Kai Lenny has been one of the most innovative surfers alive over the past decade. Photo: Koury Angelo//Red Bull Content Pool
Kai Lenny can do it all when it comes to boardsports. Sometimes he does it all in one day. But he always does it with style and a flare for innovation.
Name a board — surf, stand-up paddle, foil, kitesurf, windsurf, parawing, snowboard — and not only has Kai rode it well, he’s probably done a mind-blowing aerial on it.
So how did Kai go from being a young, promising athlete to one of the most successful watermen of all time? The answer starts with his roots.
What is it about Maui that breeds dynamic watermen?
It’s really the conditions. Not every day has perfect waves. And if you wanna make the most of what’s in front of you, it’s best to pick up some sort of windsport or at least have a huge quiver of different types of boards.
Also, there’s a huge community of really incredible designers and builders trying to push the boundaries of what’s possible. On top of that we have one of the biggest, best waves in the world known as Pe’ahi, aka Jaws. That makes for a great arena to test equipment.
How did Laird Hamilton shape your watersports career?
He was a massive influence for me. When I was a kid, I idolized what he did and really believed in his approach to wave riding: which is ride everything. Maui is a dynamic place and the conditions are never the same twice. So if you wanna make most of the conditions, it’s a good idea to do a bunch of different things. Since I was eyewitness to many of his best rides at Jaws, as well as his innovations in various watersports, it was natural that I would follow his path.
You’re known as a diverse surfer. How do the different types of boards influence your surfing across genres?
I find a huge amount of inspiration and cross pollination of designs when developing new boards/equipment to ride. Most recently, I’ve taken a huge amount of research and development that I’ve done in hydrofoils and integrated it into my surfing fins. Another example would be how I run my quads. Instead of putting bigger fins in front and smaller in the back, I put smaller fins in front and the bigger in the back. This is inspired by windsurfing, and the reason has always been having control at speed. There are many other instances of cross development. It keeps it interesting, that’s for sure!
You surf big waves in a unique way. How’d you start with the air game?
Because I have a comfort level flying through the air and going fast with my kiteboard, windsurfer, wing-foil board, etc. it seemed like the natural progression for big wave riding. And in order to make it more fun and interesting, why not try something different and unique?
Ultimately, the greatest ride of your life will be inside a giant barrel. But it’s not always like that, so you might as well have as much fun on the waves that aren’t tubing. Big mountain, backcountry snowboarding definitely played a huge amount of inspiration because of the creativity and features they use on the way down the mountain. In big waves, there are big chops so instead of just going through it, you might as well do a trick off of it.
How’s that for an end section? Kai, boosting at Nazare. Photo: Christian Stadler//RBCP
When you rode the wakeboard at Jaws…was there a grand design behind that in terms of progressing board shapes…or was it just play?
Let’s just say I learned a lot about board design and what could be taken from a wakeboard/kiteboard and implemented it into the modern big wave board.
I like doing these types of exercises because it blows the door open on ideas. Sometimes we get stuck in what we know works when it might not necessarily be the best that it can be. So I’m always questioning my equipment and trying to find new ways to make it better. I have been focusing on switch-stance surfing, and to be able to switch stance mid wave is really fun and feels free.
2024 was a notable year for you. Tell us about the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award you received on behalf of the Maui Surf community.
I felt incredibly honored to receive the award on behalf of the Maui Surf community. (The wildfire) was such a heavy tragedy that occurred, and so many people did whatever they could to help. I didn’t want to take all the credit from receiving the award. I saw it as an opportunity, one year later, to shine a light on the tragedy and hopefully inspire people to continue to support the efforts and cleanup of Lahaina. From that, money was raised that went directly to helping families and businesses get on their feet. So it was a real positive for the community!
How about the 2024 Taco Bell Live Más Moment award?
That was funny because Taco Bell recognized me as someone who uses their burritos in extreme situations. It was fun going to Las Vegas and accepting the award, definitely wasn’t on my bingo card (laughs).
What’s your take on diet…are bean burritos the secret to success?
It might come to the surprise of many, for most of my career I’ve been grinding Taco Bell bean burritos, whether I’m doing open-ocean channel crossings or riding big waves. Anyone that gives me a hard time on land usually is asking for a burrito in the channel at Jaws (laughs). So we have a tradition of buying 30 bean burritos the morning of the swell and giving it out to anyone that’s hungry in the lineup.
Fortunately, growing up and living on Maui, I get to eat incredible fish, meat, and veggies. You name it. So it’s not every day I’m grinding Taco Bell. But it’s funny to look back and realize some of the biggest event wins of my entire career have been fueled by a T-Bell burrito.
A couple times I did try going a different route, but my metabolism burns so quick that other foods were either too dense to digest quickly or wouldn’t give me enough to burn. Everyone has to find what works for them.
Do you have a gym routine… or is it just boardsports all the time?
During the season, I’m in the gym three times a week for one hour. Typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Off-season if there’s really no surf and I’m trying to train for something specific I’ll go to the gym five days a week, so Monday through Friday.
I’m always changing up my routine, it’s never the same twice. I try to maintain my conditioning from the offseason. I do a lot of mobility work with heavy lifting sprinkled in.
I try to be on the water every single day, doing something. It all feels like it crosses over, and each sport feeds the other. Surfing is a really important base since all these other sports are essentially spinoffs of traditional surfing.
