The secretive world of WSL elite tournaments opened its doors for the first time to a true Latino, Kalle Carranza. The Mexican was seen on the Jaws channel during the Peahi Challenge, interviewing the winners and reporting on the atmosphere on one of the most gigantic and perfect days in the history of competitive surfing.

Previously, it had been at home, during the Puerto Escondido Challenge, and Kalle had already been working in ISA tournaments for several years, broadcasting in both English and Spanish.

Carranza fits the bill for the job: He knows surfing, has the respect of those interviewed for his professional background, is good-looking, friendly and speaks English very well. It wouldn't be a surprise to see more of him in the world surfing elite this year.

How did you get started working in WSL tournaments?
I did a QS event in Costa Rica with Diego Naranjo, a couple of years before I started doing events thanks to Mateo Rojas for the ISA because they needed someone. I did these events to gain experience.

Then, all of a sudden, the Cabo San Lucas event came up and they asked me to help out there. I worked there and right after that event, the Big Wave in Puerto Escondido was organized and there was a CT tournament in J-Bay. Strider was in Lebanon with his family, I think, Joe and I can't remember who else were in Huntington because the US OPEN had just started and they were basically short of people. They started looking for someone available and there was no one, so Gary Linden mentioned my name to them.

Thanks to him, they decided to contact me and asked me if I wanted to do the Puerto event. I was super nervous and told myself that it was a great opportunity and I had to do it. That's when I did my first event for the major leagues of the WSL. After that, they told me that they wanted me to do the one in Pe'ahí and then the one in Sunset, so that's how the whole thing started.

The tournaments look great, like mega productions, what is it like behind the scenes?
The tournaments are amazing, obviously the ISA has been the organization for which I have done the most championships and there are so many things that happen, they have broadcasts in English and Spanish, there are a lot of cables and TVs, people who work behind the events. The WSL reaches a larger audience and you see more production and more people and things. Obviously the athletes who do the events are known worldwide so it is like an atmosphere of nerves and excitement to see these guys who are the best in the world. In theory it is the same, a lot of cables and a lot of TVs, things that are not so attractive for the public.

The view. #puertoescondido #themexicanpipeline @wsl @katebainishere @garylinden @jasonrem88 Thank you! ??

A publication shared by Kalle Carranza (@kallegarranza) the Jul 31, 2017 at 12:39 am PDT

Do you have a favorite WSL tournament that you've worked on as a commentator?
I haven't done that many WSL tournaments, but Puerto was the best event because it was the first one and because I got to interview the guys I surfed with when I used to go to Puerto Escondido a lot. Apart from Puerto, seeing Pe'ahí at its best with the semifinal heat of Ryan Hipwood, Kai Lenny and Ian Walsh was incredible. Seeing the place is like a theater, the wave is intense, the place is super beautiful. It's the most respected wave in the world of big waves and seeing it like that in person was amazing.

Share an anecdote about something that happened to you during a broadcast.
I don't remember anything out of the ordinary yet, I learn a lot from each broadcast. Something crazy happened to me at the Jaws event, when I couldn't take the boat back from Jaws to the port, so I went out on a jetsky that left me inside, at the Jaws break shore, and I went out swimming over the rocks. It was crazy, the waves were really big, I came out a little cut, but nothing out of the ordinary, but just experiencing the exit from there shows you how crazy the people who surf these waves are.

You could say that between the ISA and WSL events, Kalle experienced a transition from professional surfing to studying languages, which he now applies to broadcasting. Is that right? Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life?
Going to university in Finland definitely helped me a lot to be able to work in tournaments, but it's true that, for the broadcasts, the fact of having been a professional surfer has helped me more, since they would interview me, they would ask me to do things, so I feel more comfortable, but I feel that anyone who wants to do it and practices has the chance to do it. I don't know if it's what I want to do for my whole life, depending on how much I travel and how much it's economically viable, but I like having the opportunity to see new places and to talk to people or share with people that I really like in both the WSL and the ISA.

Be 100% honest: Have you ever imagined yourself commentating on the Tokyo Olympics? How much do you want that to happen?
That would be amazing, I haven't imagined being there. I mean, I can imagine being there, but I don't know if as a commentator or what. But I would definitely love to be there, it will be the first time.

Surfing is going to be in the Olympics, we hope there are waves because that is the most important thing for the world public to see and for it to be attractive for everyone. We don't want the waves to be one foot high because even the best in the world can lose in that case.

Do you have any regrets about leaving professional surfing when you went to Finland?
Not at all, I was fed up, I didn't want to do that anymore, I wanted to do something else. I'm rarely so sure about certain things in life. I have a very... I don't know, I start thinking about the future, about what I could do, what I couldn't do, but I knew I had to stop surfing professionally, because I was fed up with that show, I just wanted to do something else. I don't regret it at all.

What are your plans for the rest of 2018?
Expect cool things soon, we'll see... There are interesting things as a commentator that would be great if they come true and I feel like my plan is going to be to try to focus on having free time that I haven't had in a long time, find more time to do the things I like and be with the people I like.