Olympic Gold Medalist: Other People Were Killing My Confidence (And How I Got It Back) - Caroline Marks

Michael Gervais (0:00)

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SPEAKER_2 (1:22)

Caroline is the youngest surfer ever to qualify for the World Championships duet.

SPEAKER_3 (1:26)

Caroline Marks is a seasoned, crusty veteran at the age of 16 Defending World Surf League Champion, she has her eyes set on the gold.

Caroline Marks (1:35)

When I took time off, it was like six months of intensive therapy. I didn't touch a surfboard. It was all like, okay, who's Caroline?

Michael Gervais (1:42)

What if the key to becoming a champion isn't about chasing wins, but knowing when to pause?

Caroline Marks (1:47)

As a surfer, you start very young and you finish very young. You're learning so much about yourself, but you're also put on the stage of like, you're supposed to be perfect and have everything figured out.

Michael Gervais (1:57)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. Now, the idea behind these conversations is simple, to sit with the extraordinaries and to learn, really learn how they work from the inside out. Today's guest is Caroline Marks. The 2023 World Surf League Women's Champion and the 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist. What makes Caroline remarkable is not just her talent in the water, it's her humility, her mental strength, her commitment to using her platform to elevate women's sports around the world.

Caroline Marks (2:37)

Being vulnerable is actually really powerful and a lot of people feel like the things that I felt. And so once I was open about that, I was like, well, so many people can relate to this and like, I'm not alone.

Michael Gervais (2:46)

In this conversation, we talk about how she rebuilt herself after the heartbreak of the Tokyo Olympics.

Caroline Marks (2:52)

Surfing, it's so cutthroat. There's no team medal. It's like all on you. It's kind of emotional for me. Like when I was just in that state of mind, I was so like low, you know, and it was pretty sad. But at the same time, it's so beautiful too, because like I know where I'm at now. And the best things in my career have happened after I went through the hardest time of my life. And it's such like a big part of my story. And now I'm almost proud of it.

Michael Gervais (3:12)

With that, let's jump into this week's conversation. Caroline Marks. Caroline, this is something I wanted to do for a long time, is to be able to reflect and celebrate who you are. And first of all, congratulations on your entire body of work and how much that you have done in a very short amount of time. So thank you for being here, and thank you for including us in your adventure and journey.

Caroline Marks (3:45)

Amazing, thanks for having me. It's been a while, like five years since I've seen you, so I feel like this is a long time coming. Yeah, really happy to be here.