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.". As of 2022, Keala Kennelly is possibly single. I had to close myself off in order to protect myself, which goes against my nature because Im generally a very open person. Fear is good. After graduating high school, Kennelly went right to the pros. 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, including a recurring role as a surfer in the 2007 series John from Cincinnati. From that moment on, it went from a chill session with the boys to a much more aggressive pack trying to prove Bruce wrong. On mortal fear, sexual identity, and near-death epiphanies. Monday, January 23, 2017 The perfect gift for the surfer in your life. So much so that he was the subject of an essay I wrote in Hawaiian history class in 7th grade. KK: I do think about death. It totally crushed me and I was held under for two waves. The name-calling and gender-shaming from other kids was relentless, even in grade school. "I beat all the best men in the world to win the wipeout of the year," she says while laughing. 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. So, I think the surfing community, they weren't totally accepting of LGBT people at the time but I think that they respected me for living my truth, speaking, being open, being brave enough to just be authentic. 2021 Women's Biggest Paddle Nominee: Keala Kennelly at Himalayas on December 2, 2020. . I knew it was big, but I didnt realize how big. KK: Well, Im not religious. I think about death a lot. KK: Yeah, it was with a boy. I am spiritual. 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. Dyke. Keala had (1), maybe of the year, at Teahupoo, Tahiti. HALEIWA, Hawaii Twenty years ago, Keala Kennelly donned a competition jersey and paddled out to the celebrated waves of Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, the heart of surfing . When they called that Jaws event at our end, you get butterflies. Keala Kennelly is a professional surfer, surfer DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. THIS IS MY OFFICIAL FB PAGE RUN BY ME :) For bookings and inquires conta Browse the full lineup and get your ticket here. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. First woman to win a big-wave contest. 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. I slowly became more comfortable with myself. 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. KK: When I almost died in Costa Ricathat was a real turning point for me. 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, including a recurring role as a surfer in the 2007 series John from Cincinnati. 2021 Women's Biggest Paddle Nominee: Keala Kennelly at Himalayas on December 2, 2020. Editors Note: Check out more amazing stories from fearless women in surf and outdoors on The Inertia Women. But the feeling when you get spit out of a giant barrel at Chopes is like nothing else. ", "2014 XXL Big Wave Awards: Results and Rebuttals", "2016 Pure Scot Barrel Award Winner: Keala Kennelly", "Keala Kennelly the first woman to win open category at the Big Wave Awards", "2016 ESPY Awards: Best Action Sports Athletes nominees", "I'm Keala Kennelly and I'm a Surfer: Keala Kennelly at TEDxMalibu", "Gay surfer talks about the new surfing doc film, 'Out in the Line-Up', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keala_Kennelly&oldid=1135736581, Articles with dead external links from March 2019, BLP articles lacking sources from May 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Two-time winner of Billabong Pro in Teahupoo; 2003 ASP Women's WCT Runner Up; 2003 Triple Crown Winner; Two-time winner of Billabong XXL Girls Performance Award; 2013 Inductee, Surfing Walk of Fame and Actions Sports Hall of Fame, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 15:10. But even though it was never really talked about, I felt like I was in a support group. I feel like I am good at calculating the risks involved versus the reward, and when I feel like the risk is too high, I have no problem sitting my ass on the beach. Im actually a real daddys girl. What's missing? So, I was absolutely terrified and I spent the majority of my time on the pro circuit in the closet and just completely terrified to come out completely terrified to get outed, that I was going to lose my sponsors. While open to discussing the past, as youll see in this HEADSPACE we filmed with her last year on the North Shore, shes also ready to move forward. I grew up in Hawaii, so the Eddie is this legendary thing. To be fearless is to be ignorant.. And yeah, I was shocked and honored. April 1, 2019 1:06 pm ET. Keala Kennelly girlfriend, wife list. And I thought I was already on the shoulder and had made the wave and was getting ready to head for the channel. Your gift gives them full membership benefits. Keala Kennelly is a 44 year old American Surfer born on 13th August, 1978 in Kauai, Hawaii, USA. "Big wave" is a sub-category of surfing where riders tackle monstrous waves measuring at least 20 feet high. It was around 2005 when Kennelly conquered her fears by coming out as gay to her surfing peers. Passion. Everything that matters in surf + outdoorsdirectly to you inbox. KK: Loosing the people I love the most, dying before I have accomplished everything I want. Keala Kennelly said her injury had the severity of a car accident, and for months afterward she had to take powerful pain medications just to make it through the day. I got completely caught off guard by this west bowl lip that came down and exploded behind me. [8], She was invited to the 2018-2019 The Eddie, which was cancelled when waves that met the tournament criteria failed to arrive. But thats not true. I am so humbled right now. A photo posted by Keala Kennelly (@kealakennelly) on Nov 30, 2016 at 11:19am PST. The current WSL Women's Big Wave World Champion was born and. KK: Yes, but I dont talk too much about what I am going to do until after its done. It saved my ligament