In 2018, after spending most of her year at home raising her first child, Alana Blanchard won the Surfer Poll Awards.
She ranked ahead of newly crowned seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and former titleholders Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright.
On the men’s side, her husband, Jack Freestone — who spent the year competing on the QS — finished second behind John Florence and one spot ahead of Kelly Slater. Bit sus?
Blanchard began her acceptance speech with, “Thank you guys so much, I definitely was not expecting this,” and, looking slightly uncomfortable, concluded with, “Thank you guys so much for voting for me.” As she should.
The power surfluencer swayed the vote with the support of a growing online following — now 1.6 million strong on Instagram alone — that eagerly absorbs the former CTer’s every broadcast.
In what may be a natural evolution for some modern pro surfing careers, Blanchard is trading her one-piece swimsuit for a military uniform on Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
The season three cast reads like a “Where are they now?” list, featuring NFL veterans Cam Newton and Golden Tate, Olympians Marion Jones and Nathan Adrian, and Pink’s husband, Carey Hart. Naturally, there’s the requisite reality TV repeat offenders, including Denise Richards and a couple of The Bachelor alumni — as well as Brody Jenner, husband of popular internet surf personality and winner of The Ultimate Surfer reality series, Tia Blanco.
The show will challenge 16 recruits in grueling environments that simulate the highly classified military selection process, pushing their physical, mental, and emotional resilience to the limit. However, aside from bragging rights, the winning contestant will not receive any additional prize. The premise promises to reveal the celebrities’ deepest and truest selves — though presumably with far better catering than the real military.
Filmed in Wales, the series is set to premiere on Fox on January 8 and will run for five weeks.
Between witnessing a friend’s shark attack, earning her place in some of Hawaii’s heaviest lineups, and tackling the daily triathlon of raising two children across two nations, Blanchard may just have more grit than the average reality star.
And, like in 2018, don’t rule out a surprise victory.