Kai Lenny is a celebrity. Yes, he’s a surfer and a paddler–and a really good, really crazy, transcendent one at that. But there are plenty of really good, crazy surfers in the world that you’d hardly classify as celebrities. So why Lenny? Why is it that this kid from Maui has reached freakish levels of fame as a waterman?
Even if you can’t quite put your finger on what makes Kai Lenny special, finding the answer is certainly a fun game to play. And I imagine those answers have less to do with how we perceive him than how he approaches it all. For example, Lenny sees bigger waves simply as bigger canvases for creativity. He wants his life to be like a movie, which explains why much of the crazy stuff he does plays out like a long form Mountain Dew commercial; all too appropriate for someone that says he gets bored if he does the same thing for too long. And from whom does he draw inspiration from in all things ocean bound? He credits his competitive focus to Kelly Slater and attention to detail to Laird Hamilton. Dave Kalama inspires him to be so damn good at everything he touches, and windsurfing legend Robby Naish is Lenny’s inspiration to do it all for a very, very long time.
The guy sure packs a lot of lessons into one hour-long conversation.
Editor’s Note: Find more from the Paddlewoo podcast here.
