“He’s a true junior waterman to watch because he’s so skilled in so many dimensions of the ocean.” —Tai Sunnland
and he is already honing this skill set at a very tender age as a teenager. So we start to look at him as an outlier, as one of those very special in- dividuals. He’s a true junior waterman to watch because he’s so skilled in so many dimensions of the ocean.” Beyond his skill in the water, what people always mention when they speak of Toa is his grace and kindness. Tai Sunnland first noticed him at last year’s Surf Jam. “This kid is a crazy waterman and he exemplifies what the Outrigger
really started to come on. He’s a very quick study. We would always wonder, ‘when’s this kid going to pick up paddleboarding?’ because his father was so good at it.” Once Toa started competing in earnest on the paddleboard, “at 13 or 14, he was already putting pressure on a lot of adults that are seasoned and so well experienced,” Pratt says. “A lot of water sports are not just physicality, right? There’s an understanding of the ocean, an understanding of currents and understanding of wind direction,
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 | AMA 15
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