[15] The crash was so severe that it earned Kennelly the Red Bull Big Wave Wipe Out of the Year award. Updated about 1 month ago. Just to say it and do the paddle-out. Big way surfer Keala Kennelly has been fighting for women . ', This was the start of a whole new chapter. in Venice Beach and opening for Boy Eats World at the Pacifico Beer Party at the US Open in July 2016. PEOPLE: What were you feeling at the time? Locals still rule the renowned big-wave arena of Pe'ahi. Passion. Dec. 22, 2022. She is now pursuing careers as a DJ and actress while . What do we tell our daughters right now? She continues to push women's surfing to new levels. Im actually a real daddys girl. The name-calling and gender-shaming from other kids was relentless, even in grade school. To be the first there are no words to describe what an #Honor this is for me I would like to thank #ClydeAikau and the entire #Aikau family. and more from FamousFix.com. And so, I went out and started surfing these waves that previously, people's perception was like, "Women just can't surf these waves, women can't surf big waves.". In 2016, Valenti teamed up with other female surfers from the event including Andrea Moller, Keala Kennelly and Paige Alms to form the Committee for Equity In Women's Surfing. Its like a form of entertainment for them. It was there, while on top of a 50-foot wave, Kennelly was sent cartwheeling down the mountain of water after a blast of wind sent her board flying. And instead it feels more like I have a really expensive hobby. He was open about it on social media, so I reached out to him privately. Even when I took that first set on the head, and I was like, 'Yeah, awesome. Keala Kennelly's age is 44. It was very similar to coming out as gay. Keala is a Kauai-born surfer who turned pro at seventeen, and in time qualified for the ASP World Tour. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. KK: Yeah, it was 1998 or 99 I think. Kennelly has been a top surfer for years, and went pro at age 17. I was like, Why do I have all these texts?' I almost died. That is what Im most afraid of. like. The Inertia Contributing Editor. I liked to push myself, and I liked being challenged. SOPHIE EVERARD. Kennelly no longer competes on the tour. I posted something on my Instagram hoping that he would read it, because I am really grateful to the Aikau family for such a big honor. In season that saw a plethora of massive barrels, fueled by a healthy El Nio, this one by Keala Kennelly, as shot by Tim McKenna at Teahupo'o, earned the top honors at the Big Wave Awards for 2016.It was a historic first win for a woman in the BWA category. I'm just a really honest person, I'm a really genuine, authentic person. This Winter saw the women charging on the North Shore, a Championship Tour event at Pipe and the crowning of a female Triple Crown champ. KK: Surfing with all those boys in Kauai is what got me into bigger, more powerful waves. A Look Back at Keala Kennelly Riding a Jaws Bomb. I would just kind of say, "This is my girlfriend, deal with it." A photo posted by Keala Kennelly (@kealakennelly) on Nov 30, 2016 at 11:19am PST. Slater Nebrosky, Ken Kosada, Ceshina Feliciano, Mike Nulty, Ceshina Feliciano, RedBull, Meet The Contenders For The Red Bull Big Wave Awards Women's Performer Of The Year, 2021 Women's Biggest Paddle Nominee: Keala Kennelly At Himalayas, 2021 Women's Ride Of The Year Nominee: Keala Kennelly At Himalayas, Keala Kennelly Talks Equality In Women's Surfing, Charging Teahupo'o And Competing Against The Irons Brothers, Billy Kemper and Paige Alms Make Maui Proud, Post Show: Paige Alms Leads Bold Pack of Women at Pe'ahi. When they called that Jaws event at our end, you get butterflies. PEOPLE: You came out as a lesbian in the surfing community nearly two decades ago, can you tell us what that experience was like for you? Like, when we were surfing events, I couldnt wait to finish the contest and run off as fast as I could, away from the tour to a big city where nobody cared about my sexuality and I didnt have to feel like I was under a microscope. After getting barreled, she was pushed down to Teahupoo's notoriously shallow reef and received a severe gash to the side of her face. Im terrified of snakes! Kennelly began a string of successful visits to Teahupoo, Tahiti in 1998 when she won the Gotcha Black Pearl Women's Pro. So, that was just, it gave me a reason to leave the tour. KK: Definitely. She was ranked in the top 10 on the ASP World Champion Tour for a decade, before taking a break in 2007 to pursue acting and music. As she recovered from the injury, she hopped on the phone to discuss what all these big moments mean, and how soon she might be back in the water. Tell me about how living with bipolar depression has impacted your