IT'S ABOUT THE GAME | DILLON GABRIEL

This month has been a busy one and for NFL prospects, it has special significance as they awaited the NFL Draft 2025 which took place Apr 24 - 26th in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We had the pleasure of talking with quarterback Dillon Gabriel of the University of Oregon. As we talked with him prior to the draft, we had no idea where he would go although as of the release of this issue, he will be playing for the Cleveland Browns!

In sitting with him prior to the draft, we wanted to konw more about his love for the game, his approach to playing it, his partnership with Echelon fitness, what it's like to go through the NFL Combine and what it involves, being a finalist for The Heisman Trophy, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with football?

DILLON GABRIEL: I think it was from a young age being able to watch my dad. It was just someone you look up to and someone that you wanted to be able to emulate and to be just like. I think that was just in life, but I also think that sports is a big part of our upbringing and of course, I have played all of the sports that you could play at the time. But I just fell in love with football because it has been something that I just – it’s just enjoyable, it’s something about it with it’s team aspect that you have everyone coming together to accomplish a goal. So, I would just say that at a very young age.

AM: What do you love about being a quarterback?

DG: I love the ability to have the ball in your hands for every single play. I think that the decision making and processing is a lot of fun. I think that it’s the combination of preparation and then actually doing it. Getting those 2 things in sync is actually difficult to do just by yourself.

AM: Yeah.

DG: Let alone having to do it with other people. You can’t throw the ball unless you have protection up front. You can’t get yardage unless there is a catch down the field and I just think that that teamwork aspect in every single play where 11 people have to be in unison, it’s just a lot of fun because you are doing it together. I think that more than that, the relationships, the people, and the friendships that last a lifetime. Those are memories that no one is going to be able to take from you and that’s good and bad!

AM: Well, that’s true too!

Did you always think that when you started playing that you would do this all throughout school and did you imagine yourself going to the NFL?

DG: I did. I always had this dream where I know that a dream is one thing, but in order to make it a reality, there has to be work behind it. I always felt like I was determined in that way of matching my habits with my goals. I think that for a lot of the time, I just stayed present. I tried to be really good with where my feet were and I learned that in college.

Now that I am here, it’s hard to believe in the sense of time has gone by so fast. But I’m not surprised that I’m here because I know that when I was in certain moments, I knew that I was going to maximize it and I knew that my love and care for my passion – how disciplined I am every single day. So when you match those 2, I knew that I’d be in a good spot and it’s still surreal. I’m back home and you see the kids – how excited they get and for me, I see it as myself being in their shoes once. But all it was was me committing to a goal or a dream. That’s always been a way for me to just ground myself and to understand that even though it's a higher level football there is still that passion aspect and love for it. It’s the work that I have done behind it that I have been doing from a younger age. Now, it just gets that much more challenging as a competitor.

AM: What’s an average week for you when you’re training in season versus the off season?

DG: I think that off season is very grind mode. I would say that it is physically more taxing. You’re always trying to get your speed work in and your strength work in. For a quarterback, throwing a football is a whole different aspect to your off season workout. So you attack those 3 while still being around ball and talking football. I think that that is a language, just like any other language to excel at it, you have to speak it consistently and live in it. That is what I try to do while still making the physical aspect more of a focal point.

In season, I think the physical aspect takes a back seat at least day-to-day until gameday comes, but mentally, it’s a lot more challenging. Learning a game plan, executing it, getting everyone on the same page, having conversations individually position wise as a unit and a team. Then there are aspects too that are more than Xs and Os. The motivation aspect and being able to keep people motivated and having themes of the week. So, you encompass all of that while having the physical tax on your body. If I looked at it like that, I would say those 2 things are different in the off season vs in season.

AM: Our community is always excited about workouts that they can include in the routines that they already do. What are 3 workouts that you do that you think could be beneficial for us to think about when we want to switch up our routines?

