Surfer Koa Smith of Essential Elements: How To Optimize Your Mind & Body For Peak Performance

An Interview With Edward Sylvan

Take care of yourself, and get to know yourself. Meditate every morning, eat clean healthy food, and drink epic filtered water. Try to imagine exactly what you want and think about it often. Expand your brain with knowledge, read more and just enjoy the process.

As a part of our series about “How Athletes Optimize Their Mind & Body For Peak Performance”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Koa Smith.

After a successful junior career that saw Koa Smith claim three national championships, an elite-level career beckoned. Instead, Smith chose the life of a professional free surfer and has been paid to travel the world and surf the dreamiest waves he could find. In 2018 Koa suffered a traumatic brain injury on a reef in Indonesia, now he’s climbing his way back to the top, prioritizing mental and physical health. His new partnership with Essential Elements has assisted him in this journey and they aim to promote hydration and wellness all summer long.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! It is a great honor. Our readers would love to learn more about your personal background. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up on the island of Kauai! Which was an amazing playground. Spent most of our days either surfing, skateboarding, or dirt biking!

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as a high level professional athlete? We’d love to hear the story.

I fell in love with surfing. I wouldn’t think about anything else, just wanted to be in the ocean every day. That obsession kind of led me in that direction. But at the time as I was growing up on Kauai, there were a group of absolute legends I’d see in the water. Including Andy irons, Bruce irons, Dustin Barca, Kamalei Alexander. I remember seeing those guys and it felt like seeing superheroes. I wanted to be like them.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

I had amazing mentors growing up. My parents were there all the time. Super supportive and loving they really dedicated their life to raising us. My two old brothers, Alex and Travis and I would always be pushing each other not only in surfing but in life. Who could catch the bigger wave or do a bigger turn! I was lucky to be coached by the Hawaiian surfing legend Ben Aipa. He taught me a deeper understanding of the ocean and the art of surfing.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your sports career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

Surfing is an adrenaline Sport, especially big wave surfing. I’d often find myself trying to keep that adrenaline going by surfing all day then partying and repeating! I slowly started exhausting myself and getting injured. My performance diminished and my dreams started seeming further and further away. Then I came to the realization, what if I take care of myself!? Train harder, eat better, sleep more! That’s when I felt a major shift in my life as a human!

What advice would you give to a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your career?

Take care of yourself, and get to know yourself. Meditate every morning, eat clean healthy food, and drink epic filtered water. Try to imagine exactly what you want and think about it often. Expand your brain with knowledge, read more and just enjoy the process.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

I’m working on a short film right now called The Source. It’s the first film I’ve worked on and it’s been a really interesting process. I’ve wanted to delete it about 10 times. But now it feels like it’s turning into something special. It’s not really a “Surf film” we wanted to tell a deeper story. It’s about feeling disconnected from the magical source of life that makes us feel so happy and alive. It’s about my surf career as a Free surfer And how documenting everything I do threatens to ruin that one thing that makes me feel so connected to that Source, Surfing. Aiming to launch it in November or so! Stay turned on my Instagram @koasmith. Aside from my film I’m also in the middle of a partnership with a nutrition brand Essential Elements and have been promoting their Get Hy campaign to encourage other athletes to get and stay hydrated this summer. It’s been a great experience and I’m excited to see how the brand and our partnership help other athletes perform better.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As an athlete, you often face high stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress. Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high pressure, high stress situations?

I think it’s all about the preparation, it’s everything you do in the weeks leading up to it. Eating clean, meditating, and visualizing exactly what you want to happen over and over again. Then when it’s about to happen all you have to do is let go and let it happen.

Do you use any special or particular breathing techniques to help optimize yourself?

I love Wim Hof breathing as a meditation technique and full body mind reset. I usually do 3–5 rounds of deep breaths in full and relax out for 3 min ending each round with an exhale hold. It just leaves you feeling so relaxed and present. Lots of my ideas and solutions to problems come to me at this time.

