Seth Moniz / The Turnaround at Teahupo’o

By Mike Latronic

To know Seth Moniz is to know his family. In a word, this ohana is iconic.

I’ve known the Monizes for decades, since I shared a heat with Tony at Sunset Beach as a wide-eyed sixteen-year-old, alongside Ken Bradshaw and Tom Carroll. I didn’t advance. Tony did. Years later, when Freesurf Magazine partnered on the Town & Country Grom Contest in Waikīkī, I watched a young Seth, maybe seven or eight, tandem surfing on the nose of his father’s longboard, an image I still think about.

As Billabong’s amateur team captain, I had a front-row seat to Seth’s rise. He’d go on to qualify for the big league, got bumped off the Championship Tour, and requalified the way the whole family does everything: strength, resilience, showing up. Tony and his wife, Tammy, raised five kids (Micah, Kelia, Isaiah, Josh, and Seth) out of a surf school in Waikīkī that’s still running today. Josh qualified for the tour himself, and Kelia became a world longboard champion. It’s a big, warm family, door always open, and it’s why Seth carries himself the way he does: steady, quiet, more interested in results than noise.

Seth is the family’s WSL focus now, but this year gave him almost nothing to be steady about. He didn’t win a heat all season. Then, within weeks, his wife neared full term with their first child, and he flew to Tahiti not knowing if he’d make it home for the birth. He came back with both: his first Championship Tour win, at one of the heaviest stages in the sport, and, not long after, a daughter. I caught up with him once the dust had settled on both.

Mike: Walk me through the days leading into Tahiti — did anything feel different, or did the result genuinely come out of nowhere?

Seth: Leading up to Tahiti, I was in a different mindset. I knew I wasn’t doing well in the ratings. I hadn’t won a heat all year long and was struggling to find rhythm while dealing with all the pressure that comes with being a professional surfer. Going into Tahiti, I was going there to win. I had one thing on my mind: I had a newborn coming, and being in Tahiti meant I was potentially going to miss the birth of my first child. That was huge motivation for me to win.

I let go of all the negative feelings I had from earlier in the year when I was down and sad about where my career was going. I had been confused about why putting in so much training and surfing well wasn’t yielding opportunities. I went into Tahiti with the mindset of winning and not being happy with anything less. That showed. Even after every heat I won, I didn’t celebrate; I stayed focused. I learned a lot from the journey of going from round one to the finals.

Mike: You hadn’t finished better than 17th all season, then you beat the World No. 1 and one of your best friends back-to-back. What actually clicked at Teahupo’o specifically?

Seth: Going up against Yago, who was the world number one the previous year, he’s a major threat and a really good competitor. But in waves of consequence, coming from Hawaii, I feel that’s my strength. I was confident I could beat him. I woke up that morning, the waves were bombing, and I was excited because the bigger it was, the more of an advantage I felt I had. I wasn’t worried or nervous; I was just excited to get some big waves.

Mike: What was going through your head paddling out against Griffin in the final, given how close you two are?

Seth: Leading up to that final, I made the semi before Griffin and caught eyes with him as he was paddling out for his heat. I gave him a thumbs up, hoping he was going to make it. It’s so rare to be in a final with a friend.

About three days prior, during round three, Griffin and I had a beer at sunset over at his house. We talked about being on opposite sides of the draw and said how cool it would be if we both made the final. We always talk about that, but it rarely happens. For it to happen at Tahiti, one of the prized jewels of the tour alongside Pipe and Fiji, was special. When he made the final, I was right there to greet him. We gave each other a big high five, hugged it out, and got our game faces on.

Mike: You’ve talked before about the roller-coaster nature of your results since your rookie year. Does this win feel like a turning point, or is it too early to say?

Seth: My career has been very up and down. When I’ve needed results, I’ve gotten them, and I’ve persevered through moments of questioning whether I’d stay on tour. I’ve been on tour for seven years now without falling off, which is something I’m proud of. There are so many amazing surfers who deserve to be here but don’t get the chance. I try to pat myself on the back for being able to surf against the best, but I believe I can do better, not just in heavy waves, but winning events at Lowers and high-performance waves.

This win in Tahiti was a huge experience and momentum shift. I learned what it takes mentally to win an event, including the energy and focus required. I put myself in a different frame of mind where I wasn’t attached to results and wasn’t satisfied with just making a semi or final.

At the next event, I got ninth, but I went in confident, taking that same energy. In Fiji, I had a good performance in my first heat, but kind of lost to the waves. That happens a lot in surfing; I didn’t have a bad performance, I just didn’t get much opportunity. The best surfers adapt when the waves shut off, and I’m still learning that. I feel comfortable with my surfing now and ready to push into the top ten and top five instead of just grinding it out in the top 20. My goal for the rest of the year is to win another event.

Mike: You’re newly married with a baby on the way — has becoming a father changed how you carry pressure in a heat like that final?

Seth: Being newly married with a two-week-old baby girl has been amazing. It adds a whole new perspective to my life and what’s important. In a way, it helps. I’m really focused and know what I need to do day-to-day. Everything is for my family to provide for them and make them proud. It doesn’t add pressure; it actually takes pressure off. I feel super blessed to have a beautiful wife and baby girl.

“It’s not about perfection, it’s about showing up.”

Mike: This win reshapes your back half of the season — second round seed at next event, better requalification position. How does that change your approach heading into Fiji and eventually Pipe?

Seth: This win helped me so much to get out of that first-round cycle. The first round is brutal. You’re matched against top surfers, and if you lose, you get basically zero points. It reshaped my year completely. Now I’m coming up against lower seeds rather than high seeds in peak form, which will really help for the rest of the season.

Mike: The dynamics between you and your coach, Dougie, are pretty epic. There must be a huge feeling of both camaraderie and vindication for both of you. Talk about Dougie and what you guys go through to prep for this event and heat by heat the energy between you two.

Seth: The dynamic with Dougie and me has been amazing. Ever since we started working together about three years ago, I’ve loved his energy and unique coaching style. With someone like Dougie, you either understand him or you don’t. To me, he’s a genius. If you process what he’s saying, he can really elevate your surfing.

Through this event, we were completely connected. Despite my previous results all year, he never lost hope for a second that I could win the next event. He constantly gives me the confidence that I have the ability, while being honest about areas where I’m slacking and need to work harder. We’re going to continue building our relationship and moving forward together.

Mike: Coming from a family that’s always said “let your surfing do the talking” — what does it mean to finally have a result this loud to back that up?

Seth: Growing up, my dad always instilled in my brothers, my sister, and me to “let your surfing do the talking” and everything else, like sponsors, money, and trophies, would follow. That shaped our mindsets and personalities to not be overly cocky or expressive.

When you win an event like this, you let your surfing speak for itself. It took a little longer than I wished, but the timing before the birth of my baby felt like God’s timing. I’m just grateful for my family, my dad, and my mom for the lessons they’ve taught me, which prepared me to be a father, a husband, and the best person I can be.

This story originally appeared in Freesurf Magazine, Volume 23, Issue 7.