DG: I love rotational strength. Of course, I’m a throwing athlete, but I believe that being able to have strength in rotation is still good for change of direction. It’s done me well and I love the cable machine. So anyone who can do the cable machines, we’ve tried it from each angle – high, hip height, and low. I love cable rotation and I’ll do those 3 different angles.

I really love working with speed. I love speed and one that I love to do as well is a core bosu ball. I got put onto this core routine that I love. It’s a bosu ball, you put your back on it. You do single leg V ups 10 on each side and then you do cross leg kind of like elbow to knee. So I do 10 reps each and that’s 40 reps total. I don’t care how good you get at it, there’s a rush and a burn and that’s one of my workouts.

I’m also going to go with the curls and things like that. Those are our base workouts that we do with legs - you’ll always catch me doing core and arms at the end.

AM: Tell us about this partnership with Echelon Fitness and how it’s giving back to your high school, Mililani which we think is really interesting.

DG: Yeah, I think that what I love about Echelon is their ability to be able to make training fun, but also that coaching aspect that you still get. I believe that when you are able to have intent behind your lifts and workouts – there is that motivational aspect too where you get direct feedback.

Are you lifting, what’s the strength, speed – and that is where the strength is going. That’s strength training and working out in general. I used it every single day when we were doing team lifts. Being able to have that aspect in our workouts is huge, but I think that when you’re marrying that with what we are doing at Mililani High School, I think that that’s powerful. The impact that that will create for athletes that are trying to get back on the field – it’s like double the work that you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get healthy and you want to dominate when you’re on the field. Being able to have that direct feedback and have measurables, but also walk into state of the art equipment allows you to feel really confident in your workout. I think that for anyone to be able to work in that kind of an environment, you’re going to be better. You’re motivated that much more to get better and to benefit yourself so that you can see results on the field. I am just appreciative of them because they see the vision as well and they understand the youth and what’s up and coming is very important. Any way that we can protect them in any way – I always talk about protection with working out. How are they doing workouts that are beneficial to them and will translate to what they ae doing on the field. With Echelon, you have all of that information in that database on your monitor for each piece of equipment. That’s a unique and cool part to what we are all doing.

AM: That’s so exciting. How did that come together between yourself and Echelon to provide that equipment for your high school?

DG: I think it was about similar visions and being able to hop on the phone with them with Dara and their CEO Lou. We got both of them on the phone and it was just clear visions on both ends with what we wanted to accomplish and believing in that. I think that now that we’re here and you see it in person finally, there have been all of these conversations, but now to see it it’s just a whole different aspect to see things happening in real time. I’m glad that we got to this point and I know that they are a huge piece of what we are doing.

AM: You’ve had an incredible collegiate career, you were a finalist for The Heisman Trophy – what are you the most proud of in this portion of your life right now and what has this meant to you?

DG: I’m definitely most proud of the memories and I think just the journey. As a whole, it has had a lot of success. I’d be lying if I said that there was no failure. I think that when you’re able to learn from that failure, and grow, ultimately whenever there was an uncertainty or an unknown, that is where I have had the most ability to grow. I think that I’m just proud of that journey and how I managed that. I have always chosen good people to be around, but at the same time, the law of attraction. Who you are as a person is who you want to be around. I’ve always tried to live by that and I have faith in what God has in store for the future.

But then I also have those memories that are just day-to-day. The locker room stories – even to this day, I still laugh at those little interactions in the weight room. Just as little as that, on top of those big wins and great environments – the triumph of working through something that was difficult. Because everything worth having doesn’t come easy. For me, I think that all of that is what I think about. The awards and all of that is something that you appreciate because a bunch of people came together to accomplish a goal. There was success in that way. But more than those, I think that you just know that it is the ultimate team sport. Although we highlight individuals, there is no way that you do it alone. That is why I appreciate the game of football.

