Alana Blanchard Talks New Reality TV Gig

SURFER:What’s up, Alana. Where are you?
Alana Blanchard: I’m great! I’m at home on Kauai.

Is that where you, Jack, and the kids spend most of your time?
Pretty much, yeah. We’ve been pretty much based here ever since COVID. We go back and forth to Australia, but since our seven-year-old is now in school, it’s made us stay here. That’s been nice. But we’re also so used to traveling, so we’re always scheming to do other things.

What’s a typical day in the life look like for you?
Wake up, get the kids ready for school. We all have breakfast together. We get them to school, then Jack and I have been surfing and creating content. That’s kind of what we do now. We’re not really competing or anything. We actually film each other, because here on Kauai, there’s not too many options for filmers. So, we do it ourselves. Then, we pick the kids up, take them to the beach, or do something fun with them. Then on the weekends, it’s all about the kids. They’re not totally into surfing yet, but they’ll catch a few waves. We’re slowly trying to get them into it.

If you had to put a job title on your résumé, what would it be? Surfer, influencer, mom…all the above?
I still feel like I’m a surfer. I don’t feel like I’m an influencer. So, I would say mom and surfer. We definitely do a lot of stuff on social media these days, and that’s the name of the game with how the world is now. But I still see myself as an athlete. I still train every day. I’m always trying to do better and better with my surfing. And I haven’t gotten called up for a contest in a while, but there might be that chance to come in as a wildcard. I’ve done that a few times.

Let’s dive into the social media thing more. What’re your thoughts on it, generally?
I really like it. To be honest, when I started competing at like 16 or 17, then qualified for the Tour when I was 18, it was pretty stressful. It was hard to balance my life and competing and traveling so much and I was also doing a lot of modeling. It was a lot; it was stressful. Once I decided to go the free-surfer route, I started having so much more fun. I still get that contest itch. But for me, having the kids now, then doing stuff on social media, it’s just a much better lifestyle, I think.

"If you’re doing a one-off post, it can be anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000…it’s kind of hard to say."

Alana Blanchard

Feel free to pass, but the world wants to know: How much money do you make on a sponsored post?
It varies. But we always try to work on things that are partnerships, rather than a one-time thing. For instance, I just signed with Vuori for two years, which I’m really, really stoked about. They’re such a great company, and they support women in all stages of life. I’ve had companies that don’t do that, so this is a nice change of pace.

As for pricing, it just depends on who you’re working with and what I’m doing for them. For one-off posts, it does make it more expensive. That’s why we try and work long-term on things. That’s more our vibe. But if you’re doing a one-off post, it can be anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000…it’s kind of hard to say. We try and focus on the partnerships. I wanna like the brand.

It must be enough to keep the lights on, and the kids fed.
Totally. We’re very lucky that we get to still just surf and create content. I know it’s not like that for every surfer. Surfing is still a smaller sport. But luckily, we have a bit of a following, and it’s worked out for us to keep doing what we’d be doing anyway – sponsored posts or not.

A lot of times, social media rewards beauty over talent – how have you walked that tightrope of looking “hot” while also shredding?
I just try and take care of myself. I don’t really drink ever, I don’t smoke. But with every girl, you wanna be cute. And that’s kind of been my thing. I’ve always worn cute suits. I never really thought of putting boardshorts on. Like someone in the office dressing cute. This is my job, and I wanna wear stuff that looks cute. I don’t think you have to be sexy to make money. Back in the day it was more like that. But it’s so much better now. Everyone is accepted. Everyone has their niche. Everyone is welcome. For me, though, I’ve always loved bikinis. There’s always been that aspect to my career. But today there’s so much more. It’s about being a good person. You can be influential in so many ways. Back in my early 20s, it was like, ‘who’s the sexiest surfer?’ It put so much pressure on girls, and it doesn’t need to be like that. So, there’s been some good change.

And now you’ve got this new project, the reality TV show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. How did you feel going into that one?
I didn’t really know what it was all about. I had seen it before, but going into it, I was definitely nervous. I didn’t think it would be that bad. I’ve had coaches yell at me, and all that stuff, so I just thought it would be whatever. The hardest thing for me felt like leaving the kids behind. But I was definitely wrong. It was a huge reality check. I thought, going into it, I’d be able to be like, ‘Oh hey, producer, can I get some water?’ But no. Nobody is talking to you. You don’t really feel like you’re on a show. It was a lot harder than I ever thought it was gonna be.

I assume shooting is already over, and you don’t wanna give any spoilers, but how do you think you did?
I think I did pretty well! I tried my hardest. I had some moments when I was crying, and wanting to leave. You’ll have to watch and see. There were a few moments, looking back, when I definitely could’ve done better. It would’ve been good to do my homework a little more, when it comes to army stuff, going into it. I literally have never done any of that stuff. Knowing a little bit about how the military works would’ve been helpful. I thought it wasn’t going to be bad. But it was super tough.

"I don’t think you have to be sexy to make money. Back in the day it was more like that. But it’s so much better now. Everyone is accepted. Everyone has their niche. Everyone is welcome."

Alana Blanchard

You mentioned your competitive surfing career…could you ever see yourself going full contest surfer again?
Oh man, I don’t know. Doing the QS looks so gnarly now. It’s such a different game. But if someone wanted to give me a wildcard into a sick event, like Snapper, then I would 100 percent take it. To me, surfing bad waves and having to grovel with 100 people sounds like a nightmare.

Would you ever give reality TV another crack?
For sure! I think it depends on the show. I don’t think I would sign up for Love Island or anything like that. [Laughs.] But if there was another Survivor-type thing, or an all-star Special Forces, sign me up. Even though it was so hard, and I wanted to leave every second, I would give it another shot for sure.

What’s next on the horizon for you? Any big plans?
I’m gonna be doing some trips with Vuori. We have their new swimsuit collection coming out, so I’m super excited about that. We’ll probably head to Australia at some point. And we’re actually building a house right now on Kauai, so that’s been taking a long time. Once that’s done, I think we’ll have a lot more time to travel and do fun things. But yeah, I’ll continue to work with brands that I like. And hopefully this show will show my strength and resilience. I hope people wanna watch it. I did cry a lot, and I’m a little worried about that, but it’s all good. [Laughs.]

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test premieres on Fox on January 8.