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No, you have to have this paper, la cartilla, from the army that shows you're a Mexican citizen. Then you can get a driver's license, a job and a passport. When I finished my Army, Paul Gomez [then marketing director at Billabong USA], wrote a letter to the Mexican embassy for me, saying I was a pro for them, even though I wasn't, and he sent me a plane ticket.

So you got a surfing sponsor and an immigration sponsor all at the same time.

Yeah, they slowly gave me the opportunity to travel. In the beginning it was very slow. I would work for them in the warehouse and every year I would get a couple more boardshorts. I had to pay half of my plane tickets. Actually, from 18 to like 22, 23 was kinda tough and I was almost about to give up my dream because I was surfing so much and not seeing anything coming.

What motivated you to keep trying?

It's funny because when I started surfing in Puerto I was just a kid and you're just doing it for the fun of it. But ever since I got my picture in SURFER when I was 17, I was like "Man, maybe I can make it." I mean, I surfed with Evan Slater that huge swell and I was the only kid who was 17 and charging. I started surfing for the love because it was so fun. But when I saw that I could make something of it, I thought, "Why not?" I'm sure a lot of surfers dream of making a living by surfing. But all of a sudden, from 23 till now, it has just been really good for me. I finally got a little contract, some salaryÂ…

Now that you're making money surfing, is there jealousy among the other surfers in Puerto?

I think you have that all over the world, man. Maybe a couple of guys, but for me, when I get a photo published, no one say nothing. Everybody's stoked. And lately, there's guys coming from Michoacan and Nexpa and Los Cabos. They say, "Oh. You're Coco. You're the one in all the mags." Sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable. To be honest, I like people for who they are, not because you're in the mags. I just change the conversation.

There are other kids from Puerto making names for themselves now too.

Yeah, there's a new group of kids that have started surfing good. I sometimes invite them to my house and give them advice and tell them to never give up their dream, to do good things, be good to people. So many kids have the dream I had, and Mexico has a lot of good surfers. But many just go down because there's no support. They get stuck in drugs or alcohol. Don't be lazy, man. No one's coming for you. No one bro. You have to go and get your own things. You have to put your face outside. You have to go and do it. And some guys are doing it. My friend Raul [Noyola] just won that WQS in Costa Rica. Roberto [Salinas] is always in there. Kalle Carranza. Kalle wants to do it too. He's a cool kid and he's a nice guy. Or my friend Rogelio Ramirez.

You used to be one of the most notorious enforcers of Puerto Escondido's brutal localism. How has the surfing climate changed in Puerto since you moved there?

When I was really young you had all these names. Some of the first surfers in Puerto: Juan and Miguel. F--k with those guys and you need to hide. After that it kinda died down, but then later, like from 1993 to 1996-97 we started having all these people with no respect when they come here. They had this mentality that it was okay because we're a third world country. Some guys would come down and be like "F--k you. F--k Mexicans!" So of course all of these stronger Puerto guys got together and then boom! I mean, we're not going to let these guys come and just be here with no respect. There were fights and yeah, it was very localized. But for a reason. Not just "Man, get the f--k out of here. I don't like you." And people would hype it up too when they'd go back home. I believe if you show respect, you get respect back. You want to surf this place? This is your place. This is your beach. Just show respect to the locals. Sometimes, all these pros come and we're here, broke. We live here all year round, just trying to survive. And all these guys come with attitudes? Yeah, it was localism. But then, a lot of the guys that used to hang out at the beach started splitting up.

What do you mean, splitting up?

They had to move and they started doing something else. Not all your life you gonna keep surfing. Not everybody.

So some of the heavy local guys moved on?

Everybody started moving, but I stayed. And I'm the type of guy who, if you do something to me, you will pay. You don't do something bad to me, it's okay. But there were other friends who would f--k people up for no reason. And in those situations, instead of helping my friend, I'd be like, "Hey man. You're f--king wrong. Don't do that s--t. The guy's being cool with you. Don't f--king act stupid."

So you began to see localism in a different light?

Yeah. I think having my sponsors also helped me. I was pretty much the only guy traveling and going outside my world and seeing how people would treat me in other places. I'd see that there's good people out there too, and I'd come back to Puerto and see these tourist guys trying to surf and getting hassled? So I stopped it. I said to all the local guys, this is how we should get it done. For example, back in the day there were guys saying "Oh give me your board. F--k you." All this. That was not good. I was never like that. If I got into trouble it was more because someone snaked me or said something. But many other guys were like, "You wanna surf here? You have to give me this or that."

Looking for handouts?

Yeah. They were always trying to bother people for stuff. But I hate that because I always work. Remember that from my past. I always work for my things. You know you don't f--king ask for stuff. Don't go out to them and make their trip like s--t. So I said to all of them, "If I see one little bullshit man, I'm gonna f--k you guys up. It needs to stop. I don't like that shit. Stop bothering people."

So with the localism all but gone, won't the crowds get out of control?

On the biggest days, not many people want a piece of it. Actually, I have been practicing doing the tow-ins with a friend of mine, the captain of the lifeguards, Gordo Fredo.

You're doing this at the beach break?

Yeah. I'm learning man. We want to be in the Tow-in World Cup once we're ready if we get an invitation in two or three years. I'm going to focus on that. It's so fun.

That should be great. You seem to enjoy defying death in the ocean. How do you explain your religious beliefs?

Dios regresa. God is coming back man. I believe in him so much because of my life. I see myself at eight years old. Can you imagine? Now I'm older, but when you're a kid you don't realize. It was very bad for me. I was in the street and I didn't have a family or someone to take care of me when I was sick or hungry. And I have so much faith in him because when I was a kid in the street and having problems I would be talking to him. Praying.

How does that mesh with your past?

You know, nobody's perfect. He's the only one who's perfect. I'm trying to do good things, you know, even though sometimes I've had bad experiences. Like problems with people like the guys from Hawaii and this and that. And sometimes I think I should let it go and forget about it because I read the Bible and it says what to do when somebody hits you. I know violence doesn't take you nowhere good. And sometimes I think I should just leave all those bad experiences behind and keep moving forward and just live in peace. There's so many other ways. I know violence, I been through that. It can get ugly, man. People can get blind and kill each other without knowing just because they're angry. Or you be killed or hurt. I love to respect people, I love to treat people good. I'm glad time went by and I'm stronger now for that thing. Right now I'm here and I'm really happy. You have to understand that I didn't grow up in the home. But if you ask me what kind of person I am? I don't think I'm a bad guy. Maybe a different person would tell you something else.

And it's not too late to save Puerto's sand either?

Yeah, man. I want to be a giver, not a taker man. It's not too late to change.

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