Do you have a special technique to develop a strong focus, and clear away distractions?

BOX breathing is really nice to get you out of your mind and into the present. A box breath is when you match the timing of your Inhale, holding at the top, exhale, holding at the bottom and repeat. I love to do it at a 5 second cadence.

How about your body? Can you share a few strategies that you use to optimize your body for peak performance?

I think working on moving and working your body every day is super important. I’m currently super into functional fitness training that is all body weight and focuses on lengthening, the spine and body, stretching and core. recovering is super key to making sure you are not burning yourself out. Ice bath sauna is my favorite recovery. I also recently started working with an awesome brand Essential Elements to not only optimize my own body for peak performance but to encourage others to ‘Get Hy’ (as in hydrated) all summer long. Their hydration sticks and pre-workout have been an absolute lifesaver for me when it comes to getting my body in shape to perform at my best.

These ideas are excellent, but for most of us in order for them to become integrated into our lives and really put them to use, we have to turn them into habits and make them become ‘second nature’. Has this been true in your life? How have habits played a role in your success?

Habits are everything, and they help you reset your mind and body. right now I’ve been working on this… starting with your thoughts, I believe that every thought plants a seed in your subconscious that then comes into your life down the road. Focus on the bad and bad that will come. Restructure your thoughts so you see the positive and your goals and dreams will come true.

Can you share some of the strategies you have used to turn the ideas above into habits? What is the best way to develop great habits for optimal performance? How can one stop bad habits?

Hmm yes, I’ll use an example of how I stopped drinking alcohol. I noticed it was a bad habit, I was playing around with the idea of stopping. Someone would offer me a drink. I’d say no I’m okay, then another person would offer me, nooo I’m okay thanks. then the 3rd person and I’d give in and say ahhh sure okay. Because I wasn’t absolutely sure I wanted to stop, I didn’t have that solid backbone to revert to and say no! So I decided to tell myself “I do not drink alcohol!” And whenever someone offered me I’d revert to that no I’m okay I don’t drink alcohol. which worked for me. So deciding you are going to do something and do it, not once but like 15 times and create a habit of it.

As a high performance athlete, you likely experience times when things are in a state of Flow. Flow has been described as a pleasurable mental state that occurs when you do something that you are skilled at, that is challenging, and that is meaningful. Can you share some ideas from your experience about how we can achieve a mind state of Flow more often in our lives?

I think the flow state is basically when you are completely present. I think extreme sports are one way to achieve it. There’s so much crazy stuff happening you can’t be thinking about what work task you have to do. You are truly right here right now! But I believe you can also access this state in other ways like conversation, being with a loved one, or hiking. I think meditation is a way to help you deepen your access to flow.

Do you have any meditation practices that you use to help you in your life? We’d love to hear about it.

I practice Transcendental meditation (TM) and Wim Hoff. Also, I believe Ice baths can be deep meditations as well

Many of us are limited by our self talk, or by negative mind chatter, such as regrets, and feelings of inferiority. Do you have any suggestions about how to “change the channel” of our thoughts? What is the best way to change our thoughts?

I don’t think there is one answer to this question. There are many tools to help with the release of negative thoughts and I’m still learning. My favorite right now is combating a negative thought with strong, powerful affirmations. example: Self-thought. I can’t do it, I’m not strong enough and I’m not smart enough, I’ll probably fail anyway so why should I even try? First, ask yourself, is this absolutely true? Realize what you just told yourself and say NO! I am Strong, I am smart, I am powerful, I am healthy and I believe I can achieve whatever I put my mind to! SO bring it on!!! This can be applied to any self doubt or negative thought.

Ok, we are nearly done. You are by all accounts a very successful person. How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’d say my success has brought me my own platform with the power to share, do, and say what I believe. Which is sick! I can spread positivity, laughter, health and my surfing to the world in the hopes of inspiring others.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

I think it would probably be The ROCK! It’s so amazing to me how he accomplishes SO much and he has just as much time in the day as me. Like how in the F do you balance that?

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!