from tearing which kept me off the surgeon's table, but poor muscles take a while to heal too. PEOPLE: What drew you to big wave surfing? Fact: Keala Kennelly is one of the hardest charging and most determined female big-wave surfers to have ever lived. Whereas for the five to 10 years I was doing it, there were no competitions, there was no prize money, there was no incentive really. The Judges overseeing this case are GEORGINA T. RIZK and YOLANDA OROZCO. He said that I shouldn't be afraid of asking for help. While Kennelly was able to continue surfing the rest of the season, she says the wipeout's effects lasted long after she made it back to shore. It was there, while on top of a 50 . Bruce paddled out and said, Nice barrel Lala! Then he proceeded to tell all the other boys in the water about it. To be fearless is to be ignorant to those consequences, and that is very dangerous. Tell me about how living with bipolar depression has impacted your surfing, or vice versa. I didnt come flying out of the closet swinging rainbow flags in the air. It took me right back to my childhood [laughs]. 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. The Surfers Journal is made possible with sponsorship from: Tel: 949-361-0331 He kept calling me all these awful things at lunch, things I had never been called before. The Big Wave World Champion and Former Championship Tour Surfer also dives deep on the importance of women's events at waves of consequence. A post shared by Keala Kennelly (@kealakennelly) on Dec 17, 2017 at 1:56pm PST. After a successful career on WSL World Championship 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. It's still very homophobic, and there's not a lot of brand inclusivity in terms of sponsorships and advertising. 1,608 posts. I never thought that I would be a woman invited in my lifetime. O ne sunny morning in January 2018, on a white boat in the blue sea off the Hawaiian island Maui, Bianca Valenti and Keala Kennelly sat on a beanbag listening to "German Sparkle Party," a song . First woman to win a big-wave contest. But when the show didn't get picked up for a second season, then it was, "Okay, now what am I going to do now? It was really scary. Keala Kennelly is one of the most successful competitive female surfers of all time. This case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courts, Stanley Mosk Courthouse located in Los Angeles, California. Product overview OBJ Files (280 MB) DWG Files (110 MB) But I was stoked, I was feeling really confident. It was pretty much all Brian Kennelly had. It is the first time that a woman has been included on the invitee list for the prestigious big wave contest. She resided atop the CT . What happened out there? Discover short videos related to Keala Kennelly on TikTok. KK: Its still always in the back of my mind. To this day, my father is a 60-something surf-stoked grom. After a heroic performance at The Eddie, Keala Kennelly faces a painful reality. 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, including a recurring role as a surfer in the 2007 series John from Cincinnati. Keala Kennelly wins the Red Bull Big Wave Awards WIPEOUT OF THE YEAR for her heavy beat down at Jaws, Hawaii on February 11, 2020. But its the industry that needs to change, not me. Surfer Keala Kennelly attends the 10th Annual XXL Billabong Big Wave Awards at Grove Theater on April 23, 2010 in Anaheim, California. She was in the Hollywood hit movie Blue Crush and was a season regular on the HBO show John From Cincinnati. She remembers constantly feeling like she was under a microscope and feeling pressure from the ASP toturn a blindeye to her true self. My last few years on tour everyone pretty much knew I was gay. Kennelly is fully qualified to participate as she, and many other female surfers, have been arguing for years. A Norfolk Pine karate-chopped the house. Transsexual. Tyler Wright is another out championship surfer now, and it's so important because it helps LGBT youth say, "I can be me and still accomplish what I want.". Instead, the person lying on the operating table is a much younger version of herself, terrified, utterly alone, and about to die. I got into a lot of fights too, but I pretty much learned that the other kids would mess with you, threaten you, and try to intimidate you until you stood up for yourself. Laird had gone there and gotten into many fights, and so had my older brother, so I knew what I was in for. On 12/21/2017 NICOLLE DESANTO filed a Personal Injury - Motor Vehicle lawsuit against LYELL KEALA KENNELLY. Keala Kennelly's age is 44. As the weeks went by, Kennelly says she developed pain in her labrum (hip) caused by the board yanking the leash attached to her leg during the wipeout. I was just doing it purely out of passion. I left the tour because, emotionally and mentally, I just couldn't handle it but I also got this really amazing opportunity to go do acting on an HBO TV series (2007's John from Cincinnati) for a year. But lo and behold, there was a hammer about to be dropped on me. And it almost killed me.. Not just to women, but to men as well. Her aggressive approach to catching waves was inspired by her upbringing, surfing with legends like Andy and Bruce Irons and Laird Hamilton in Kauai. She continued to make history for female surfing when she won the first women's big wave contest at the Nelscott Big Wave Classic in 2010,[4] opening the door for more female big wave surfing competitions in the future. (For the record, we have no worries whatsoever that this photo . The crash was so severe that it earned Kennelly the Red Bull Big Wave Wipe Out of the Year award. 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. Generally, she won. It's way more challenging when you have that stiff wind, that makes things harder, and you saw a lot more wipeouts in both the men's and the women's. His parents split when he was 13. Lesbian. Right now at a time when we could really use some strong female role models -- especially after this last election, where we thought we were going to have a woman president and then we got the antithesis of that. She left that behind a decade ago, along with the hardened exterior shed cultivated since childhood. 