AM: Can you talk a bit about the NFL Combine, what takes place there, and how one prepares themselves for this so we have a better feel for the journey leading up to the draft and being placed on an NFL team (Editor’s Note: The purpose of the NFL Scouting Combine is to provide NFL teams with a standard platform to evaluate and assess the physical and mental abilities of 300 or so invited top draft-eligible college football prospects before the NFL Draft for 4 days. It allows teams to gather comprehensive data, including medical exams, psychological tests, and on-field drills, all in one location, making it easier to compare players and make informed decisions)?

DG: So the Combine, after going to it, I see it as if any questions that they might have, they’re going to answer them. I say that’s physically, mentally, background – anything prior and what you know about football. I think that that just all encompasses you as a person. Then of course, it’s also about what you can do on the field because you’re going to compete as well. This is all taking place in a high stress environment so it’s also about how you are going to handle it. Who are you as a person when things aren’t exactly perfect. I think that the Combine has a unique way of doing that. They definitely got answers to all of their questions all day every day! They separated those questions as I mentioned before mentally and physically. So there were 40 yard dashes and throwing and competing on the field. There was more football work. Then you get in your formal meetings and you have those 15mins speed dating meetings where you’re talking football that whole entire time. How consistent are you – all day every day? How much do you love football? I’d say that that is the biggest thing – they get every question answered from every angle in their organization.

AM: That must have been exhilarating to be there and to be chosen, but also exhausting as well as that is intense and you are doing that across 4 days and across all those teams.

DG: 100%

AM: Obviously, the NFL Draft is Apr 24 – 26th. How are you preparing for that and what are you excited about?

DG: Honestly, I think that midway through this draft process, I think that I just let go and I just trusted what God has in store for me and for my future. He always has you know? I think it has been a unique way of knowing that you have to be right where your feet are. I say that because there is unknown and uncertainty. You’re in and out, your life is in a backpack. There is no home base or consistency in that way. You have to be comfortable with that uncomfortable. Midway through I realized I had no control other than how I work and what I do every single day. But at the end of the day, when the draft comes, all of my work is out in front of all 32 teams and one team will be the believer in what I do on the field and off the field, who I am as a person and what I bring to the table. I just have confidence in that and at the end of the day, all of that pageantry ends on that date and then you’re back to work!

AM: Right!

DG: So, the work that you have been putting in is going to show and I have confidence in my preparation as that is what I have pride in myself for the past 6 years of my college career. It’s going to continue on in the NFL.

AM: When you’re not playing the game or are thinking about the game, how do you take time for yourself?

DG: It’s hard because we love football and inevitably, we’re talking about it, but I think that that is when I go back to my passion. When you love it, it’s not so taxing and like anything, it can be a lot when it is encompassing your life the whole time, but being able to relax is just being around family. Being able to be around people where you can truly just be yourself. You don’t even have to have a conversation because their presence is all you need and you can understand one another through short conversation. I’m a big relaxing guy, I love to be around family and to try new things. I love food believe it or not and I’m from Hawaii so whenever we can go to a new food spot and try new things – that’s always great! I love being outdoors as well. Going on a walk and being out there with people you love is so nice. I think that for me, that’s always how I recharge. Even daily, if it’s a phone call or in person – that’s my thing.

IG @dillongabriel

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 43 + 44 University of Oregon | PG 47 @Thatsfye | PG 48 - 50 ESPN Honolulu

Read the APR ISSUE #113 of Athleisure Mag and see IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GAME | Dillon Gabriel in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG #112 | CHEF MASAHARU MORIMOTO

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with Restaurateur Master Chef Masaharu Morimoto who we first saw via Iron Chef Japan and then continued to Iron Chef America. Whether he is judging, participating in culinary competitions, opening more restaurants, or more - he is always focused on the power of food and how he can continue to entice us with flavors! On May 10th, he will be the Grand Marshal of the Japan Parade on Japan Day in Central Park West. We caught up with him to find out how he got into the industry, his passion for cooking, upcoming projects, and more!

