Outstanding surf voice Sam George gives wild insight into a brave alternative lifestyle

“Tyler has been advised by her doctors and specialists that she needs treatment.”

Two-time surfing world champion Tyler Wright has not registered for the Viva Oi Rio Pro. which is currently taking place under cruel conditions in Brazil.

Tyler Wright, 30, who has virtually given up any hope of making the final five with her recent withdrawal, has a long history of illness and injury.

Four months ago, after reaching the quarter-finals in Portugal, Wright spoke of suffering a feeling of constant suffocation.

“I’ve had numerous doctors and specialists tell me they don’t know how I do what I do. I’ve found out that I’m oxygen deprived and almost suffocating most of the time. My airway is basically too small and in the off-season I had it dilated,” Wright explained. “Honestly, it’s been life changing, I’ve never felt more sane. It’s really successful, it’s life changing, but it’s also a process and this is just step one and a half of a multi-step process.”

During the procedure, seven screws were drilled into her head.

“So in the offseason I had a maxillary palatal expander (a device that expands the mouth) put in. Essentially I have seven screws in my head, between nine and 17 millimeters (long), and in the offseason I expanded them. Essentially it cracked the bone and it gave me seven millimeters (of extra airway space).”

In 2018, Tyler and her brother Owen, then ranked number eleven in the world, quietly withdrew from their respective events in Jeffreys Bay.

Both spoke of a mysterious “African flu”.

“I never thought the flu would keep me from competing… but I was so wrong,” Tyler wrote on Instagram. “Flu A is a real pain, it won’t leave me alone. I’ve been out of action for a while now but had my first good day in about two weeks, still can’t do much and am about 15 pounds lighter.”

Last year, Wright spoke about the “drastic and extreme circumstances” in which she grew up and about the Wright patriarch, Rob, who is now devastated, suffering from dementia and being cared for by her big brother Owen.

“I’ve experienced this myself and worked with a psychologist for years to understand my relationship with surfing and how this came about and how unhealthy it was for me,” Wright told Dave Prodan on his usually boring podcast The Lineup. “I’m rebuilding my relationship with surfing because I grew up in drastic and extreme circumstances… Look, this is not unusual. Which is baffling for someone like me. If this is not unusual, then why don’t we have better solutions, better parenting programs, a more informed industry? I’m not the first kid this has happened to. I’m not the first child star this has happened to.”

That same year, her performance at the Surf Ranch event was marred after she was hospitalized for three days due to a “terrible spell” before the event.

“Sometimes it’s physically and emotionally daunting when you feel like you have no say. Managing my period has been a journey. I’ve come a long way since my teenage years when I didn’t even know it wasn’t normal to suffer excruciating pain every month that led to fainting, vomiting and spending hours on the toilet. These days, my period management looks like a customized training program based on the four phases of menstruation. I listen carefully to my body and carefully plan for what it needs – even if that means spending less time in the water before competitions, prioritizing sleep and recovery before my period and being aware that this is the time when I’m most at risk for injury.”

Wright, who won her first major event at fourteen and two consecutive world titles at twenty-two and twenty-three, has also revealed the struggle of being gay on the surf tour.

“I’m the only queer person on tour, so my wife is the only other queer person I know most of the time. I love everyone around me, but she makes such a difference in a way that only she really can.”

According to a spokesperson for Tyler Wright, the recent scratching occurred on the advice of medical professionals.

“Tyler has been advised by her doctors and specialists that she needs treatment and would prefer to sit out Brazil. Tyler will be 100% ready for the Olympics.”

Nevertheless, Surfing Australia has put the evergreen Sally Fitzgibbons on standby should Wright’s health problems persist, and on the men’s side, Ryan Callinan, should either Ethan Ewing or Jack Robinson suffer a loss and be unable to compete.

“We have Sally Fitzgibbons and Ryan Callinan on standby with a completely flexible flight arriving 24 hours before the event window,” Eric Haakonssen, Surfing Australia’s performance support and podium manager, told The Guardian. “If it is likely that the event will start later in the window, we will adjust those flights to depart later as a precaution.”