Please give us a rundown on who you are and what you do?
My name is Billy Stairmand and I am a professional surfer. I’m a 7x New Zealand National champion, I have provisionally qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games and am also currently rated 36th on the World Qualifying Series.
What does a typical (in season) day look like for you?
Wake up around 7. Wack on a coffee, have a stretch and warm up the body, either have a train or head out to the surf, surf maybe 2-3 times a day, eat some healthy food during the day and tuck into a good dinner and a movie.
How do you keep health a priority while being so busy?
I try to eat as healthy as possible. I’m a pretty active person and like to play a lot of sports so I’m always doing something. So I like to try and bring good healthy eating into my life. I also like to put a bit of bone broth and collagen peptides powder into my mornings coffees for a bit more flavour and also to get my gut and bones healthy.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received that has helped you become the epic person you are today?
Ohhh that’s a really good question. Luckily I have had a few really amazing people come in and out of my life and I have tried to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I think one thing that is pretty good advice is ‘don’t hold back’ . I think if you want something or you want to achieve something you should give it your all. You might not ever have the opportunity again. For instance when I had the olympic qualifiers last year in japan I had a goal of getting the spot for New Zealand and set all my intentions and everything on that and I achieved what I wanted to do. So I learnt a lot about myself and abilities just in that 1 week. So go hard people!
What advice would you give any readers who want to follow in your footsteps?
Almost the same as above. But I think practice everyday if not in the water then visualisation or training. Make sacrifices. I have made a few in the past year or so and it has worked out for the better. And just work hard for what you really want.
What’s your favourite way to have any of our Mitchells products?
I love to have the Mitchells Bone Broth and Collagen Peptides Powder in my morning coffee. Gets me started for the day and it makes the coffee a little extra taste. I also like to put some bone broth on some dinner dishes, and some collagen into a yummy smoothie. Also like to have Collagen Repair after a good hard training session. I’ve definitely been noticing some positive change in my body using Mitchells products. My hair and nails are growing amazing and also skin is feeling a lot better.
What’s your proudest moment so far?
Oh there are so many proud moments in my career so far, but I think beating the greatest ever Kelly Slater in Margaret river WQS in a man on man heat in 8ft Margaret river has to be one of my proudest moments. Another national championships and contest wins and hopefully in the near future will be wearing the New Zealand fern on my chest and representing NZ in the Olympic Games. That is at the top of my list.
What about your hardest moment, and how you dealt with it?
I lost my mother to breast cancer a couple years ago. That was a very testing time and hard for the mind. I also lost my main sponsor at the end of that same year. So I had to pretty much start from scratch. Get a job, do the smaller lower rated comps and work my way back. I worked a lot on my mental game and have come back stronger then ever. This year has started amazing and am very motivated for when we can compete again!
You are rehabbing an Injury at the Moment how did you get hurt and what has been your motivation to get back to 100%?
Finally, what’s your favourite adventure spot in New Zealand?
I love to explore all areas of NZ. I love the Coromandel, deep South Island and of course Raglan. I think NZ is one of the most beautiful and pristine countries in the world and am keen to explore more of this amazing place.
We wish you all the best with your injury rehab.
Keep up to date with Billy on IG @billystairmand
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