Like the rest of us, Kai Lenny has a surf bucket list. Unlike the rest of us, his bucket list includes waves like Jaws, Mavs, and XXL Teahupo’o — all places where he’s already scored a 10/10 tube.
Surprisingly, Lenny had never surfed HTs in the Mentawais (and it’s always been on his list), so when he saw a dream day pop up on the forecast last month, he dropped everything in Hawaii, recruited his brother Ridge, and packed 6-boards in his boardbag. He even included a self-shaped 5’10, despite his minimal shaping experience. Speaking of which: Is there anything this guy can’t do? Seriously. He’s already the most well-rounded surfer in the world, recently taught himself to rip switch, is a twin Dad, a pro kiter, a foiler…and now he’s shaping surfboards?
Anyway, back to HTs. After a 2-day trek from Hawaii and one fun warm-up day, the pair find themselves in the channel at HTs staring straight into the guts of 6-to-8 foot double ups, with a howling offshore wind, and a very manageable crowd (at least for HTs). A bucket list day at a bucket list wave.
Unsurprisingly, Lenny’s first ever wave at HTs (see 7:05) is a multiple section screamer, and it sets him up for a dream day trading endless tubes with his brother. The only mishap happens at 10:05 when Billy Kemper stuffs Lenny on a bomb. While Lenny doesn’t seem all too stoked in the GoPro POV afterwards, we’re sure they worked it out. Maybe Kemper will pay Lenny back with a bomb at Jaws this winter?
Related: In The Magazine: Kai Lenny on the Connection Between Big-Wave Surfing and Snowboarding