surfing, or vice versa. Here she talks to us about some of her biggest surfing successes and how she has worked hard to give women chances to compete in and enjoy the sport. WSL is best experienced with Javascript! Make sure to enable it in your browser. On mortal fear, sexual identity, and near-death epiphanies. However, Kennelly says that there was intense pressure to hide who she is: between competing on tour, coping with undiagnosed bipolar depression, and being in the closet, she says, "I don't know how I survived those years.". Winners of the first-ever Red Bull Magnitude have been announced and it's Keala Kennelly taking out the women's big wave event. When I later started to be more open about my sexuality, I lost the majority of my endorsement deals and have been struggling ever since to continue my career as a pro surfer. For men, the emphasis is always on performance. Hemal Jhaveri. Over the last decade Keala has played internationally at venues in Australia, France, South Africa, UK, Spain as well as domestically . I don't care what happens." [10], Kennelly's accomplishments have garnered her numerous accolades, including being named the 2002 Female Surfer of the Year by ESPN and more recently, the 2011[5] and 2013 Billabong XXL Girls Performance Award,[11] and the 2014 Billabong XXL Womens Performance Award. From huge barrels to massive drops, for a handful of other women at Jaws on . "This gust of wind came up the face of the wave and got under my board and just flipped it sideways," Kennelly, named Female Surfer of the Year by ESPN in 2002, recalls to PEOPLE. He has a B.A. Once you got home and absorbed the news, did you connect with Clyde Aikau or the rest of the family? Keala Kennelly, the professional surfer who came out years ago, has given a fantastic interview to fellow out surfer Craig Butler, who has posted the . "There's . I thought it was maybe 6- or 8-foot but it was more like 15! She came out and her sponsor didn't drop her, they're still supporting her. After I survived that experience, I let my walls down.. After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her passions for acting and music. I didnt come flying out of the closet swinging rainbow flags in the air. Those years before I came out were really hard. No doubt I pushed them too. Peter "Joli" Wilson explains just what made the 2005 Billabong Pro Tahiti such a special moment in surfing history. Athlete WSL Womens Big Wave World Champion DJ Motivational Speaker In 2015, she was again among the nominees. (Video by Carlo Carbajal. Keala Kennelly, going where no women have gone before. A powerful wave threw her from her surf board while she was in shallow water into a coral reef. Keala Kennelly (born August 13, 1978) is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. Keala was born in Honolulu, the capital and largest city of Hawaii. The sharp smell of disinfectant hangs in the air, washing out the odor seeping from the buckets of dark fluid she saw in the hallway when the nurses rushed her into theatre. Browse 1,676 kennelly photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. I remember thinking that I had spent all this time on tour with all these women that I kept at arms length and here I was, about to die, and none of them would care because I never opened up and let them see the real me.. First woman to win a big-wave contest. See Its just not who I am. What's one thing that you think just might not be translating to potential sponsors? KK: Andy and Bruce were brothers to me in every sense of the word, which meant they treated me like crap a lot of the time [laughs]. Keala is a Kauai-born surfer who turned pro at seventeen, and in time qualified for the ASP World Tour. But I just got to a point, toward the end of my time on tour, where I said, "I can't do this anymore. After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her passions for acting and music. Butch. Keala Kennelly and Malia Manuel paddled out for a sunset spritz. It was there, while on top of a 50 . He said: She is known for being a Surfer. He was always out there on the big days at the bay. But thats not true. By any measure, Keala Kennelly has achieved a slew of firsts: First woman known to have surfed Teahupo'o. She resided atop the CT . I feel like my contributions to the sport have made some positive changes, not just in terms of women getting more events and equal prize money pay, but also in terms of people coming out. The Surfers Journal is made possible with sponsorship from: Tel: 949-361-0331 What they're missing is how inspiring big-wave surfers are. All you backsiders out here, KK just got a barrel that shit on all your faces! Then he paddled off, laughing to himself. I guess I was most afraid that Id lose my sponsors and never get a real