Watch: How To Shatter Barriers At 50-Foot Jaws With Kai Lenny
When it comes to taking high performance surfing to the canvas of giant waves, few are as creative or tenacious as Maui's Kai Lenny. And when the supersized Black Friday swell hit the islands last week, there was no question he was going to be ready. And while the day some some serious heroics from the likes of 15-year-old Stevie Roberson, Albee Layer and others, Lenny's performance was, well, different.
His approach is considerably different than most surfers. Growing up on Maui, from an early age Lenny was all about just being in the ocean and having fun. That led him to become a world-class windsurfer, stand-up paddler, foil innovator, not to mention he rips on a shortboard too. Applying all of that talent and experience, when he's riding a tow board a whole world of opportunity opens up to him. From mid-face spins to crazy backflips, he's definitely not taking a conventional approach to big wave surfing, which is what makes him so damn fun to water.
"There's still much to learn, working on those flips, working on those chop hops," Lenny concedes.
What's even more crazy, and a testament to Lenny's talent, is that the day after the swell he hopped a flight to Oahu where he competed in the WSL Qualifying Series event at Haleiwa. He didn't advance out of the Round of 64, but the fact that he was able to transition so quickly an effortlessly tells you what kind of surfer he is.
"The best big wave surfers are really good small wave surfers too," explained Lenny in a previous interview. "I think they complement each other really well. The technique in small waves, it translates into big waves."
Perhaps a little sore after taking several beatings a Jaws then going into full comp mode, Lenny's already looking towards the next swell and what may be brewing on the horizon. The man's relentless.
Highlights: Hawaii's Black Friday Swell Delivers Massive Surf On Maui
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.