{{Short description|American waterman}} {{Infobox surfer | name = Kai Lenny | image = Kai Lenny.JPG | caption = Lenny in 2012 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|10|08}} | birth_place = Pāʻia, Hawaii | height = | weight = | best_year = 2012 | career_earnings = | sponsors = Red Bull,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kai Lenny |url=https://www.redbull.com/us-en/athlete/kai-lenny |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Red Bull |language=en}}</ref> Nike, Hurley, Oakley, GoPro, TAG Heuer, Cariuma<ref>{{cite journal|last=Carberry|first=Joe|title=Water Walker|journal=Outside|date=June 2014|page=26}}</ref> | major_achievements = 2013 SUP Race World Champion, 2013 Sup Wave World Champion, 2013 SUP Overall World Champion, 2013 Vice KSP Kiting World Champion, 2012 World SUP Race Champion, 2012 Hawaii Island Finals SUP pro '''Winner''', Sunset Beach SUP pro '''Winner''' | stance = Regular | shapers = | quiver = KT SUP, 4.7 Goya Sails, Quatro Boards, Keith Teboul Custom Boards | favorite_waves = | favorite_maneuvers = }}
'''Kai Lenny''' (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional surfer. He is known for big wave surfing, but has competed in a number of other disciplines, including windsurfing, kitesurfing, and standup paddleboarding (SUP).<ref name="NewYorker" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kempton |first1=Jim |title=Kai Lenny is the Pentathlete of Water Sports |url=https://www.surfer.com/surfers/kai-lenny-pentathlete-water-sports |website=Surfer.com |access-date=12 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="SUP-big">{{cite web |title=Kai Lenny - A Day in the Life of SUP's Biggest Star |url=https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/kai-lenny-a-day-in-the-life-of-sups-biggest-star |website=Mens Journal |access-date=20 August 2025}}</ref> Lenny lives on Maui, and is often associated with the waves at Pe’ahi.<ref name="NewYorker" /><ref name="Wired-profile">{{cite web |last1=Duane |first1=Daniel |title=The Wave-Conquering, Metaverse-Crashing Life of Kai Lenny |url=https://www.wired.com/story/wave-conquering-metaverse-crashing-life-kai-lenny/ |website=Wired |access-date=20 August 2025}}</ref> He is considered one of the best and most versatile surfers in the world.<ref name="NewYorker" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jenkins |first1=Bruce |title=‘Best day ever at Mavericks’: Kai Lenny, top big-wave surfers savor all-time swell |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/jenkins/article/Best-day-ever-at-Mavericks-Kai-Lenny-top-15789308.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=20 August 2025 |date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
== Career == Lenny was born on Maui, to parents who had moved to Pāʻia from the mainland.<ref name="NewYorker">{{cite web |last1=Finnegan |first1=William |title=Kai Lenny Surfs the Unsurfable |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/30/kai-lenny-surfs-the-unsurfable |website=The New Yorker |access-date=12 August 2025 |date=23 May 2022}}</ref> His parents were windsurfers, and he picked up that watersport at age six and kitesurfing by age nine,<ref name="NewYorker" /> after starting to surf by age five.<ref name="Wired-profile" /> He received his first sponsorship at age ten, and became a Red Bull athlete at age 13 following a kitesurfing competition.<ref name="NewYorker" />
In 2009, Lenny was named the windsurfing rookie of the year.<ref name="Wired-profile" />
Lenny achieved recognition in SUP in 2012 with first place at the Hawaii Island Finals SUP Pro, and first place at the Sunset Beach SUP Pro.<ref>[http://www.oxboworld.com/rider/kai-lenny Kai Lenny] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115024800/http://www.oxboworld.com/rider/kai-lenny |date=2012-11-15 }}, Oxbow World Surfwear Company</ref> Kai Lenny claimed the SUP Racing World Title when he won the season finals of the first Standup World Series championship races held on O'ahu in September 2012.<ref>[http://standupjournal.com/team-naish-rocks-the-sup-racing-world/ Team Naish rocks the SUP Racing World], Standup Journal</ref> He would win eight SUP world titles, making him the most successful athlete in the sport.<ref name="Wired-profile" />
In February 2020 Lenny won the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, at Praia do Norte, in Portugal. The contest ran in massive waves and included the participation of the best big wave riders in the world.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pinto |first1=Luís M. |title=Champions crowned at the 2020 Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge |url=https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/champions-crowned-at-the-2020-nazare-tow-surfing-challenge |website=Surfertoday |access-date=20 August 2025 |language=en-us}}</ref>
In 2019, he became the youngest person to be inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame.<ref name="Wired-profile" />
== Personal life == Lenny is married to Maui-based interior designer Molly Payne.<ref name="NewYorker" /> The couple have three kids.
In May 2021, Lenny established the nonprofit Positively Kai Foundation.<ref name=CivilBeat2024>{{cite web |last1=Blair |first1=Chad |title=Has Tulsi Gabbard Bid Hawaii A Last Aloha? |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/12/has-tulsi-gabbard-bid-hawaii-last-aloha/ |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |access-date=20 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121113057/https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/12/has-tulsi-gabbard-bid-hawaii-last-aloha/ |archive-date=21 January 2025 |language=en |date=4 December 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Lenny appeared in Tulsi Gabbard's video of her 2023 visit to Maui after the fires.<ref name=CivilBeat2024/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{WSL profile|9591<!-- /kai-lenny -->}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenny, Kai}} Category:1992 births Category:Living people Category:People from Paia, Hawaii Category:Windsurfers Category:Big wave surfers Category:American kitesurfers Category:Male kitesurfers Category:World Surf League surfers