Surfing, jiu-jitsu,
"Kid is such a special person and he's
just great to all of us," professional
training professional
surfer Mahina Maeda said after a work-
out
in his class. "I think it's just a huge
surfers—Gerry Costa’s
opportunity for all the kids on the North
busy schedule is enough Shore to work with him and possibly be
the next John John."
to make anyone’s
As much as athletes look to Gerry as a
heart pound.
model of good health, of good health,
“His retirement just didn’t work out,”
Gerry’s wife of 40 years, Sussi Dahl,
said laughing.
Friends know the 63-year-old as “Kid
Peligro.” The Brazilian native certainly
has the energy of a keiki. His typical
routine starts when he wakes up at dawn
to catch waves for an hour. Then, after
a quick breakfast, Gerry heads out to
condition World Tour Championship
surfers like Fred Pattachia, Sunny Garcia
and John John Florence in the art of
Ginastica Natural—a type of jiu-jitsu-
inspired training that uses a person’s
own body weight to increase strength
and flexibility. In the evenings, he trains
kids and athletes in jiu-jitsu classes—
he’s a fourth degree black belt and
published author on the sport.
he faced his own medical challenges.
Several years ago, he noticed his heart
rate was speeding up. It went away. A
year later it happened again, then again.
Then the heart palpitations continued
for more than a week. When his heart
raced for nine days straight, the lifelong
athlete knew something was wrong.
He called a friend, Dr. Spencer Chang
from Straub Medical Center, who told
the North Shore resident to get to
Pali Momi Medical Center right away.
Gerry and Sussi went to Pali Momi’s
Emergency Department and the staff
took action.
After undergoing tests, he was
prescribed a blood thinner and
referred to cardiac electrophysiologist
Dr. Cyrus C. L. Szeto-Wong. Gerry and
Sussi returned home and were planning
to make an appointment in the next few
days. But that evening, his symptoms
returned and they immediately went
back to Pali Momi.
“The staff truly cares for you and
that makes a huge difference,” Gerry
said. "At Pali Momi, there’s a sense
of community.”
GERRY WAS DIAGNOSED with an
atrial flutter, which is an electrical “short
circuit” of the heart that can cause the
heart to beat abnormally fast at times.
He had two options; take blood thinners
and medication and avoid high-risk
physical activities like surfing, or under-
go surgery.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
“Training with Kid has impacted my
life and my professional career a lot
because I was never into training
before and it was a really fun way to
start training and stay flexible to surf,”
reigning world surfing champion John
John said. “Kid and I have had so many
good conversations and I’ve learned so
much from him.”
Gerry Costa with a few of his Ginastica Natural students, including professional surfers Zoe McDougall
to the immediate left and Mahina Maeda to the immediate right.
INSPIRE
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