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Dave Kalama doesn't care if it's 2 feet or 20 feet, he's enjoying the ocean.

Dave Kalama doesn’t care if it’s 2 feet or 20 feet, he’s enjoying the ocean.


The Inertia

There are surfers and then there are watermen. I didn’t fully understand the difference until I started SUP surfing, and even some of my best friends who I surf with daily wouldn’t even give the sport a chance. I am addicted to the ocean and anything I find that allows me to be in it, on it, or way under it I am stoked to be a part of.

Surfers have fallen in love with the ocean and become good at a specific way to enjoy it. There’s comfort and security in that, and there shouldn’t be a threat to the ego in trying something new and looking bad. But watermen see the ocean as a challenge and love finding a new way to explore and interact with it.

Dave Kalama is the epitome of that. He started tow surfing with Laird Hamilton, innovated by adding foot straps and then the two fueled the popularity of Standup Paddle Surfing.

In this podcast I got to chat with Dave Kalama, discussing the early days of tow surfing and the evolution and process of design, how SUP surfing came to pass, where he thinks the sport of High Performance Paddle Surfing should head and what a perfect day is like for him now.

Fore more from PaddleWoo, check them out here.

 
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