shot at the world title. Link copied to clipboard. The sharp smell of disinfectant hangs in the air, washing out the odor seeping from the buckets of dark fluid she saw in the hallway when the nurses rushed her into theatre. factors that led to the formation of legco in uganda / does mezcal with worm go bad / eddie aikau trophy I know it's helped a lot of people, and that's worth it. A Norfolk Pine karate-chopped the house. Keala Kennelly (born August 13, 1978) is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. One time I beat Andy, and he wouldnt even speak to mefor a few weeks! The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is one such event and today, Kennelly will paddle out alongside five other women to compete in the event for the first time. I was just doing it purely out of passion. Surfing's first openly gay world champion gave a powerful speech everyone needs to hear. This included a 2nd-place finish at the Billabong Pro Maui, a team gold medal at the 2007 Summer X Games, and a record-setting ride in 2005 as the first-ever woman to tow in at Teahupoo. It's treacherous and exhilarating all at once, and sort of "feels like trying to outrun a dragon," surfer Keala Kennelly says. His mother was a house cleaner, and his father was a longshoreman. I grew up on the beach playing in the ocean with my two brothers and all the neighbourhood boys including the Irons brothers, Dustin Barca, Danny Fuller, Kamalei Alexander. But even though it was never really talked about, I felt like I was in a support group. Professional Big Wave surfer who is known for competing in a variety of opens and surfing events. In the last few years Keala has had much success as the first viable female free surfer. Winners of the first-ever Red Bull Magnitude have been announced and it's Keala Kennelly taking out the women's big wave event. On Tour, Keala charged in heavy waves like Cloudbreak and Teahupoo, where she also earned recognition for being the first woman ever to tow-in in 2005. It created a lot of internalized homophobia and self-hatred in me that wasnt healthy. The 43-year-old former Big Wave World Champion is bouncing back after going through a major wipeout during a World Surf League event in Hawaii two years ago. Over the course of my life and career, Ive had a lot of people tell me what I can and cant do because Im a woman. Follow your favorites and never miss a wave. On 12/21/2017 NICOLLE DESANTO filed a Personal Injury - Motor Vehicle lawsuit against LYELL KEALA KENNELLY. Paige Alms got obliterated by a warping mass of water. 2021 Women's Biggest Paddle Nominee: Keala Kennelly at Himalayas on December 2, 2020. When I almost died in Costa Ricathat was a real turning point for me. Growing up in Kauai, Hawaii, she didn't have the opportunity to compete in surf competitions against other girls so, she . I saw the way lesbians, or just presumed lesbians were treated on tour, and it was terrible. It's a tiny little muscle but it's really painful when it tears. Video from Ken Kosada. PEOPLE: What drew you to big wave surfing? She is an actress, known for John from Cincinnati (2007), Blue Crush (2002) and Beyond the Break (2006). Besides these two acting roles, she has appeared as herself in a number of documentaries, including 7 Girls (2001) and Step Into Liquid (2003). It's likely a handful of other women tried their luck throughout the day. Video from Ken Kosada. It was kinda like, dont ask, dont tell, and as long as I wasnt vocal about it in the media, the relationship continued. Keala Kennelly, 42, has been surfing for as long as she can remember. KK: Id disagree. I'd be hanging out with one of my good friends on tour; we'd be at barbecues where it was all women, and some were sitting really close together. The Hawaiian became a professional surfer at the age of 17 and embarked on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) before reaching the elite level. I was in Costa Rica for a one-star WQS event when my appendix ruptured and I had to be rushed to the nearest hospital in this small town. Surfing wouldnt be the same. Her name is one of four that comprises the Committee for Equity in Womens Surfing (CEWS) maybe the single greatest influence on the WSLs new equal pay policy that might also become state law in California. So, it's worth it. Kennelly was first included in the Eddie in 2017 but the event didnt run. I guess that's why I was discouraged -- there I was, breaking all these records, and I don't feel like I can call myself a professional surfer anymore because if you are a professional, you are getting paid. My name is Keala Kennelly and this is my website. I had undiagnosed bipolar depression and was having lots of suicidal ideation at that time. 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