Last month we had an incredible series of conversations with Co-Creator/Executive Producer, and writer Chris Brancato as well as cast members from MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem. We caught up with 2 additional cast members of this series, Elvis Nolasco and Erik LaRay Harvey.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Chef Esther Choi about her passion for Korean cuisine, her restaurants, and her upcoming season of Food Network’s 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing where she serves as co-host for this competition series. She also shared why she partnered with LISTERINE for a fun immersive culinary experience that we enjoyed as well.

This month, the NFL Draft took place and many people that we have enjoyed watching throughout their college career found out where they will be playing this season. We had the pleasure of connecting with QB Dillon Gabriel who played for the University of Oregon days before the draft to talk about his love for the game, how he trains, his partnership with Echelon Fitness, what the NFL Combine is, and what he is looking forward to in terms of the draft. We look forward to seeing him on the Cleveland Browns!

We caught up with noted designer Lele Sadoughi who collaborated with CHLOE Wines on a stunning bottle that we can enjoy. We talk about her line, creative process, and upcoming projects.

For over a decade, we have enjoyed seeing Titus Welliver playing Harry Bosch in Prime Video’s BOSCH and BOSCH: LEGACY! With BOSCH: LEGACY streaming its final season, we sat down with Titus to talk about how he came to this series, what it’s like to play this character, how he prepares, and the takeaways he learned from being in this series. We look forward to the spin-offs from this franchise.

We’ve been fans of Bachelor Nation from the first season and when we were first introduced to JoJo Fletcher in The Bachelor we knew that she was someone who we would continue to see - especially when she became The Bachelorette. Since then, she continues to share her entrepreneurial world with us. We talk with her about what it means to be part of Bachelor Nation, being an entrepreneur, and her latest project - Saint Spritz!

We’ve been a fan of WTA #2 doubles tennis star Taylor Townsend for years! When we caught up with her, we wanted to know more about what she loves about the game, how she trains, what it’s like playing singles vs. doubles and the legacy that she wants to leave!

We head to Singapore for this month's The Art of the Snack which takes us to 3 Michelin Star Zen. We chat with Chef TC and Chef Martin Ofner to find out about their culinary backgrounds, the ambiance of their restaurant, and what we can expect when we come in to dine there.

This month's Athleisure List comes from member’s only The Ra Ra Room located in Phoenix, Arizona - it’s definitely a culinary experience that you will want to know more about! We also talk about one of our favorite places to pop into after a day of running around - Tacombi. With multiple locations including a number here in NYC, it’s always an easy vibe.

This month we have our 9CH3F ROUTIN3S from our cover star, Chef Morimoto who talks about what he does Morning, Afternoon, and Night. This month's 9PLAYLIST MULTI comes Pro Surfer Brianna Cope who shares what she enjoys listening to, streaming, and reading. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from Dillon Gabriel and from Team USA Olympic Volleyballer Kelly Cheng they share what they enjoy having, doing, and being Morning, Afternoon, and Night. This month’s THE 9LIST STORI3S comes from JoJo Fletcher as well as Taylor Townsend. This month's THE 9LIST 9M3NU comes from Chef Johnny Chan Boon of The Ra Ra Room in Phoenix Arizona, Restaurateur and TV Personality Chef Esther Choi of Mokbar and GAHM, and Restaurateur, TV Personality, Author, Master Chef Morimoto - who shares with us what they enjoy about the Spring, ingredients that they enjoy cooking with, and what dishes we should try when we are at their restaurants.

Of course, we have a number of roundups that you can also check out from our must-haves to yours!

Read the APR ISSUE #112 of Athleisure Mag.

TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | MONICA MEDELLIN

We enjoy a great docuseries where we get to follow our favorite sports and get behind the action to find out how it all comes together. Prime Video's 4 episode series, Surf Girls Hawai'i follows 5 native Hawaiian females as they take their shot on obtaining a spot in the world tour. We follow Moana Jones Wong, Ewe Wong, Maluhia Kinimaka, Pua DeSoto, and Brianna Cope as we see them navigating their season, training, and interacting with their friends and family.

