We will avoid here the hackneyed question "where were you at 9 years old"?
Impossible to talk about Kailani without talking about her father, Hugues Oyarzabal. The Basque, a former pro, was one of the first at the time to surf the violent slab of Ventrax in the South West of France. He was also one of the first at the time to embark with us in the heart of the barrel thanks to the GoPro and other on-board cameras. Because if today the images taken in GoPro are democratized, let's not forget that not so long ago, they were not as numerous to use them. D'Hugues Oyarzabal, we remember among other things his Namibian session at Skeleton Bay in 2013. Armed with 2 onboard cameras, one on his board and another in the mouth, the Basque had then made us live a rare experience, in immersion inside the barrels. They were not numerous at the time to propose that.
"Having started surfing at 11 and a half years old, seeing her do it at 9 years old... as a father I can only be in awe. What I wish for her before I think of anything is that "She can continue to have fun and that she can continue to thrive in the ocean. That's the most important thing. We have to enjoy the present and the latter for the moment is very cool for Kailani".
We will leave it to the future to provide us with answers about his future and his father to remember the past.
"It was a pretty cool autumn that won't go down in history for her, but the little one has made a lot of progress. I'm very proud. Today, surfing has evolved enormously with good things like gear for example, it's good for kids. But today there are also bad sides, such as brands that invest mainly in bankable surfers with a high number of subscribers, often to the detriment of quality. We can see this clearly with Challenger Series surfers like Connor O'Leary surfing with a decal-free board or guys like Nat Young deserving, it's sad but that's the way it is.
To return to his daughter Kailani, we also note his participation last December in the Barton Lynch Blast Off Video Challenge, a video contest organized by Barton Lynch and reserved for surfers under 14 years old. The latter was held from October 14 to December 3 and Kailani took part, finishing runner-up in the girls 10 and under category. To participate, you had to send a video of 60 seconds maximum, which she did with her father. Each video submitted this year for the competition will have received feedback and technical advice from professional coaches.
In short, an excellent way for Kailani to continue her progress while fully living her passion. A girl to watch!
In the meantime, you can follow his adventures here on his Instagram account.
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