By Kevin Whitton & Chelsea Johns
Sometimes it seems like West Maui and its surf hot shots get all the
hype. For instance, they’ve got the freighting, hollow tubes at Honolua
Bay, two reality TV series: Maui Fever and Living Lahaina, they host
the infamous Front Street Halloween and harbor all the tourist traps.
Neither better nor worse, the west side is quite a divergence from its
east Maui counterpart.
Trek to the shores on the “body” of Maui and you’ll hit Pavilions, Jaws and a multitude of better-left-unsaid rippable peaks. You’ll find miles of sick-to-your-stomach windy roads and swarms of mosquitoes lurking in the shadows. You’ll also come across cascading waterfalls in every gorge, verdant greenery at every turn and a constant cooling breeze, making for possibly the best weather on the island. Not to mention the outstanding crop of surf stars reaped in the fertile soil along the slopes of Haleakalā and then thrown to their more natural habitat in the sea.
You’ll find these creatures suctioning out the competition at NSSA Nationals, poking their head out at ISA Worlds and creeping up the ranks in the WQS circuit. We searched deep in the northern and eastern Maui tide pools, reefs and coral heads to find this exceptional, eight-legged, Maui tako. —Chelsea Johns
 Kai Barger
Like most genuine Maui boys raised in the lush, inviting valleys of Haiku, Maui is and always will truly be home. “Haiku is the place for me,” says 18-year-old Kai Barger. “The weather is perfect, the waves are good enough and I love it.” Though the goofyfoot has traveled to beautiful and exotic locales such as Bali, Fiji, Australia and Mexico, he could never see himself living far from the Valley Isle. “Everywhere else is too crowded,” he adds.
The fact that many Maui surfers have to push harder than their O‘ahu counterparts to get recognition in the surf world would never lessen their loyalty to home. “We had to go out and get it. They never just gave it to us,” Barger explains. Despite the struggle to be noticed while living on an isolated neighbor island, the Maui crew is making their presence felt and finally getting their due. “Now days, all the boys are blowing up. Dusty and Clay guys made it and so has Ian Walsh, but,” he reminds us, “there are still kids that rip that don't even have sponsors and don't get much help.”
A young frother like Kai won’t stand by the wayside and expect success to fall in his lap. Last year, the country boy followed up his jaunt to Portugal for ISA World’s with three NSSA Nationals finals, taking first in Explorer Juniors, second in Explorer Men’s, and fourth in Open Men’s. This year Barger is not only graduating from King Kekaulike High School, but he will also be graduating from the amateur ranks and prepping for his future green room endeavors. Come June, Kai is planning on building his WQS seed, qualifying for ASP World Juniors and filling up his passport with journeys to the South Pacific and beyond. Kai Barger is set on dominating on all points of the globe, but be assured, he’ll always find his way home.
 Billy Kemper
Like so many groms brought up under the watchful eye of the HGA (Hawai‘i Grommet Association, formerly Ho‘okipa Grommet Association), you quickly learn to be tough and to stay on your toes. Billy Kemper, younger brother to the late ripper Eric Diaz, grew up getting grom beatings by “the boys” every day. “It was normal for us,” he remembers. “Now days, the groms growing up get away with anything, its definitely changed.”
But Billy’s not complaining. The powerful natural foot was inspired to pursue professional surfing from his older brother, Eric, and his brother’s friends like Kaimana Henry. Plus, spending everyday surfing and cruising at Ho‘okipa with all your friends, you become a brotherhood, a family. “If one of the boys were in trouble, the rest would have his back,” says Billy.
Young Billy was raised in Kū‘au by mother Lisa Diaz and father Steve Kemper, just steps away from Tavares Bay and down the road from Ho‘okipa Beach Park and Jaws. “It couldn’t be much better as a surfer growing up there, it’s the perfect environment,” muses Kemper. Besides having the older boys to look up to, he had a crew of talented upstarts to push the limits: Kai Barger, Matt Meola, Nalu Wallace and Albee Layer.
