When trying to trace the lineage of Kalani Robb’s fast surfing, most people would draw a line to tough, heavy-footed Hawaiian surfers like Sunny Garcia. But while Garcia and his ilk may be influences of Robb’s, the truth is that Robb actually found his greatest inspiration in the grace and fluidity of Makaha’s own Rell Sunn.
In this episode of “Island Pride,” Robb discusses why Sunn is seen as the patron saint of surf style in Hawaii, the effect that she had on his surfing and how she didn’t just inspire people with her surfing, but with the way that she lived her life on land with poise and grace even in the most dire of circumstances.