Girl On: Karina Petroni

Jul 26 2007 / Los Angeles, CA

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Lat34 first met up with Karina Petroni last September when we interviewed the surfing beauty as she was riding high on the WQS and hoping for a spot on the WCT. She was also being featured in SoBe ads and living life to the fullest -- something you'd expect from a tall, beautiful blond who has traveled the world over the last decade.

We thought we would catch up with her since it's almost been a year and see what she's been up to so far in 2007. Karina came close to making the WCT last season after finishing at #13 on the WQS but 2007 has been challenging with her best finish coming just this month in the Mr. Price Pro in South Africa where she made the round of 12. She has reached #31 on the WQS rankings and now she's in Huntington Beach competing in the U.S. Open of Surfing, where she currently sits in the round of 24, scheduled to surf next on Friday in a heat that will include Megan Abubo and Rochelle Ballard.

Karina Petroni Photo Galleries   Check out some of our Karina Petroni Photo Galleries! See our latest gallery of Karina in action, having fun and even skateboarding > View the original "Girl On" Karina Photo Gallery >

But if she's not been surfing like her regular self, that's no surprise. There is a very good reason, as we found out as we sat down for the first of a two-part interview. We also find out how Karina's first trip back to her home country of Panama went.

Lat34:  So how has been 2007 been for you so far?

Karina:  My life's been kind of in a crazy spin. Last November my dad had a serious aneurysm. A really bad brain hemorrhage and he almost died.  So my life stopped. 

Our family's lives got turned upside down after that....That was very intense. That kept me home for almost four months. I was home during that time, living in the hospital pretty much

Lat34:  That's terrible...We're sorry to hear that.

Karina:  You know it's amazing, I look at life so much differently now than I did before. I take more time, have more patience. More love has come out of me since that happened.

You make great things come out of bad situations.

Lat34:  So you weren't in a place to compete for awhile?

Karina:  I went to Australia for three weeks in March for two events down there. In April, I came back hone for Dad's birthday and then I went down to Indonesia for the last three weeks of the month. It was a lot of fun. In May, I came back to the states then I went to Panama.

That was my first time back to Panama since 2000. That was pretty crazy.

Lat34:  I bet things have changed a lot.

Karina:  Things have changed drastically. I was absolutely shocked. I couldn't believe I went back to a place to a place that I once called home, where I was born and raised, and I can no longer call it home.

Lat34:  How did you end up feeling when you left.

Karina:  I didn't realize how lucky I was to have it the way it was for the 12 years that I grew up down there. I was happy to know that I lived such a good life down there. I grew up really traditional and old-fashioned. I remember talking to my friends and they were like "We had fake IDs when we were 15" and I didn't even know what a fake ID was.

Lat34:  I was also born and raised in Panama. It's a totally different world.

Karina:  I think it was a great way to grow up down there. It was really natural.

Lat34:  Back to surfing -- I know you were in South Africa for a contest and now there's the US Open of Surfing. For you is the goal to make the WCT eventually or are you happy being able to model and surf around the world while staying on the 'QS?

Karina:  The WCT -- that would be the goal. It'd be fantastic. 

But...There's something more for me out there that I can utilize my talent and my mind to be creative on and work on something really uniwue and different. And I'm just kind of waiting to find that opportunity and that window. 

I would really love to be creative and work on something really unique.

Lat34:  Do you have any idea what that may be?

Karina:  No ideas. I know it's out there, but no idea.

Karina is sponsored by Vans,  SoBe, Channel Islands, Aqua East Surf Shop, Electirc, Sticky Bumps, 6 Degrees.  For more about Karina, check out her official site at KarinaPetroni.com.