioned earlier. Sometimes I’m at home, focusing on training, answering emails, creating stories, going grocery shopping, and meditating. Other times, I disappear to Mexico for a month to surf and have fun, like the little girl who once dreamed of this life. My life moves in cycles throughout the year.

If you’re not surfing, you are…

Probably losing track of time, then suddenly running somewhere because I’m late.

Watching the sunset with friends is one of my favourite things. I also love discovering new countries and imagining what my life might look like if I lived there. It’s a recurring thought.

What do you do to relax?

Reducing the number of choices I have to make. When there’s only one wave to surf, one restaurant to go to, one dish to order, and no need for my phone to organise things, I can relax.

Surfing can make me a bit obsessive about finding the best conditions, but afterwards I feel completely calm. Maybe that’s a bit toxic… haha.

What’s something surfing has given you that you’re most grateful for?

The feeling that there are many ways to live, and that all of them can be good. Travelling the world through surfing has brought me so much joy, and many places that feel like home.

What is your favourite surf movie, and why?

I don’t actually watch many surf movies.

What’s your most useless talent?

I can sleep pretty much anywhere.

What’s a weird habit you have that no one expects?

I can turn a house into chaos in under 30 minutes.

What do your friends love most about you?

I’m not sure… maybe it’s that I try to love them exactly as they are. I let them be weird. In fact, I like them even more when they’re weird and contradictory.

When are your friends most annoyed with you?

Sometimes I can be very direct. But honestly, I’m not really sure.

What’s your most controversial food-thought?

Café and aceitunas (olives) make a great brunch.

How would you take out a shark?

Honestly… try to run fast and don’t look back.

What’s your lineup personality: silent, chatty, competitive, or chaos?

I think I’m very cyclical. Sometimes I can’t stop talking, and those sessions usually become a bit chaotic. After being very social, I often go quiet. I don’t think I’m competitive with others, but inside I definitely am, mostly with myself.

If your wetsuit could review you after every session, what would it say?

She likes long right-handers and sometimes just wants to go down the line. Other days, she goes for Karate Kid turns. She changes surfboards a lot, probably too much. She doesn’t like strict surf schedules and prefers to go when it feels right. She hates cold days, so she usually heads out after three coffees, not too early. And big waves still scare her a little.

What’s a small moment in the ocean that always makes you smile?

When there aren’t many people around, there are birds, and the waves are easy, it all feels like when I first started surfing, like a game.