Olympic Gold Medalist Carissa Moore meets with fans at Kahala Mall

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii’s own Carissa Moore met with fans Saturday morning at Kahala Mall.

The Olympic Gold Medalist was at the CocoNene store at the mall with fans lining up out the door for their chance to meet the world class surfer.

She signed autographs and took pictures with everyone that stopped by.

This was made possible by the collaboration between Moore and CocoNene, they’re creating locally made products with the 5-time WSL champion’s Moore Aloha brand — proceeds from the sales will go to Moore’s charitable foundation.

Besides the partnership to launch new merch, this was a chance for the Punahou graduate to inspire the next generation of little girls, a spot she can remember being in when she was younger.

“Well I don’t take the opportunity lightly to be able to interact with young girls and hopefully serve as inspiration and empower them to chase their passions and their dreams.” Moore told Hawaii News Now. “For me when I was a little girl and I got to interact with some of my heroes, it gave me that spark.”

And those little girls are definitely getting the message.

“It makes me want to have courage, keep going and never give up and work super hard in school and in surfing.”