“Age ain’t nothing but a number.”
So the saying goes. (And the creepy 1994 Aaliyah song, written by R. Kelly, about a young woman wanting to date an older man). But in the surfing world, the adage rings true, as kids keep getting better and better, at a younger and younger age.
Like below, with 11-year-old Kalama Jedidiah Stratton, getting pushed into a wave well beyond his years at Puerto Escondido, and pulling into a cavernous tube.
The clip comes from Vans, who captioned it:
“11-year-olds these days are a different breed! @Kalama_Stratton charging his home break with a little assist, and more south swell on the way.”
So, who is this kid charging waves that his little arms can’t yet paddle himself into?
Turns out, this isn’t the first time we – or the world – has seen young Kalama. A clip from a while back went semi-viral, showing the young-gun rolling into a sloping lefthander, then stylishly pulling up under the lip for a backside tube.
Kalama lives down in Puerto Escondido, aka the Mexican Pipeline, with his Hawaiian father and Mexican mother.
And he’s not the only other freakishly young surfer to be charging waves typically reserved for those much older. On the other side of the world, there’s slab wrangler, Sani Hellman, an even younger surfer than Kalama who fearlessly rides very heavy, very shallow tubes.
Just goes to show how crazy this upcoming crop of surfers is progressing. Imagine how good they’ll be once they’re old guys…
Like…teenagers.
Stay tuned.
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