France Hazar

Happy International Bodyboarding day people, unfortunately I didn't get to go bodyboarding but I do have the privilege of sharing our next guest story with you and what an inspiring lady she is....

She recently just placed second behind Lilly pollard at the 2018 Jeff Wilcox memorial comp which shows what a force she still is after so many years and I'm sure she won't mind me sharing with you that she was a little nervous for her story to go out this week.

It's amazing she said that even her daughter is older than Sari ohhara which kind of puts this interview in perspective and also to be such a competitive force after so many years is inspirational.

Her performance in the final of the Jeff Wilcox memorial was a proud moment for her and goes a long way in driving both herself but also women's bodyboarding in Australia, drawing more young women away from surfing and into our beloved sport of Bodyboarding.

An invitation from the Rio Masters comp was even on offer but unfortunately she was unable to attend, without further ado thou I would like you all to take a minute for France Hazar......

"My name is France Hazar I am 53 years old, I am from Soal Paolo but now live in Avalon, New South Wales, Australia.

I started bodyboarding in 1982, a friend of mine got a board from the US and we all shared it, it was the first time I got to see a bodyboard in real life as they didn't exist back then.

My childhood heroes were Jerry Lopez, Conan the barbarian and Robert Smith from the cure.

My local break was called Maresias, it was 3 hours drive from my home.

I also spent a lot of time in Pernanbuco beach, Guaruga, as I used to stay at my cousins house, that beach was a lot closer from the city than from where I lived.

We had to drive at least 1 hour to get to any beach, my favourite break right now thou is Tuncurry, NSW north coast.

My favourite breaks in the world, I have a few but I can't say the names, they are all in French Polynesia on the outer islands of Tahiti.

My first boardyboard was a Morey Boogie Aussie, with a yellow deck a white bottom but no slick. I had a little crew, it was me the twins, Ana Lucia and Anna Maria, plus Nina and my pet rat Lamma. True story!

I started competing in Brazil in 1984 and by 1985 they were making bodyboards ahead of a massive boom. I left Brazil when I turned 21 and lived in Hawaii for 4-5 years from 1986-1991.

I did a few pipeline comps but my thing was not competition.

I was chasing the photos as I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, back then pre internet, no mobile phones or social media the only way to promote yourself and your sponsors was through printed media.

Later on moving to Australia and becoming a resident I competed in all the pro am events for a few years and was Australian champ in 1998, runner up in 2015 and I finished the ABA tour in joint second this year, equal with Millie Chalker on 2400 points.

My job is to take care of my kids, my house in Sydney and our holiday rental in French polynesia. I am riding a bsd custom 42" crescent tail, I wear hubb fins and an xcel ocean ramsy wetsuit.

Music helps with everything in life, to calm, to motivate, to inspire but I prefer to be quiet and listen to the ocean noise and focus on the conditions before I paddle out, however thanks to my 14 year old I'm into Drake Jeremih and young thug.

When I decided I was going to learn to duck dive my friends and I plus my rat went to the south of Brazil a place called Garopaba and I practiced every day, morning and afternoon until I learnt how to.

I was a city girl but my mum is from North Brazil and I had spent every summer at the beach in my mums birth town of Maceio, Alagoas.

Sao Paulo city made me depressed and bodyboarding was the perfect excuse to escape city living and eventually took me places I never imagined I would go, from Hawaii to Indonesia in the mid 80's, California, Mexico to japan and Tahiti in the early 90's.

I am so grateful for this sport it saved me.

LidLife thanks for the catch up........

France, thank you so much for sharing your story and for continuing to push boundaries and inspiring the next generation......

Photo credits include:

Jeffry Uluwatu

Samanta Moreno

Alberto Sodre

Aaron Chang

Ted Granbeau

asucamp

Next week we stay in Australia to catch up with Liam Lucas.......

This Month is affectionately known as Movember, a month in which hundreds of thousands of men grow a moustache to help raise funds and awareness for Men's health issues.

Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years, Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50 years, three quarters of suicides are men.

Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year, that's one every minute.

If you can please follow the link featured on both my personal facebook, in the bio of my @bodyboarderkris55 insta account and on LidLife Bodyboarding page and make a small donation, be that difference ❤️🖤

In association with......

VAN LIFE PRODUCTIONS

www.hippycream.com

www.sunzapperuk.com