1. Hey Lex, how’s it going? How’s your 2018 been rounding off? 
2018 has definitely been one of the best years of my career even though I’ve been batting an injury! I started working with a new coach which has made a major jump in my surfing. I’ve done a lot of cool trips this year and I've gotten to go places that I've never been and meet a lot of new amazing people. I was so super stoked on going to the wave pool in Texas with Logan Kamen, what a great time and THANKS SO MUCH MONSTER!

2. You just recently got surgery. What was it for?
I had two tears repaired and got my rotator cuff reattached. I’ve actually torn the cartilage off the bone. I’ve done some damage over the years, LOL! It was pretty gnarly but I'm happy I finally got the surgery!

4. Is this an ongoing injury or did something happen?
Actually, three years ago I was snowboarding with some friends and fell on my shoulder. Didn’t think much of it, shortly after I was messing around at keiki beach break in Oahu Hawaii with friends. I went over the falls backwards and straightened out my arm and dislocated it for the first time! Like a couple days later it dislocated again in the shower and has just gotten worse and worse and dislocates more and more!

5. When do you expect to be fully recovered?
You can’t be one hundred percent sure on when you’ll be recovered. But, according to my amazing physical therapy team at NAKOA I should be back sooner than latter! I have been doing everything I can to get healthy as quickly as possible. This past year I've made such progression I don't want it to stop and I want back in the lineup as quickly as possible! 6. What will the rehab process look like? 

Lots of crying! Hahaha, nah lots of getting school done! Lots of gym time working my legs, then therapy for my shoulder everyday! I really want to speed up the process as much as possible and come back stronger than ever!

7. Prior to the surgery, you crammed in a few last minute contests and trips, right?
Yes, I've been super lucky! Actually the past 3 months, I’ve been away from home! Right after the U.S Open, I left for France spent some time there, did 2 contests then drove over to Spain for 1 more contest and spent my birthday in Spain with friends! It was important to do as many QS contests as possible so that when I come back next year after surgery I will have the experience at those locations and points to start right where I left off. Right after that, haha, I crammed a quick trip to Kelly’s wave pool to watch my best friend compete! Then went straight off to Bali, then to Sumbawa, then to Australia! It’s been hectic, hahah!

8. Your last US Open?
Actually! We just found out US OPEN will be a woman’s QS 10,000 so this past year was my last Jr. US OPEN. But, this past US OPEN didn’t go as planned but it’s always a fun contest with friends and getting to watch and hang out with the CT surfers!

9. Birthday Bail trip?
Yes! I went to Bali with some friends to surf and hang for my birthday! It was mental! Bali is awesome, what a beautiful place with amazing waves and such a fantastic culture with some of the nicest people on the planet. While there, I got a call from my coach for one last training block before surgery, so I left a few days early to go chase a swell in Sumbawa with him, it was awesome and then we continued on to Australia! All in all it was a fantastic trip!

10. What does the future hold for you? After surgery and recovery?
Honestly, I hate thinking about the future so much because I'm someone that really tries staying in the moment, but it’s good to have a plan. After I recover, I wanna get straight back into training everyday with my coach! I'm planning on spending the last month of my recovery in Australia with my coach and stay there until my surfing is better than it was before! I also have plans to go chase some big waves, it's really a something I'm pretty passionate about.  I'm focused and will be back stronger than ever!

Thanks again for all your MONSTER support!

Alexa Xo