Watch: Kai Lenny’s “Biggest Wave I’ve Surfed Switch Stance”

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Dec 30, 2024 4:43 PM ET

Surfing, compared to its boardsport brethren such as skateboarding and snowboarding, is always a little behind in terms of maneuvers and innovation. For instance, Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 back in 1999; whereas today, surfers are still debating whether an air reverse is a 360 or 540.

Of course, the ocean imposes certain limitations – such as variability and reliance on natural forces – which the other boardsports don’t have to contend with. And yet, surfing continues to catch up.

Kai Lenny is one of surfing’s greatest innovators, pushing the boundaries in big waves, alternative crafts, flips, spins, and more. And Lenny’s latest contribution to the sport takes a cue from a common practice seen in skateboarding and snowboarding: riding switch stance.

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Regarding the wave, he explained:

“Biggest wave I’ve surfed Switch foot (Goofy) so far…Training for the monster lefts of Nazaré when that time comes. Now that the waves are flat I’ll be shaping boards based on what I’ve learned so that I can carve a little bit harder. Also I’ll be riding the wind to get my reps in at high speeds.”

It’s Lenny’s biggest wave ever surfed switch stance, and seeing that he’s practically the only one doing it at the moment, that likely means this is the biggest wave surfed switch stance, period.

This is nothing new, though. This season alone, Lenny dropped into a Pipeline bomb regular foot, then hopped to goofy foot, before pulling in the tube. After that ride, SURFER caught up with him to hear about the technique:

“You’re working a different part of your brain while in the opposite stance. It’s a real exercise to have your body mechanics do the same technique, but mirrored. When you go back to the normal stance, your technique gets even more refined because your brain just had to work really hard to process it, and now it’s in a natural neural pathway. That’s the benefit of going switch. Even if you don’t go gnarly with it, it will make your normal surfing better.”

Is switch stance the future of surfing? TBD.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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