Surfing
Kai Lenny takes us backstage – and on the back of his jet ski – for an intimate look at what it takes to achieve greatness in his new series Life of Kai, presented by TAG Heuer.
It’s often easy to assume our sporting heroes are, well, for the lack of a better term, super – so exceptionally talented, fearless and elite in their specific disciplines that they verge into the superhuman category. But the thing is, the likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer are human. Their utter devotion, passion, blood, sweat and tears are precisely the human qualities that lifted them to world-class status.
Just like these legendary sportsmen, Kai Lenny is considered a modern icon in the world of ocean sports thanks to his mastery of wave riding of every kind. Born and raised on the island of Maui, Kai, which means ocean in Hawaiian, is considered to be one of the greatest watermen on Earth. A champion big wave surfer (and eight times world champion SUP surfer) he has expertise in kitesurfing, windsurfing, paddleboarding and foiling.
But in Life of Kai, a new series presented by TAG Heuer, viewers get a profoundly intimate glimpse into what it takes to achieve such greatness. Sure, he’s got a GoPro with him so you can see what it’s like when a 70ft wall of whitewater topples toward him before that first breath, but you’ll also see what it takes to survive such an ordeal.
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch unmissable big wave surfing action on all your devices! Get the app here.
Watch episode 1 – Aloha Mr Lenny
As the Northern Hemisphere winter looms, Lenny goes into overdrive at home in Maui, Hawaii, training for the first big swell at Jaws, one of the world's biggest waves. Kai reflects on seasons past – the ups and the downs – and reveals his biggest hope for the upcoming big wave season.
Watch episode 2 – Showdown at Peahi
A big swell is on the way and the World Surf League has called on the cbdMD Jaws Big Wave Championships at Peahi. Lenny has less than 48 hours to prepare for the big day and to work out the increasing butterflies. On the day of the contest, Jaws is all-time and Lenny surfs flawlessly. But it all could mean nothing as he faces off with Peahi's most decorated surfer, Billy Kemper, in the event final.
Watch episode 3 – The legend of Nazaré
After the cbdMD Jaws Big Wave Championships, Lenny is off to Portugal to compete in the Nazaré Challenge. While it isn't his first trip to the European continent's fiercest, and biggest, wave, Nazaré is by no means as familiar to Lenny as Jaws. Nevertheless, he's ready to tackle whatever the North Atlantic throws at him and his partner for the event, Lucas Chumbo. In the end, the performance that Lenny and Chumbo put on that day will go down as one of the most mind-blowing in big wave surfing history.
Watch episode 4 – Slaying Gigantes
Lenny sticks around in Portugal after he's invited to compete in the Gigantes de Nazaré contest, where partners up with Lucas Chumbo Chianca, Carlos Burle, and Hugo Vau for one incredible day of tow surfing in huge, pristine Praia do Norte conditions. After blowing minds in Portugal, Lenny jets home to Maui – just in time to catch the best day at Pe'ahi (Jaws) in recent memory.
Watch episode 5 – Redemption at Nazaré
In the final episode of Life of Kai, the World Surf League gives the green light for the first-ever Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge. Partnered with Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca, the soon-to-be-iconic Team Young Bulls is born. Facing his last chance to finally taste victory this winter, Lenny goes into overdrive on a truly historic, XXL day at Nazaré.
Read our exclusive interview with Lenny below…
Back from a swell in Tahiti (after another swell in Portugal) - and just as Life of Kai premiered - we caught up with Kai from his home in Maui to pick his brains about his amazing new series.
Tell us about Life of Kai. How did this all come about?
So, the Life of Kai series is meant to be an honest look at what it's like to be me. It’s going to give people a deeper perspective of what it takes to get those amazing moments that everyone sees by the end of a swell or competition. I sometimes feel like maybe people might paint me or other big wave riders as being 'superhuman' or something. But I think this series makes it pretty clear that the reason why I'm doing what I'm doing is because I've worked really hard towards it.
I'm just another human being, but this is what it looks like to really push yourself as hard as you possibly can your entire life to get to this point. At the same time, beyond taking people inside that world, I wanted to show what kind of innovations are being brought forward to achieve some of these goals. Also, the experiences that go along with these moments with my friends and people who inspire me, who are oftentimes better than me, but help bring me to that level, too.
Awesome. Yeah, you're absolutely right when you say that sometimes people look at you and other men and women in your league like superhuman action heroes with no fear. But how do you deal with fear? Do you get scared in the situations we’ll see in Life of Kai?