We caught up with Monica Medellin, Creator and Executive Producer of this docuseries. We wanted to find out more about how she became a fan of this action sport, being a surfer, working in the surf industry, and the importance of storytelling to amplify voices that are underrepresented but have powerful points of view.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’ve personally been a fan of your work for awhile so it’s exciting to be able to talk with you to know more about you’re your docuseries, and what you’re working on that’s coming up!

MONICA MEDELLIN: Amazing! I’m so excited! I think that this is perfect because every body that knows me makes fun of me because athleisure is all I wear.

Thank you so much for highlighting me. I feel like a unicorn in this space. I just turned 30 and this all happened before then and it seems like the tides are changing and there are very few women that are like me in this position. So I really want to share my story and to hopefully inspire more storytellers in narratives like this.

AM: Absolutely!

Before we get into talking about the docuseries, we want to know more about you. What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be a filmmaker?

MM: Oh, I mean, I feel like I was destined to be a filmmaker ever since I was a little girl. I couldn’t really identify that that was what I wanted until later in life. I've always been involved in sports as a child. My mom was a single working mom from Mexico and she raised me on her own.

Through that, she found different sports programs and extracurricular activities and that’s where I really fell in love with different sports and it started with more traditional sports like volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Then I moved into gymnastics and then we both discovered surfing while we were walking along the Santa Monica Beach and at that point, I had started skateboarding, surfing, and exploring these non-traditional sports.

I actually used her old camcorder to film myself skating! That’s what I did with my friends on the weekends, so obviously the production value was what it was!

You know, I started documenting sports from a young age and I started documenting myself as a young girl participating in those sports from that time. You know from there, I obviously played sports in high school – I was the team captain of the volleyball team, I would teach at surf camp over the summers and I moved to university and I studied Journalism at the University of Oregon. So, this theme of filming our experiences as women in sports has been something that has been a thread throughout my entire life!

AM: Wow! It also seems that a lot of your films as well as commercial work that you have done has also focused obviously on sports, but also covering underrepresented groups as well. As someone who is Black and has enjoyed sports such as snowboarding where people don’t think of us playing it, I like that you’re showcasing what is being done that people don’t necessarily think of.

MM: Right and I think that that’s something where you want to be niche, but not too niche where you miss out on telling other stories as well. I think that my main thing is highlighting and shining a light on stories that are underrepresented in the mainstream. That is the essence of my work. It doesn’t just need to be sports, it can be in anything. I mean, when I worked at the Los Angeles Times in 2015, I was helping launch a new platform that talks about this emerging American identity with race, immigration, identity, what does it mean to be American, but also never to really see yourself represented in the story in that way. So, I think that that time at the Los Angeles Times and producing documentaries around those topics really did shape the direction of how I approach my storytelling. Like sure, if I’m telling a story about an athlete, that’s in sports, but I want to uncover who the person is behind the athlete, what is the human experience that we can all relate to because ultimately, even when you see Surf Girls Hawai’i, it’s not just about surfing. It’s about coming of age, it’s about sisterhood, it’s about supporting each other through challenging times, and navigating life. So, I think that that is my approach through all of my storytelling that makes it universal whether you are interested in the sport or the topic itself.

AM: Absolutely!

What was the first project that you did that you realized that you wanted to do this as a career?

MM: Hmm, it’s actually funny, because my first film that I created was about a young Latina surfer in the Bay Area. She was part of a program that helped underrepresented youth get into the sport of surfing, get into action sports, and that film actually premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival here in LA. That moment of seeing my work and my film, premiered at The Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood was such a monumental moment for me because I could see that this kind of storytelling was valued. I could see the reaction of the audience and I could see the emotion and I could actually feel the energy in the room. So, I feel like the LALIFF selecting my film to premiere at the Chinese Theatre in that way was a really defining moment for me. I knew that I could really make something out of this career and hopefully, tell more stories. At that point, I was still in my early 20’s so it was just the beginning, but I think that that was the moment that I decided to pursue this full time.

