SUP legend Dave Kalama Interviewed

In Episode 1 “My Old Stomping Grounds”, Dave Kalama visits the spots where he learnt to surf, and meets up with Jamie Mitchell for a flat water paddle. In this Mini Series, produced by Constanin Gross follows Dave on an awesome SUP traveling adventure from Maui to Namotu perfection, via Dave’s childhood home Newport Beach, LA

With the launch of his new mini series ‘Stand Up Traveling’ SUP boarder managed to scoop an exclusive interview with the waterman legend, Dave Kalama, asking him a few interesting questions about SUP and more….

Here’s what he had to say…

SB/ You and Laird Hamilton have been true ‘innovators’ in the world of surfing. You saw SUP as a new way of training and also captivated the world with big wave surfing.  Can you see any new developments of SUP disciplines that may appear in the future?

Dave Kalama/ I cannot foresee any new developments for new disciplines coming in SUP. The yoga really caught me off guard… I didn’t see that coming! But you never know what’s possible or what someone might do, so I’m sure there will be something.

SB/ Being in a Bond film is a great achievement.  What was the experience like and how do you drink your Martini?!!

Dave Kalama/  Shaken not stirred of course! The Bond film was a really great experience. We surfed all day and did some really incredible stuff together. But unfortunately they hardly used any of it, which is usually the case with most Hollywood productions. But all in all it was a really fun experience and I learned so much about the movie making industry. For that 30 second scene they used in the movie we filmed for two and a half days!

SB/ The London Olympics was inspirational this summer. Do you think SUP will ever be an Olympic sport? And do you think it would be a good thing?

Dave Kalama / Yes I do think standup will be an Olympic sport someday.  At the rate it’s growing and the attention it’s drawing, I’m sure they’ll put it in the Olympics. I don’t necessarily look at it as a good thing unfortunately.

I think once a sport reaches the Olympics, it sort of looses its coolness factor or is diluted. I’d rather see it not go to the Olympics and maintain this sort of alternative fitness image. I would rather see it maintain a slow natural growth curve rather than a huge explosion from the exposure it would get from the Olympics and then potentially a catastrophic crash when the less enthusiastic people stop doing it.

SB/ If you met someone who has no idea what a SUP is or what it’s used for, what would you tell them? Is it a surf board, is it for fitness…?  How would you describe the sport?

Dave Kalama /The first thing I would tell somebody is that it’s fun just to be on the water and standing up, which really no other self-propelled sport offers, which makes it such a unique experience and that alone makes it fun to do. Next I would tell them you usually are having so much fun doing it that you don’t realize what a great workout you’re getting, so the health benefits are really good. I would also tell them that there are so many different facets to standup. For example… long distance, flat water, wave riding, yoga, down winding, just purely for exercise, you can do it for adventure and exploring, you can paddle down rivers, you can ride standing waves. There are just so many different ways to ride and do standup paddling that there’s always going to be something for everybody.