The thing is, a lot of these situations, I've been able to overcome through, basically, having the experience. That's always drawn me to big waves. Anything that is challenging is about overcoming the fear of the unknown. Once you do that, you're able to truly focus on high-performance surfing and high-performance riding. For me, the reason why I'm able to challenge myself in conditions that people think are impossible is because I've taken small baby steps to get there. It didn't happen overnight; I've spent every waking moment just trying to get to that point. This series shows that if you really want to dedicate anything in your life to 100 percent, you can achieve it. For example, the stuff I've been able to do the last year, I would have thought was impossible for me to do three years ago.
You mentioned innovation, which is something that's seemed to be an obsession of yours. What are some of the innovations or progressions we might expect to see in Life of Kai?
I think you're going to see a progression of me as a human being from the beginning to the end of the show. There's definitely a transition where in the beginning, I think I cultivated a lot of pressure from years of wanting to achieve something, but then having to go back to the drawing board. I realised that nothing could be forced. All we can do is what's in front of us. So, I think you’ll notice more human growth from me from the beginning to the end.
I really do feel like, in just the last year, I'm a completely different person. I might have matured a little bit, [laughs] which took a long time coming, emotionally and mentally. At the beginning, I think I'm more serious and hyper-focused and emotional about my pursuit in big waves. Then, by the end, everything I was trying to do as a hyper-focused person, I achieved from just letting go and having fun.
So, where did Life of Kai take you around the world, location-wise?
We start off here in Hawaii with my family. It’s me, trying to prepare for the big wave season and running into a hiccup with an injury. Then immediately trying to recover in time, so I can try to win the Jaws event that I've so badly wanted to win over the years, but not quite succeeding in that. Then, we enter the second half where I have this goal and this quest to just ride the best I could possibly ride in big waves. We head to Nazaré, Portugal and that's where I started experimenting with my foils. I'm also trying to get on the same level as my tow partner, Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca. There's a whole adventure of going there.
From cuts of the series, it seems like you've got a super gnarly training routine. Can you walk us through what that looks like during your week, when you're actually at home?
Out of the water, I go and do aerobic and anaerobic training, and weight lifting three times a week. Then, two times a week, I do activation, trying to open my body back up from being tight after all my ocean-time. So, that's five days in the gym. Then three times a week I get worked on. All of this has evolved to a certain level, because I guess I want to try to pull the maximum performance out of my body. The only way to do that is to basically step up to the highest level of training. But because it's my job, I'm able to do that.
Then on the water, it's doing as many sports as I can in one day, but doing it with intention and with focus. So, between waking up in the morning and going surfing, I work on my small wave surfing as it benefits my big wave riding, because you have to have quick-twitch muscles and be able to quickly adapt to a wave that is moving. Then, I couple that with foiling. I either do a downwind foil run if it's windy and ride open ocean swells for at least 10 miles. Or, I might do a full session where I pump about 10 miles in the waves, catching a bunch of waves and doing tricks with my foil.
Then, as the wind progresses, the idea is to go windsurfing and harness the power of the land and the speed of a board to understand how to turn a big board going really fast and how to harness the power of the elements around me. If I can kitesurf, I’ll do that, too, because I can have amazing air awareness and be 50ft in the air and be comfortable. That all helps me when I make it into big wave riding.
But if I'm completely fatigued by the end of the day, I love to take out my standup paddleboard, because I'm able to paddle and catch a bunch of waves. It's great training moving a bigger board around. Also, outside of just training on the water, if I'm on land, one to two times a week I go to the pool for breath-hold training – lifting weights in the water or getting the heart rate extremely high and then doing breath-holding work in order to basically teach the mind to be settled when it wants to just gasp for air.
Beyond physical training, the most important thing I don't get enough of is rest. But even in my resting period, when I'm trying to not actually be physically active, I am working on equipment and technology with my friends and sponsors so that they can help me get to the next level. I try to lift the technology as high as I can, while trying to bring human performance to that technology.
And nutrition-wise, are we going to still see you crushing Taco Bell bean burritos in Life of Kai? That’s kind of your thing, right?
Without a doubt [laughs]. They're awesome and I absolutely love them. But a majority of what I'm eating is extremely healthy and comes from a sustainable place here on Maui. I've always been able to have very healthy foods around because of my parents. But eating healthy can be difficult when you’re travelling. At the same time, in my experience, eating is more important than not eating, while on the road, just because there isn’t the healthiest of options around.
Lastly, what are your specific goals for this winter?
My goals are to just keep on getting better, going bigger and doing things that I've never done before. Stuff that I've had in the pipeline. What you're going to see through the series of Life of Kai is really how all that’s come into play by the last episode. I can’t say too much to spoil it, but the future looks exciting.
