Kauli made Teahupo’o his priority in the years prior to this summer’s Olympics. Photo: Quiksilver
Though he’s just now being introduced to the non-surfing world, Kauli Vaast has been making a name for himself for years. As a kid growing up in Vairao, Tahiti, he cut his teeth at Teahupo’o, one of the world’s most notoriously heavy breaks. From there, he was quickly noticed by Quiksilver, who began sponsoring him at 13 and enabled him to travel around the globe. “They did everything for us, for the athletes,” he remembers. “We did surf trips, photoshoots, camps, contests. Things were great and it’s still insane.”
He qualified for the Olympics off his result at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games, where his fifth-place finish earned him a spot on Team France. His local status quickly put him on the short list for medal contenders, a prediction that was borne out in spectacular fashion when he became the second-ever men’s surfing gold medalist, right in his own backyard.
Since then, it’s been a whirlwind, but I managed to catch up with Kauli as he was taking a brief layover in between visiting Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch and heading down to San Clemente to watch the WSL Finals. He talked to us about having home court advantage at the Wall of Skulls, his terrifying pre-Olympic warmup, and what’s in store.
How did it feel to represent France and Tahiti, not only at the Olympics, but also at your home wave of Teahupo’o?
It was just insane, a lot of pressure at the beginning. Heat by heat, it was just unreal. I don’t know if I can put it in words really. I had to enjoy the moment, because it’s a chance that will probably never happen again. [Pointing to his shoulder] The chance to have a France flag here on the side, but Tahiti in the heart.
There was a lot of talk beforehand about how you had a home-court advantage at Teahupo’o. In what ways did your local knowledge help you during the competition?
I think the local knowledge helped me a lot, but not because I know the wave that much. I do know the wave, but all the other competitors know it really well, too. Medina, John John, they’ve been there since they were kids.
The thing is, I prepared so much. It’s been like two and a half years that I’ve been surfing and trying boards, training in every single condition, every time I had the chance to be at home. I think that was the key. I already surfed these waves many times, so I wasn’t surprised the whole contest. It was easy for me to choose the right board. I knew exactly which board I was going to ride. I knew exactly where I was sitting, where I would put myself on the peak.
Then man definitely knew what waves would run along the reef when it got small. Photo: Quiksilver
Was there a specific moment where that knowledge came into play?
Yeah, it was the second round. It was really small, but offshore, and I found some waves that the other competitors didn’t really see. I was getting better waves and better scores under priority, because I knew which wave would race on the reef more than the bigger ones.
As the last moments of the final heat were winding down and you knew that you had it, what was going through your head? What was happening in the water?
When I knew no waves would come, it was pretty much under 20 seconds left. Then, I could hear everybody from the boats and the land doing the “Five, four three, two, one.” Then, when the [buzzer] went, I was just like, “Whoah, I just did it. I just did what I was dreaming for a long time.”
I’m not saying this to be pretentious or whatever, but when I knew I won, I wasn’t that surprised, because I visualized this scene so much: same red jersey, same time of the day. It felt like deja vu.
It was so crazy because I was making it heat by heat, so I didn’t even realize I was in semis or quarters. You go, you win, and then you move into the next one. But I realized for sure when I put my arms up. I saw my dad and my little brother in the boat and how happy they were.
And which waves with throw relentlessly. Photo: Quiksilver
I saw an interview where you were talking about how you got a really crazy tow-in wave before the competition. Could you tell me about that?
It was two weeks before. I came back from South Africa and knew I would be able to surf a big swell before the Olympics, so it was good to try my big boards.
I landed and my dad tried to talk to me, he didn’t want me to go surf and take too much risk. We knew it was going to be big, maybe big, big. I told him, “If I don’t feel it, I’m not going to go. If I feel it, I’m going to go.” Then he’s like “Okay, okay, I’ll let you choose.”
So then in the morning I went super early with my little brother. It was 5:30, still dark for like 30 minutes, but we could see the waves a little bit, just the shape. It was big. Naiki, my little brother, who is 17, I told him, “Okay, let’s go.”
We didn’t wait that long, and then that wave came in. My little brother, he’s young, but he can see the big ones. He knows to read the ocean very well and I trust him. He put me at the perfect spot and it was the biggest wave I’ve ridden in all my life.
But I only took one. Afterwards, my dad came to me and he’s like, “You’re not going any more in the water.” I’m like, “I’m done. I’m going to go in the boat, take a coffee with my friends.” I watched the rest of the day. It was just insane.
Do you think that helped you at all, that amazing wave right before the Olympics?
It gave me more confidence. The thing is, if I fell, I would have probably died, because it was really sketchy – early morning, low tide, hard wave, dangerous. The mood was scary, but I made it and it just created good energy. I was like “Okay, it’s on. Let’s go.” I tried to continue with this energy all the way to the contest, the good energy we call the “good mana.” It was beautiful. If I had fallen, it would be maybe different, but I made it and I was like, “Okay, maybe something is happening. Maybe a good thing will come.”
What did you do to celebrate after the win?
I did celebrate the first night, right when I got the medal. We went home and then we did party. Our Olympic village was the boat, you know. We did it there with all the family, the uncles, the water patrol, until the next day. Then I had to leave that night, so it was insane.
You went to Paris right afterwards, right? I saw you were at Club France on a surfboard in the crowd.
I was on the surfboard, I surfed the Seine, I did another Club France event in the morning where I had to dance. It was just insane. It was beautiful. It was just something special. It was such a big marathon, I had to find the energy every time to keep going. I mean, I know it’s just going to happen once in my life, so I enjoyed it as much as I could.
I saw that Quiksilver upgraded you to a gold sponsor sticker. What kind of other things have changed for you since you won?
It didn’t change that much. For the moment, of course, everybody’s happy and knows me a little bit more, but nothing really changed for me. I think it’s a good thing. I can still have my feet on the ground and then try to be focused for the next goals.
What are those next goals?
I would love to qualify for the Championship Tour. That’s the main goal. It’s never changed.
