By Jake Howard
It’s hard to miss Kai Thompson, one of the newest members of the Dana Point Surf Club, while he’s out at Salt Creek rocking his pink wetsuit and board combo. It’s a wonderful thing.
“My favorite local spot to surf is Salt Creek, and my favorite place to skimboard is Aliso Beach,” says Kai, who just wrapped up fourth grade at Canyon Vista Elementary.
“I just love being in the ocean; I love riding any kind of board, surf, skim, boogie board whomper, even body surfing,” Kai says. “I love that feeling when you get a great wave, and I also love getting pounded, too, because that’s always fun!”
Ripping on a surfboard or a skimboard, Kai’s been working with coach Brandon Phillips at Vert Performance to take his game to the next level.
“I think it’s great, because a lot of kids bail on skimming once they get good enough at surfing, but Kai has stuck with it, and it’s become a unique attribute,” says Phillips. “He is used to taking a beating in heavy close-out sets onto the sand, which is probably why he loves surfing Gravels so much.”
In terms of where Kai sees his passion for the sea taking him, he’s got big dreams to accompany his big talent.
“My dream would be to be competing both as a professional surfer and professional skimboarder at the same time, but I will be happy to be surfing, skimming, riding any type of board and all kinds of waves all around the world, and still loving the ocean and having as much fun as I am now,” says Kai.
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