Kai Lenny
| Kai Lenny | |
|---|---|
 Lenny in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 8, 1992 Pāʻia, Hawaii |
| Residence | Maui, Hawaii |
| Surfing career | |
| Best year | 2012 |
| Sponsors | Red Bull,[1] Nike, Hurley, Oakley, GoPro, TAG Heuer, Cariuma[2] |
| Major achievements | 2013 SUP Race World Champion, 2013 Sup Wave World Champion, 2013 SUP Overall World Champion, 2013 Vice KSP Kiting World Champion, 2012 World SUP Race Champion, 2012 Hawaii Island Finals SUP pro Winner, Sunset Beach SUP pro Winner |
| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Regular |
| Quiver | KT SUP, 4.7 Goya Sails, Quatro Boards, Keith Teboul Custom Boards |
Kai Lenny (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional surfer. He is known for big wave surfing, but has competed in a number of other disciplines, including windsurfing, kitesurfing, and standup paddleboarding (SUP).[3][4][5] Lenny lives on Maui, and is often associated with the waves at Pe’ahi.[3][6] He is considered one of the best and most versatile surfers in the world.[3][7]
Career
Lenny was born on Maui, to parents who had moved to Pāʻia from the mainland.[3] His parents were windsurfers, and he picked up that watersport at age six and kitesurfing by age nine,[3] after starting to surf by age five.[6] He received his first sponsorship at age ten, and became a Red Bull athlete at age 13 following a kitesurfing competition.[3]
In 2009, Lenny was named the windsurfing rookie of the year.[6]
Lenny achieved recognition in SUP in 2012 with first place at the Hawaii Island Finals SUP Pro, and first place at the Sunset Beach SUP Pro.[8] Kai Lenny claimed the SUP Racing World Title when he won the season finals of the first Standup World Series championship races held on O'ahu in September 2012.[9] He would win eight SUP world titles, making him the most successful athlete in the sport.[6]
In February 2020 Lenny won the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, at Praia do Norte, in Portugal. The contest ran in massive waves and included the participation of the best big wave riders in the world.[10]
In 2019, he became the youngest person to be inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame.[6]
Personal life
Lenny is married to Maui-based interior designer Molly Payne.[3] The couple have three kids.
In May 2021, Lenny established the nonprofit Positively Kai Foundation.[11] Lenny appeared in Tulsi Gabbard's video of her 2023 visit to Maui after the fires.[11]
References
- ^ "Kai Lenny". Red Bull. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ Carberry, Joe (June 2014). "Water Walker". Outside: 26.
- ^ a b c d e f g Finnegan, William (23 May 2022). "Kai Lenny Surfs the Unsurfable". The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ Kempton, Jim. "Kai Lenny is the Pentathlete of Water Sports". Surfer.com. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ "Kai Lenny - A Day in the Life of SUP's Biggest Star". Mens Journal. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Duane, Daniel. "The Wave-Conquering, Metaverse-Crashing Life of Kai Lenny". Wired. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Jenkins, Bruce (10 December 2020). "'Best day ever at Mavericks': Kai Lenny, top big-wave surfers savor all-time swell". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Kai Lenny Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Oxbow World Surfwear Company
- ^ Team Naish rocks the SUP Racing World, Standup Journal
- ^ "Champions crowned at the 2020 Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge".
- ^ a b Blair, Chad (December 4, 2024). "Has Tulsi Gabbard Bid Hawaii A Last Aloha? The former elected official representing the islands has rarely been seen here lately as she goes all in for Donald Trump". Civil Beat. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
External links
- Kai Lenny at the World Surf League