By Chelsea Johns

There is no disputing that the Valley Isle is producing some of the hottest young talent around. While rippers like Dusty Payne, Ola Eleogram, Hank Gaskell and Granger Larsen haven’t broken the WCT barrier, they’re knocking hard on that door. Young Mauians have been turning heads at amateur events and making their presence felt on the WQS. They’re finding their way into your latest surf vid and infusing the pages of surf mags across the globe. Nine Maui hotshots were featured in Surfer Magazine’s “Hot 100” surfers of 2008. When you consider the size of the entire international surfing community, that’s a pretty impressive figure.

Sun Up to Sun Down
Maui surfers power life with solar

By Kevin Whitton


Matias Besasso moved to Maui to follow a dream. He wanted to live and surf in paradise. As an architectural student from Argentina, he assimilated quickly into the Valley Isle community by taking a job as an electrical contractor. He was making a good living for himself, surfing often, but a disconnect was growing between his line of work and his own environmentally conscious principals. “I was designing electrical for tract homes that were not designed for Hawai‘i,” Besasso says. “It was a complete waste, but luckily I have found an avenue to put to work what I believe in.”

Art by Clark Takashima

By Manny Pangilinan

 

When you look at one of Clark Takashima's paintings, its as if you can hear the crack of the lip as it crashes down, see the reef through the crystal clear water like you were actually paddling and feel the anticipation of the surfer as he tries to remain calm in the barrel. Blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, you can stare into perfect waves and imagine the line you would take, where you’d pull under the lip and come out cranking a huge carve. Clark Takashima's paintings deliver the anticipation and stoke of surfing, and make you want to get into the water.

By Yhazi Graham

Slam Poetry is a verbal expression that splices unique words into varying tonal patterns, describing feelings, memories, stories, moralities and more. O‘ahu has the largest registered slam poetry competition in the world, where anyone is welcome to listen or share a poem. The catalyst for this event is a humble, intelligent man named Kealoha. He is the founder of Hawai‘i Slam, Youth Speaks Hawai‘i, and First Thursdays.

Journey of a Waterwoman: the Valley Isle’s  Tiare Lawrence
By Chelsea Johns

Name: Tiare Lawrence
Birth Date: July 1, 1982
Sponsors: Hinano, C4 Waterman, Honey Girl Swimwear, DaKine and Xcel Wetsuits Hometown: Lahaina, Maui
Home Break: Lahaina Harbor

While we often hail individuals for their ability to excel in one arena, a waterwoman like Tiare Lawrence deserves credit for her skills in stand up paddle surfing, shortboarding, bodyboarding, longboarding, tow-in surfing, and in one-man and six-man canoes. A typical day for Tiare always includes a paddle or a surf, but most likely both. Born to Haunani Teruya and the late John Lawrence, and raised along the west-Maui mountains, Tiare has grown up near the ocean, but didn’t get into surfing until age eleven when she jumped in Lahaina Harbor. Her first craft was a bodyboard and she learned by watching her cousins and the other “harbor rats.” “Yup, I was a sponger, and I loved it!” she admits.

Moonlighting Surfer:  Taira Lei Aloha Barron
Born: Feb. 12, 1987
Home break: V-land
Job: Cocktail waitress and trail guide
By Alee Thompson


Every small town has a sweetheart. She’s the girl who everyone knows and loves and who represents the style of living that place is known for. For a town that’s known for surfing, beauty, and country living, Taira Lei Aloha Barron is the North Shore’s sweetheart. She rips, she works at a local restaurant and she’s a country girl at heart.