AM: We love surfers! This year alone we had the honor of speaking with Carissa Moore as well as Kai Lenny as covers for Athleisure Mag. You also surf – what is it about this sport that you enjoy so much?

MM: I think surfing is such a unique sport because it’s not just a sport. It’s a lifestyle, it’s a culture, it has deep roots around the world, and had I known that this sport is originated by people of color and women of color, I would have felt that I belonged in it sooner. (Editor’s Note: The origin of surfing can be found in various cultures as far back as the Incas in 1590 when a Jesuit missionary José de Acosta published it in Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias. In West Africa’s – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Senegal and Central Africans in Cameroon have had various accounts of this activity in 1640, 1679, 1834, and 1861. In Polynesia in 1769 there is documentation of he’e nalu which translates to wave sliding by Joseph Banks as he was on HMS Endeavour during the first voyage of James Cook while the ship was in Tahiti.) I didn’t know anything about the history of surfing until I met another Latina surfer who shared with me this deep history. After discovering that, I made it my life’s mission to try to tell the world that this is the truth and that this is the history of this.

I think that with surfing, it’s so special for that deeper reason, but also I think that it’s a way of connecting with nature to get outside and get off your phone. You have no way of communicating with anybody when you’re out there. It’s your time to exist and enjoy yourself and I think that it resonates with a lot of people. I think that when I first started surfing in Los Angeles, the lineups looked a lot different than they do today. Today I actually paddle out and I see more women, I see more women of color and I actually see friends every single time that I go. I think that this surf culture has been defined by advertisements, brands, the industry, but we are reclaiming what it means to be a surfer and you’re seeing that happening in your local lineups. You’re seeing that happening through Surf Girls Hawai’i, you’re seeing that happen through different lenses, I think! I think that that is what makes surfing special. It’s just, there’s nothing else like it honestly.

AM: As the creator of Surf Girls Hawai’i, what drew you to telling this story?

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i is what I have dreamt of ever since I was a little girl. We saw Blue Crush released back in 2002, which was my favorite film, and I really identified with Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious franchise, Machte franchise, Resident Evil franchise), who was another Latina and I mean, that’s just one part of it. When I was working in the surf industry, I noticed that major mainstream platforms just had more coverage of male surfers. You barley saw women and in advertisements, it’s still really common to see a surfer girl in a bikini and a man on a wave surfing.

AM: Right.

MM: You walk down to any surf shop and that’s still the reality of our time in 2023! Actually, while I was working at the League (World Surf League), I started a personal archive of my favorite surfers who were women, who I thought deserved the spotlight and I pitched an idea that would eventually push the company to promote men and women equally on our social platforms. I think that since then, we have seen a shift. I just really wanted to be able to highlight women that I felt didn’t have a seat at the table. I think that through Surf Girls Hawai’i, they are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. That’s really cool that I helped spearhead that effort and identified this talent early on.

AM: For those that have not seen this docuseries, can you give us the premise of the show, and also, how did you decide to select the 5 Native Hawaiian female surfers that are featured in the docuseries.

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i follows the next generation of native Hawaiian, female surfers as they compete at an elite level to earn a spot on the world tour of professional surfing. Surf girls is about a sisterhood of native Hawaiian surfers who are on the cusp of becoming pro and this is the most elite level that they have ever competed on and they are competing against each other, but also together in a lot of different ways and they support each other through that. I think that what makes it special is the fact that oftentimes when you see shows that center women, you see maybe cattiness or drama between the women. You see this marketable yet damaging portrayal of female relationships.

I think that what’s different with Surf Girls Hawai’i is, even though they are fierce competitors, and they are competing for one spot, they all support each other through this journey. That’s because they all know that if one of them makes it, everyone makes it because this is more than just winning for their own personal gain, this is about representing native Hawaiian culture at the highest level of surfing. I think that carrying that responsibility, and that legacy, is what makes this highest stakes in a lot of ways. You don’t need that cattiness or drama between the girls. I think that that is the premise, but also what makes it different.

