Brisa Hennessy's year of learning to love her body: "For the first time, I was feeling human"
Brisa Hennessy’s body has taken her through a multitude of battles. From surfing through barrels in Hawaii to tackling shallow reef breaks in Tahiti, and delivering under pressure at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, her body has helped the athlete to defy the limits of human possibility.
But for Brisa Hennessy, it is still a battle learning to love that body.
The Costa Rican surfer opened up about her body image issues in April 2023 after almost three years of struggling with an eating disorder and related health problems.
A year on, Hennessy shared with us that she is still on the journey and encouraged others not to give up on their own fight.
“Just charge right through it because that's the only way you're going to get through it," Hennessy told Olympics.com. "You need to go through that challenge. If someone would have asked me if I wanted to go through that challenge, I probably wouldn't do it, but if I would know the person that I am because of that challenge, I would go through that challenge again every single day."
Brisa Hennessy: "I felt so strong after being vulnerable"
Hennessy’s journey to healing began after the surfer posted on social media a poignant poem she wrote about her body issues.
While the poem had taken minutes to write, it was only six months later that Hennessy had the courage to share it on Instagram.
"It took me a long time to post it because I was still trying to embrace it myself," she said. "I needed to really go deep within myself and actually answer and ask hard questions, things that I probably haven't faced. You need to truly face your fears when it comes to things that you're dealing within yourself.
"I could put it on paper, but I wasn't able to say it out loud and I think the moment that I was able to say it out loud, that was the moment that I needed to put it out into the world."
That moment coincided with one of the most pressurised moments of Hennessy’s surfing career. She was about to compete at the Margaret River Pro of the WSL Championship Tour, which would determine which surfers made the Final 10 cut and continue with the 2023 season.
"It was stressful because I needed a result in that event and I wasn't feeling very good at that event, and I posted the poem before I surfed, just to kind of let myself be free," Hennessy recalled.
“I felt so strong after being vulnerable. They think that vulnerability is sometimes weak, but the minute that you share your fears and you be honest with who you are and you show the world, I feel like it opens you up to so much more possibility. It frees you up."
While Hennessy did not make the cut, thanks to her candid post, disappointment was not the only emotion she felt that week.
And as the surfer reflected later, feeling any emotion at all was already a victory.
“I ended up losing and I ended up falling off Tour, but because I was vulnerable and I spoke my truth, I was free," Hennessy said. "It was an emotional couple of weeks for sure. I never really cry, so I definitely shed a lot of tears and felt a lot of love. And for the first time, actually I was feeling. That's what’s been a huge struggle is feeling human, and I felt that."
How Brisa Hennessy found a community of warriors
While Hennessy took time off for herself after getting cut from the Championship Tour, she has never felt less alone.
“I felt incredibly free once I shared my story and it connected me with a lot of other women around the world," she said.
"I honestly had no idea how many people were struggling with the same kind of thing. I think the moment that I posted it, it was this overwhelming amount of support and love, but also it broke my heart to see how many people were struggling too. But to see that we could all connect with something, for a moment, you almost feel stronger because of that."
The messages of support started coming within minutes of the poem being posted. World surfing champions, sports fans as well as people Hennessy has never known applauded her fearlessness and raw honesty.
The has post racked up almost 9,000 likes, with a steady stream of comments continuing to pour in over the past year.
A few of those comments have boosted Hennessy's own determination to fight.
"The most memorable ones are the ones that said that I'm going to do the thing that scares me or I'm going to take that step to heal, or I'm going to embrace vulnerability," she said. "It was them finding their own inner strength in their own way that was the most inspirational, that they were able to take that step of healing and find that freedom."
A body to move, dance, and be free: Brisa Hennessy's new healing mindset
Hennessy remembers how her body felt a year ago when she first spoke about her struggles.
At times, it felt like an “enemy”.
"Sometimes I couldn't even paddle," the surfer said. "It just gave out."
Hennessy has grappled with poor body image since she was 16. In recent years that struggle escalated into a full eating disorder. She gained more than 20 pounds in six months, had low energy and brain fog.
New diagnoses were splashed across her medical records: hypothyroidism, Epstein-Barr virus, pituitary gland adenoma, and depression.
"I would wake up and feel like I was in a fight with my body, which is something that is insanely hard when you're an athlete because your body is like your best friend, right? It allows you to do everything you need to do. And you need to be strong and you need to be powerful and you need to be graceful and fit," Hennessy said. "It was like a miscommunication within my body and my brain and how I felt."
While it has not been a quick or straight journey to reconnect with her body, Hennessy is patient.
Already there are parts that she has started to see in a different - and more loving - way.
"I have a new appreciation for my big, strong thighs. They allow me to be the powerful surfer I am and allow me to create big turns and throw a lot of water. And I never saw that before. I'm grateful for my body on how I'm able to move and dance and to be free," Hennessy said.
"Loving your body is a journey. It takes time and sometimes we'll never get there, but I appreciate what my body does and I know how amazing are all the little incredible things it does for me every single day. That's the space I'm in, is that I'm grateful for what my body does for me.
"Seeing my body for the first time, that was the first step."