Interview by Malia Manuel
Shane Valiere hits the books

Ask any pro hailing from Kaua‘i and he’ll tell you that the island is littered with underground rippers, who, for one reason or another, never went the professional route. Some despised competition, others were just plain over it and some went the school route. Shane Valiere is one of those that opted for books over boards. As the younger brother to Evan Valiere, Shane’s been a top-shelf surfer for all of his life. But when the time came to either join the WQS or go to school, Shane took a step back, examined his options and moved to San Diego to major in Marine Biology. It’s proved to be a beneficial choice as he’s still able to get lofty on a regular basis at the many beachbreaks near his house. All after his homework’s done, of course.

Malia Manuel: I remember when I was a grom you and your brother were winning lots of contests on Kaua’i. Evan stayed on the contest route and you went to college. What inspired you to make that decision?

Shane Valiere: I was actually really confused about what I was going to do. I think not having many strong contest results in my last year in NSSA played a large role in my final decision, as well as not being that into shooting photos. Two years later when I chose my major and committed to school I found I was much happier with my decision and grateful for my situation.

MM: Although you’re going to college, you still get to surf almost every day and go on surf trips. Can you explain how you tie in surfing along  with college.

SV: I’ve found that surfing is sometimes even more fun when you have to work all day and be in class before you can do it. I live by the beach so I can run out and surf almost every day and the waves are rippable most of the time. Of course there is a ton of work and sometimes I do school work and study all day, or all week lately, and can’t surf.

MM: Your brother is one of the most underground rippers from Kaua’I without a major sponsor. How does that help with your decision about staying in college?

SV: My first few years in college my brother was doing really well and so were a lot of my friends so I was kicking myself. Now since the economy slumped it makes me feel like I made a good decision because now I’m almost finished with a degree and have other career options besides surfing.

MM: Any advice you want to share with groms?

SV: If you want to surf all day go ahead, but if you’re drawn towards other things you should give them a chance too and you’ll find you can still surf plenty.

MM: Tell us a little about what you’re majoring in at college in San Diego and what you hope to achieve.

SV: I’m majoring in Marine Science: Earth Systems. It’s really all about how this world works and it’s a lot more complex than I ever thought. Science majors are really tough so I’ve achieved a lot just by making it this far. I’m not sure what I want to do when I graduate but I have a few options. I kinda just want to go home and surf for like a month straight to celebrate graduating then I’ll figure it out.