TO Hell AND TO HELL AND Back
It was hardly the stuff surfing dreams were made of, but that was beside the point. To Ryan Callinan, this crumbly, wind-blown, brown-water Japanese beach break might as well have been a river of gold. Not only had it delivered him one of the crowning glories of his career – a win over Hawaiian aerial whiz, Seth Moniz, in the final of the 6000 point Ichinomiya Chiba Open (all but cementing his World Tour qualification for 2019) – more importantly, it had helped close the darkest chapter of his life. As he spoke to reporters after the win, he looked to the sky and broke down.
“I’d like to dedicate this to my parents, who recently passed away. It feels good. It felt like they sent me a few,” he said.
In the space of 15 months, Callinan lost not one, but both his parents. First his father, Gary, to leukaemia. Then his mother, Janice, who died instantly a little over a year later due to a medical condition. As he grappled with the grief and pain of losing his parents, he considered giving away pro surfing altogether. The journey just to get his happiness and optimism back seemed painstaking enough without having to factor in heat losses, travel commitments, and the taxing personal rivalries tour life brings. As he clawed his way back, bit by bit, he began to notice fundamental changes in both his character and outlook on life in general. An awareness he attributes to a daily routine of meditation.
“I really felt like that personal work I did in that period – and I’ve started meditating a lot and really trying to be present in the moment – that in the long run gives me a bit of perspective on what’s important. Surfing is definitely my passion and my job and it’s
