Monday Apr 27, 2026

Lessons from Competitive to Creative Surfing w/ Garazi Sánchez

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Garazi Sánchez (@garazisanchezsurf) is a two-time Spanish national champion from the Basque Country who built her career competing on the world stage before finding a whole new relationship with surfing through twin fins and board shaping. In this episode, she opens up about what it truly takes to surf at a high level; from how a serious back injury became the turning point that led to her best results, to why paddle fitness is the foundation that most surfers overlook. She breaks down the mental side of competing, what it feels like to lose the joy of surfing and how she got it back, and shares her honest take on riding twin fins including the one mistake most surfers make when they first get on one.

Chapters
00:01:20 Introduction: Meet Garazi Sánchez
00:02:13 Growing Up Surfing in the Basque Country
00:03:30 How the Basque Culture Shaped Her Surfing
00:05:10 The Adventure Mindset: Surfing in Unlikely Places
00:08:04 The Joy of Watching Beginners Fall in Love with Surfing
00:08:52 Competition as a Path to Self-Knowledge
00:11:17 Starting Out: Competing in the Basque Country
00:16:36 Plateaus, Confidence & Finding Her Footing Internationally
00:18:35 Overcoming the Fear of Not Belonging in the Lineup
00:22:40 The Back Injury That Changed Everything
00:27:39 Training on Land: How It Unlocked Her Best Results
00:31:10 The Overlooked Fundamentals: Positioning, Paddling & Pop-Up
00:39:28 Coaching Maneuvers: Reading Wave Energy
00:45:25 The Shift to Twin Fins & Rediscovering Joy
00:52:22 Tips for Riding Twin Fins & Board Design with Lemon Surfboards

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