Now, Billy and his boys are raising the bar at home and abroad. Billy has already towed in at Jaws and was recently invited to surf in the 2008 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. Now, he is set on proving himself abroad, hitting up the junior pro comps, WQS events and taking on NSSA Nationals this summer with an impressive second place in total points in the Open Men’s division.
Lani DohertyThe country might be in Lani Doherty’s blood, but surfing is in her heart. Lani resides on a taro farm in Waihee and her affinity for nature keeps her busy both in and out of the water. “My home town isn’t so much a surf town, but it’s a nice place to get away, relax and do homework,” explains the well-rounded regularfoot. “I like to hike up to the waterfalls and swim in the pools. There’s a lot of beautiful nature to explore. I like camping, campfires, cooking outside and sleeping outdoors. I guess you could say I’m a country girl.”
Opting for homeschool, Lani spends her freetime surfing everywhere from Ho‘okipa to Honolua Bay, sessioning with friend Kea Espirito, who she looks to for growth, inspiration and his skills managing the crowd. Lani likes the fun of freesurfing, but is always up for the competition of a contest and likens her A+ contest record to the diversity of the conditions she has grown up surfing.
Back in the day, Lani swept her first off-Maui contest, the Rell Sunn Menehune Championships at Mākaha, winning the shortboard and longboard divisions as well as the expression session. Since then she’s placed first at the Legends of the Bay, Honolua, for four years in a row and is vying for her third victory this year in the overall standings of the HASA Junior Women Division, Maui.
While the farm keeps her family busy on Maui, she manages to head over to O‘ahu for at least a month every year. Surfing has also taken Lani to neighboring islands and California, but her travel hopes have sights set on Australia. “It seems so pretty and nice. The surf is great and some of the best surfers in the world come from there,” she says. In the meantime, Lani and her sister, Kulia, are filming a reality show on Maui that highlights their love for nature and Maui.
Ian GentilIan Gentil finds comfort cruising at his home break Pavilions, surfing with the other Ho‘okipa groms. In fact, he knows the wave so well he’s prone to taking first place on quite a regular basis at local events. But even though Ian’s content on a calling Maui home, save for international surf travel of course, he’s been raising his competitor’s hairs at HASA, NSSA and USA Surf Team events as well.
The young regularfoot that took down fellow Pavilions surfer Ian Walsh in a heat is looking ahead to the future for a competitive career on the WCT, a tangible goal for the lightning-fast 12-year-old surfer. With a repertoire of airs, fins-free turns and style in the barrel, Ian Gentil will soon graduate to the juniors with a strong competitive foundation to build on.
His contest results remain strong outside Hawai‘i with a win at the 2007 Surfing America in Huntington Beach, second at the 2007 NSSA Nationals Open Minigrom division and a fourth at the 2007 Rip Curl Grom Search National Final at Salt Creek in the Boys 12-and-under division and his surf travels to the Mentawai Islands, Bali, Tahiti and Brazil are just as impressive. According to Ian, more airs, rodeos and even more ridiculously technical tricks are the next wave of progression, a wave he’s happy to ride.
Makana EleogramThe youngest of four brothers, Makana Eleogram can thank brothers Ola and Uila for instilling him with the bug to surf. Growing up in Hana, Makana took full advantage of the mellow vibe and uncrowded Koki lineup to clock as much water time as possible. “Hana is very secluded and there are no photographers or media coverage and we have to travel off island to get noticed,” says the goofyfoot. “I’d like to start spending more time on the North Shore of O‘ahu during the winter season.”
The Hana High ripper credits his home break to his competitive savvy. “It’s helped me to have good endurance when it’s big and rough and to surf well in small, crappy contest waves, too,” says the goofyfoot. If Makana continues to hammer down consistent results, then he might find himself transplanted to the North Shore in the near future. As a WCT hopeful, he sees it in his cards.
Makana is a versatile surfer, known for getting his tail above the lip. He sees the future of surfing as not just pulling one radical maneuver on a wave, but a series of airs and insane turns. With the support of his shaper, Matt Kinoshita, all his incredibly talented teammates and his family, Makana will continue to forge his name in the surfing world.
