Asked about how fans received his participation and subsequent victory in the controversial reality show Ultimate Surfer, Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau said in an interview with Stab magazine: “Fuck, nothing really has the essence of surfing anymore. The game is changing, so you either keep up or get left behind.”

Lau won $100.000 and three wildcards in CT events which have been questioned by the surfing community who argue that reality has nothing to do with sports.

“I would say 70% of the feedback was positive and 30% was negative. Obviously there are people who think this is selling out,” added the Oahu native, who nevertheless noted: “I have been surprised by the outpouring of support and positivity I have received from this, which has been really nice.”

Regarding how she experienced the reality show and the whole process, she said that it was strange to have filmed it so long ago and that she was only able to make it public now. She said that she signed a very strict confidentiality agreement.

“Waking up every day in 43-degree heat was tough. We didn’t surf in the pool as much as you might think, we were mostly filming other shots. Fortunately I was able to go to the ranch twice before and had a bit of a competitive advantage over the others,” Lau said.

“It was a huge production team. I tripped a few times the first few days, there was a lot going on and I felt like there was always someone watching me. There are cameras in your room and microphones everywhere. It took me a while to adjust,” she added.