\u201cAnything is possible.\u201d That\u2019s what Cliff Kapono learned from Larry Bertlemann when Kapono was growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii, discovering his influences and laying the groundwork for his own approach in the water.<\/p>\n
For Kapono, Bertlemann was style incarnate, but just as important as his approach to surfing was, the fact that he was a Hawaiian defining radical surfing at the time was of equal importance. While most surfers Kapono\u2019s age looked to modern reference points like Kelly Slater and the Momentum Generation, Kapono found a deeper inspiration in the history of Hawaiian surfing, and in characters like Bertlemann, who showed him that there was truly no limit to what he could do in the water.<\/p>\n
Kapono has applied Bertlemann\u2019s \u201cAnything is possible\u201d philosophy to more than just surfing, seeking excellence not only in the lineup, but in higher education, which lead to Kapono attaining a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, earlier this year.<\/p>\n