 Monyca Byrne-Wickey
With a population of about 1,000 residents, isolated Hana town, which is located on Maui’s eastern coastline (a long, winding drive from civilization), produces an excessive number of talented surfers. Monyca Byrne-Wickey is one of these gifted upstarts, bred into surf-dom alongside Maui’s most promising crop of amateurs and young pros like Hank Gaskell, Ola and Makana Eleogram and Dege O’Connell. Living the rural life allows residents to spend carefree days focusing on the simple pleasures away from distractions. “I grew up playing outside everyday, climbing trees, swimming and exploring,” reminisces Byrne-Wickey of her Hana upbringing. “Everything was just fun and non-stressful.”
Hana also has a plethora of surf breaks and conditions in which to dabble: from peeling rights at Wailua to sandy beach breaks like Koki and rocky, nearshore peaks like River Mouth, there is always something challenging to work with. “It has trained me to be able to surf in both super windy and glassy conditions with high currents and it has also taught me to surf in both small and medium sized waves,” says Byrne-Wickey. Since most of the HASA and NSSA events are in equally shifty conditions, Monyca is given her chance to shine. At the end of the 2006-2007 year, she was rated first in the HASA conference, she attended ISA World Juniors the past two years, receiving a seventh place finish in ’06, and placed an impressive fifth at NSSA Nationals last year in the Explorer Women’s division.
The salty-haired, 17-year-old has already traveled to Bali, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal and Australia, to name a few, but still loves Maui best of all. “I’ve never been anywhere that feels comfortable enough or satisfied me more,” relishes Byrne-Wickey. “I love it here. It’s home.” With the natural, laid back ‘tude that comes with her chill Hana upbringing, Monyca’s inspires to make the WCT, “but not necessarily win a handful of world titles.” While there is no doubt that the natural foot is an adept competitor, making the top spot is not her ultimate priority. “I just want to enjoy every place that I travel to for its waves and its culture and to be recognized as a contestant who is truly in it for the love or surfing for fun.” Garnering a positive outlook like this, Monyca will always come out victorious.
Matt MeolaNot every talented surfer aspires for the world title and the grueling ranks of the ‘QS and ‘CT. Matt Meola is 100% Maui and embodies the relaxed attitude of his hometown, Kū‘au, while punting airs and destroying lips with friends Marlon Lewis, Kai Barger, Albee Layer, Dege O’Connell, Billy Kemper and Buzzy Stattner in the water. “At Ho‘okipa the waves suck 90 percent of the time, so when you finally get decent waves, you are twice as amped to surf as everybody else,” says the light-footed goofyfoot. “When I was younger I spent tons of time at this sick little wave by my house. It’s a little rippable left with a perfect air section at the end of every wave. I remember all of us spending countless hours out there, racing down the line and seeing who could punt the biggest air.”
While Matt plans on spending more time on the North Shore of O‘ahu next winter, his goal remains being a successful surfer while still having fun. He’s looking towards putting his aggressive aerial surfing to work in the video room to make that dream happen. Even though he has stellar contest results, 2007 HASA Junior Men’s State Champion, third place at the 2006 VQS Championships, Junior Men’s division and a finalist at the 2007 NSSA National Airshow Championships, Matt chooses to go with the flow, keeping Maui in his future plans. “Maui will always be home,” he says, “I can see myself as an old man snaking all the groms at Ho‘okipa.”
 Albee Layer
Even though the waves along Ho‘okipa Beach Park may not be all-time all the time, Haiku’s Albee Layer is making a name for himself within the community of young rippers coming out of the laid back locale. At 16 years old, the humble regularfoot jokes that his home break Boulders has made his surfing worse, but with contest results like winning the 2006 Quiksilver King of the Groms and his progressive surfing, the jokester isn’t fooling anyone.
“I like that my hometown is mellow and not all crowded. I like that it’s slow paced,” says Layer, who prefers to speed it up in the water. “I try to spend all my time here, I love winter on Maui. This is my home.” Albee is pursuing surfing as a career and knows sometimes he has to venture off the rock. His travels have taken him to Mexico, Bali, Australia, France and Tahiti is not far off on the horizon. As the progression of surfing gets a boost from Maui groms, Albee Layer is at the forefront of that push.
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