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. I'm proud of who I am, and when you come out, you're teaching people that you are not something to be ashamed of. lists Video from Ken Kosada. From a young age, she knew that to pursue being a champion surfer, she'd have to crash through a lot of barriers. I would never want to inflict that kind of pain on them. Despite her packed resume of badass wins and awards, Kennelly is very clear that as a 43-year-old competing against 20-somethings, she's keeping her expectations in check for the tour. Otherwise, I haven't seen a lot of LGBT communities within the surfing world. After winning the first-ever women's Big Wave Tour contest, the Maui local reflects on her triumph, her team and what's next. To have fear is to know that there are severe consequences. Keala Kennelly (born August 13, 1978) is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. PEOPLE: And one of the companies sponsoring you today is Flex. Kennelly: I think for me just going through life, living inauthentically was so hard, and coming out was so scary but when I actually finally did come out, it was one of the most freeing feelings in my life. In 2015, she was again among the nominees. From huge barrels to massive drops, for a handful of other women at Jaws on . parties, do deliveries, paint houses, give surf lessons here and there. I just simply stopped going to great lengths to hide it. Things are changing fast and getting better for everybody, not just women. One time I beat Andy, and he wouldnt even speak to mefor a few weeks! 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. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. But none turned our heads like Moana Jones and Tatiana Weston-Webb, who could be seen (and presumably heard) upbraiding one another after getting their swords tangled this evening. Attorney Karen Tynan and Sabrina Brennan, the president of the San Mateo County Harbor Commission, also came on board as co-founders. Keala Kennelly (born August 13, 1978) is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. Keala Kennelly and Malia Manuel paddled out for a sunset spritz. KK: Yeah, I was 17. I think I could have made a lot more money if Id stayed in the closet and played the game longer. Browse 1,676 kennelly photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. Fear is good. 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. Its the double standard. We've got a lot more stacked for you. 2021 Women's Ride Of The Year Kennelly Keala at Himalayas on December 2, 2020. Thats always pushed me harder, to prove them wrong and try to be better. Updated about 1 month ago. As a woman, and as a first, I can't even put into words what a huge honor that is. I am a professional surfer, DJ, and Actor. So, it's really nice to see that attitude change. And being trapped in a room full of snakes, like in Indiana Jones. Keala Kennelly captured by Tim McKenna. And if you don't have any sponsors, basically you won't have a career. Following her role on John from Cincinnati in 2007, Kennelly began touring the world to pursue her music career as a DJ. Anna Dimond. PEOPLE: So you finally come out what was the reaction like? Movies. Kennelly began her acting career with a role in the 2002 film, Blue Crush, and later landed a recurring role on the 2007 HBO series, John from Cincinnati. 2021 Women's Ride Of The Year Kennelly Keala at Himalayas on December 2, 2020. [13], In 2016, she won the Pure Scot Barrel of the Year Award at the XXL Big Wave Awards for getting barreled at Teahupoo, Tahiti. By any measure, Keala Kennelly has achieved a slew of firsts: First woman known to have surfed Teahupo'o. 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. We were always trying to outdo each other, go bigger. Kennelly: Even before I got on tour, it was already very well known that it was not okay to be out, it was not okay to be a lesbian. | Red Bull Big Wave Awards - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5xy_Nihb0#WSLSubscribe to the WSL for more action: https://goo.gl/VllRujWatch all the latest surfing action of the world's best surfers in the world's best waves. 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. When you're backside on any wave, you're not facing the wave, so your peripheral - you can only see about 11'o'clock without completely jerking your head around. Kennelly has both been nominated for and won numerous big wave awards. The whole thing scared the shit out of me. A lot of community things are unspoken. I'd already come out as a lesbian, and then I had to have a second coming out as a mentally ill person? #KKWouldGo! Everything that matters in surf + outdoorsdirectly to you inbox. PEOPLE: Considering your experiences, do you have advice or any words of encouragement for anyone who might be nervous about coming out? He attempted suicide soon after. She has played internationally at venues in Australia, France, South Africa, England, and Spain as well as domestically in Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and San Diego. Keala Kennelly. It took her finding other gay surfers to realize she could be open about her sexuality and be a pro surfer. 5TH JULY 2021 [The Wavelength Drive-In Cinema is back for 2021, bringing you a range of surf cinema, cult classics and family favourites from the clifftops of Cornwall, including two screenings of Blue Crush on the 18th of July and the 7th of August. Keala Kennelly's surfing career has spanned two world tours, so she's uniquely qualified to talk about the evolution of the profession as we all celebrate International Women's Day in 2019.
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