Kai’s flipping out. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
You know that feeling when either a good foiler or a SUP surfer paddles out to your lineup? For me, it’s a mix of two things: admiration and anger. I admire the skill it takes, but I am angry that they’re going to get a million more waves than I am. I’m also angry because I suck at foiling and am only passable on a SUP. Hell, I’m only passable on a surfboard, but that’s beside the point. So I’d imagine that if a guy on a SUP foil paddled out, I’d feel… something. And then if that guy was Kai Lenny? Oh, I’m feeling more things.
Kai Lenny is a ridiculously nice guy. He’s hyper-talented on all manner of wave-catching crafts. He’s so far ahead of most of the rest of the world — especially on a foil — that sharing a lineup with him is akin to sharing a basketball court with LeBron. Sure, you might hit a free throw, but you’re not playing at his level. In his most recent YouTube installment, Kai goes off the rail at Guardrails on Maui.
“First time in a while riding a SUP foil board with straps in the surf,” he wrote. “Typically I go prone or ride down wind on a SUP foil. Picked up a nine-liter Super K from KT Foiling and it felt magic. Easy to get on swells early. Avoiding shallow spots too.”
What this video shows isn’t amazing waves. It shows what an amazing waterman can do in average ones. And Kai Lenny can do a LOT.
