Since stand up paddling hit the scene, it has been two things: one of the fastest growing water sports in the world and one of the most widely ridiculed. The latter part, of course, is stupid, because (and this should go without saying) if you don’t like it… well, don’t do it. Don’t yuck someone’s yum, right?
Sure, there is the occasional SUPper who’ll sit (stand) out the back and poach every set wave, but there are surfers on regular surfboards who do that, too. But one guy who has never been afraid to do things that he deems fun enough to do is Kai Lenny. The guy will surf just about anything, critics be damned, and he surfs any of those anythings a hell of a lot better than those critics. He’s been sweeping his way into big waves for years, but in the last few, it seems to have dropped off a bit in favor of prone paddling and, when things are big enough, towing. But Kai might be feeling a bit nostalgic, because he recently posted the video you see above to his YouTube channel with the title “Time to Go Back to Big Wave Stand Up Paddling.”
The footage is a montage from a 2014 film called very fittingly The SUP Movie. And although 2014 was nine (!?) years ago, every single stroke of the paddle and every single wave ridden still stands out today.
