MASON HO INTERVIEW FROM SURFING MAGAZINE
Under the Influence – Mason Ho
Mason Ho calls North Shore competitor icon Michael Ho his "dad." He calls 1993 World Champion Derek Ho his "uncle." His grandpa was an original Waikiki Beach Boy, and his sister won the Men's Triple Crown. Mason comes from a surfing family. Some might think carrying a legacy from the past is a tough one, but when you meet him, you realize it's not. It's the best thing ever. Surfing is all you need. And maybe a world title. (Nathan Myers)
Mason Ho:
I don't use a deck pad. When I try one, I feel like I'm getting too carried away. It kind of locks me in, and everything feels upside down and weird. And then I end up tipping forward, digging into the rails, and I can't even bottom turn. It's not locking me in completely, but it's locking me in just right. My dad brainwashed me into not using a deck pad. That's the weird thing I inherited from my dad.
When I was a kid, I used to peel off all my friends' deck pads. As a result, some of my friends would just stop using them, and sometimes their parents would come out and get really angry and glue new deck pads back on. I tried to peel them off, but they wouldn't come off. My friend was laughing, so I bit into them and left a bite mark.
Without my dad and uncles, I wouldn't be where I am today. The same goes for Coco. My dad always watched me, which is why she started surfing. My dad and I used to tease her, saying, "Your surfing is like a girl's," but she quickly said, "I want to be a surfer like Chris Ward, because it's the opposite of girl surfing!"
When I was younger, I wanted to surpass my father and uncles in everything they had done.
I thought, "I'm going to win Sunset at 20, then Haleiwa, and get 10 world titles!" I thought that way until I was 18. But then I started to realize how amazing my dad and uncle were. Now I feel like there's no way I could ever do that.
My dad never coaches, he's never coached, but he always says little things. He looks at the ocean and gives me a simple little message of the day, like, "Stay calm." And then I get it, slow down a little (stay calm), and then I'm like, "Ah, I see."
My dad has been through a lot, so sometimes it seems like he doesn't want Coco or me to become surfers. He never pressured us to surf. He never even gave us boards. He was like, "If you want to use it, you can use my board." Or when he asked me, "Do you want to surf?" and I answered, "No, I want to play kickball with the girls," he would always laugh and say, "Okay, then I'll go surf by myself."
It's not that I don't feel pressure, but I definitely want to win some events. My uncle Derek won a world title at 29, so I definitely want to win a world title. Kelly is the best surfer I've ever seen at 40, so I think there's still a lot of potential there.
I've been traveling a lot lately. When the sea is rough, I take out my laptop and write short stories. Sometimes they're silly: memories of Andy, things my dad told me, things I learned along the way. I know none of it will make sense to anyone reading it, but I just keep writing. I started doing this after Andy passed away. I love writing down his memories.
My philosophy with girls is to go after the cutest ones. If I see a cute girl, I'll at least try to talk to her, no matter the situation. I'm not afraid of being turned down. If I'm having dinner with Coco and I see a cute girl, I'll be like, "Coco, wait a minute," and I'll rush out to talk to her. Sometimes I get made fun of, but that's funny too. But it usually works out.
I go up to that cute girl and always tell her the truth. Anything that comes to mind, even bad things. I just say everything that comes to mind. No nonsense. They usually like it. I've been hitting on girls in department stores lately. Like a criminal.
Well, as far as I can tell, Surfing Magazine is making a movie.
It's not finished yet. But yes, it's a movie starring Mason Ho.
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What did you think after reading this interview? Mason is awesome, right?
