Malia Ilagan: Beyond the Wins at Noosa
19-year-old surfer and Coconut Smuggler sponsored athlete Malia Ilagan from Ventura, California, doesn’t really remember learning to surf.
It was never something that suddenly started. Surfing and the ocean were just always there. Her dad taught the whole family, and before she ever paddled out on her own, she had already watched over and over again.
By the time Malia tried, it didn’t feel completely new.
Some of her earliest memories are tied to the water. Being pulled into waves on a boogie board, standing on the front of her dad’s surfboard while he steadied her, practicing pop-ups on the sand before any of it worked in the ocean.
Nothing about it was rushed, but it happened gradually, without a clear starting point.
When Competition Entered the Picture
She entered her first contest at ten years old.
She placed last, and it bothered her more than she expected. Not because she didn’t enjoy it, but because she knew she could do better.
That feeling stayed.
Over the next couple of years, competing became something she cared about more seriously. By the time she was in middle school, she had started traveling up and down the West Coast for contests instead of just surfing close to home.
What Influenced Her Along the Way
Growing up in Ventura, she didn’t really connect surfing to her Filipino background at first.
That came later.
As she got older and spent time in the Philippines, she started noticing how much time people put into the water. The level was high, but more than that, the consistency stood out.
People showed up. A lot.
It didn’t change how she surfed overnight, but it shifted how she approached it. The discipline, time in the ocean, and repetition. Those things stayed with her and shaped her.
What Competing in Surfing Actually Feels Like
From the outside, competition looks clean. Heats, scores, rankings.
But for a surfer, it rarely feels that simple.
“It’s a roller coaster,” she says.
Surfing isn’t measured the way most sports are. There’s no fixed outcome. You can feel like you surfed well and still not get the score you expected. Judges are looking for something specific, and sometimes that doesn’t line up with how the wave felt.
That disconnect can wear on you, especially over time.
From a Strong Start to Losing Confidence
Last season started with some high points. A win in the Noosa Longboard Pro, a second place in the Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic, and her 3rd place finish at the Lexus US Open of Surfing, Event One of the World Longboard Tour, which even exceeded what she expected of herself.
After that, things shifted.
Event after event, she struggled to find her rhythm. Placings dropped. She missed requalification by a small margin, which made it harder to move on from.
Then came the regional qualifier, where things didn’t improve.
At that point, it wasn’t just about results anymore. It started affecting how she saw herself as a competitor.
“I felt like I didn’t even know how to compete anymore.”
Back at Noosa — This Time Different
Noosa, on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, is one of the most established longboard events on the qualifying series. It’s also where Malia had already won the year before.
Going back could have put pressure on. Instead, she tried to strip that away.
She kept it simple. Heat by heat. No expectations beyond surfing well.
The final itself was slow. Not many waves came through, and Malia knew it didn’t take much to overtake her. It wasn’t a heat where you could rely on your rhythm. She had to stay ready and take what came.
That’s where her approach showed.
When she’s on a wave, she’s not overthinking it. There’s no checklist running in the background. It’s more instinct than analysis, reacting to what the wave gives her and trying to use each section without forcing anything.
In a heat like that, it matters.
“I didn’t think about defending my title. I just stayed positive and focused on surfing as well as I could.”
That mindset gave her back-to-back wins at one of the most prestigious longboarding venues.
Credit: A. Jenks
@ajenksimagery
What Confidence Actually Means in the Water
Confidence, for her, is less about how things look from the outside and more about what’s happening internally.
If she goes into a heat already doubting herself, it shows immediately. Decisions are not clear. Waves are missed. Everything tightens up.
“If you go into a heat thinking you’re going to lose, you probably will,” says Malia.
On the other hand, when that trust is there, surfing starts to feel more natural again. Not forced, or overthought. Just connected.
It’s the base everything else builds on.
Life Around Surfing
At 19, she’s balancing more than just competition.
She’s in college, working through general education, and trying to figure out what direction she wants to take outside of surfing. It’s not something she has fully mapped out yet, and she’s open about that.
Surfing is a central part of her life. Most days revolve around it in some way. Checking conditions in the morning, planning around the wind, and finding time to get in the water.
At the same time, she’s aware that it might not be the only thing long-term. So she’s starting to explore what else fits alongside it, without stepping away from what she already loves.
When It Starts to Come Full Circle
It took her a while to realize people were paying attention.
A group of younger girls once sent her a photo of themselves standing next to her picture in a surf shop. It caught her off guard more than anything.
Until then, she hadn’t really seen herself that way.
Now, it’s happening more often. Not just in moments like that, but in the way her name shows up around the community, in lineups, in conversations, and through the brands she’s connected with.
As a brand, we’ve started to see it too, and are proud to have her on our team as sponsored athlete.
Malia doesn’t show up in a loud or overly visible way, but in the kind of steady presence that builds over time. People notice how she carries herself, how she surfs, and how she moves through wins and losses.
At the same time, she looks at the younger generation with just as much respect. They push and support each other, and seem to enter the sport with a strong sense of community early on.
Something she would have wished for when she started.
What She Wants to Pass On
At her young age, she hasn’t spent much time defining a legacy.
But she does care about how she shows up and what impact she leaves, especially as a woman in sports and as someone with Filipino roots.
If anything, she hopes younger girls see that progress doesn’t come from having everything figured out. It comes from staying with something long enough to learn from it, even when it’s difficult.
Words of Wisdom
For anyone just getting into surfing and feeling out of place, her advice is simple.
“It takes time.”
No one feels comfortable right away. The ocean can be intimidating, and it doesn’t always go how you expect.
But if you stay with it, that feeling changes. You start to understand what you’re doing. You begin to trust yourself more. And eventually, the lineup doesn’t feel as overwhelming.
Still Rooted in Ventura
She was born and raised in Ventura, California, and still calls it home.
C Street is where she grew up surfing. Rincon is still one of her favorite waves. Noosa has become part of her story in a different way.
If she could design a perfect day, it wouldn’t be complicated. Warm weather, clean conditions, a manageable crowd.
“I’d surf all day,” says Malia.
Just Getting Started, Still Figuring It Out
Malia Ilagan is 19, and still right in the middle of it.
She’s had results people notice, and she’s had seasons that didn’t go the way she expected. Both are part of how she got here.
Nothing about it feels fully settled yet. She’s still figuring out how competition fits into her life, what comes next alongside it, and how to keep surfing at the center of it all.
Contest results matter, but it’s just one part of a much longer story.