AM: From your perspective as a filmmaker, how do you go about creatively organizing all of this. As you said, they’re all there for that aligned goal, but they are also individual people. How are you weaving that story and kind of planning it in your head especially when it’s only 4 episodes! By the end I was wanting to see more about these women, wondering if there would be another season, would the same surfers be followed – so many questions!

MM: The response to this show has been so overwhelmingly positive and I have been told that it is over performing. It shows that there is a gap and this storytelling was absolutely needed and 4 episodes did the trick! I think that that worked and I think in going back to your question, this cast is so special because on the surface, they are all native Hawaiian pro surfers that share this bond and share their culture together. But what I wanted to really accomplish with this series was to show them as multi-dimensional, multi-faceted women. They’re all different and all have different interests and different mindsets. They’re all different because you have on the one hand, Maluhia who is 26 years old, considered older to be competing and is at the crossroads of deciding on whether she wants to be a professional athlete and fulfill that lifelong childhood dream or pursue her education. She did both. She got her degree from Stanford and she is pursuing her PhD at UH Mānoha – all while competing on the WSL tour. I think that that is super unexpected. That defied expectations and I think that each character defies expectations of what you would think of them on the surface. So that’s just one example of how we approached the storytelling around each woman. How do we paint them as more than an athlete? Because each character is more than an athlete.

AM: What was it like working with Hello Sunshine on this project?

MM: I’ll start with Hello Sunshine. Hello Sunshine was honestly a dream partnership. Like we were aligned in our values before we even made the show together. I think for me as a creator, it was really important that the team working on Surf Girls was women-led and women-run, that is the essence of what makes Surf Girls Hawai’i what it is. I think that Hello Sunshine’s mission of changing the narrative for women aligned with my mission well before the final product. I think that Surf Girls put this native female Hawaiian experience at the forefront and Hello Sunshine invested in that, believed in that, and they saw that from the beginning. I think that that’s brave. This talent, they’re low profile, lesser known names outside of the surf industry, but that didn’t matter to them and I think that they just saw the magic. I also think that the Hello Sunshine team was very collaborative and supportive of hiring women behind the camera and making sure to work with my recommended Hawaiian and Hawaii local creators and crew. I just felt like the set was forward thinking and they understood the importance of picking a team to tell a story and in the best way.

I actually created and directed the original digital series that sold the show, and the vision stayed true throughout the process. I think that that is really hard to do actually. I feel that the women were really portrayed in a positive light and the culture wasn’t sensationalized. That was really really important. That’s my bit on Hello Sunshine!

AM: That’s amazing to hear. What has been your biggest takeaway in doing this docuseries?

MM: Oh my gosh, so much! I mean, creating and executive producing my first TV show, was an experience that I learned a lot from. I think that a big takeaway from the series is that you see the reactions from people that watched this and people are hungry for this kind of storytelling and they’re hungry to see women and women of color in sports. I think it’s interesting because this was technically made for Gen Z young women to identify with. But you see women of all ages responding to this and you see men of all ages intrigued, interested, and inspired by this story. So, I think that this is a story for everyone and that’s the takeaway – this story is important and deserves a spotlight and we were the first to do it and that’s really, really special. We were the first female sports docuseries on Hello Sunshine’s platforms and this was the first female sports documentary on Amazon.

AM: That’s a pretty big first!

MM: That’s big!

AM: That’s awesome!

I’m sure you’re always working on different projects, is there anything coming up that you are able to share that we should keep an eye out for?

MM: Yeah, so 2 things! I just got back from Tahiti for a shoot with the Olympic Channel, so that’s coming up. Then, I have another underreported, but fascinating field that centers women of color and Black women in sport that is not highly covered that I am currently developing. I’m developing projects constantly so we can leave it at those things.

IG @monicamedellin_

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 52 Ryan Gladney | PG 54 Brie Lakin | PG 57 Katie McDonald | PG 58 - 63 Prime Video |

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | Monica Medellin in mag.