Ekolu Kalama is coming to the UK
Ekolu getting pitted at Pipeline - photo by Allen Mozo
Ekolu Kalama will be attending the paddle round the pier event this weekend. He will also be doing a quick tour around some beaches in the UK on the days following the event:
Monday 7th - Windtek in Weymouth
Tuesday 8th - Longboard House, Newquay
Wednesday 9th - Poole Harbour Watersports
Ekolu (pronounced Ek co low) is an amazing paddler as well as a great musician (he is playing an accoustic guitar set at the Paddle Round the Pier Party on Saturday). He is a very friendly guy too so if you are in Brighton or one of the other locations next week it would be well worth you going along to meet him and learn a few things about paddling and listen to him play.
Born in Hawaii and raised on the island of Molokai, Ekolu Kalama began his love affair with the ocean from before he can remember. The Kalama family is notorious for producing outstanding watermen and Ekolu is no exception. As a third generation surfer and fourth generation canoe paddler, "stand-up paddling" is literally in his DNA. "I've been racing canoes since I was 12 and I'm a pretty good longboarder. When I was introduced to stand-up paddling 2 years ago, by my cousin, Dave Kalama and friend, Laird Hamilton, it made complete sense to me. It was the perfect marraige of my favorite ocean disciplines. I'm hooked and my life is better because of it!"
In that short period, Ekolu has been able to win two SUP World Championships across the 32 mile Kaiwi Channel. He has also been rapidly checking off his "TO-DO list" by successfully riding monster waves at Teahupoo, Pipeline, and Jaws on specialized SUP boards.
Ekolu, who's most at home on the ocean, is equally adept on land while singing and playing his guitar. As lead singer of the Mo' Bettah Band on Molokai, Ekolu is performing one last gig with his hometown friends this weekend. Since signing with Starboard three weeks ago, Ekolu is now taking his gig on the road. Ekolu will be traveling to atleast 9 countries this year, promoting Starboard and the sport of stand-up paddling. His first stop is in the UK where he also hopes to share a little bit of "Aloha!"
Ekolu, who's most at home on the ocean, is equally adept on land while singing and playing his guitar. As lead singer of the Mo' Bettah Band on Molokai, Ekolu is performing one last gig with his hometown friends this weekend. Since signing with Starboard three weeks ago, Ekolu is now taking his gig on the road. Ekolu will be traveling to atleast 9 countries this year, promoting Starboard and the sport of stand-up paddling. His first stop is in the UK where he also hopes to share a little bit of "Aloha!"
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