"An Interview with Barry Kanaiaupuni," written by Thor Svenson, ran in December 1971 issue of Surfing magazine. Kanaiaupuni was 26.

Is your family from Oahu or from one of the other islands?

When I was nine, my father gave me this eight-foot board. He didn’t surf, he was too big—300 pounds, he’d make a good wrestler.

No, one brother, he's a fireman in Nanakuli, and a sister, a travel agent, one rich 

 in Honolulu. She makes lots of money (laughter). She’s married and has three beautiful children.

My mother’s dead. My father’s living.

We owned this hotel. Where the Foster Tower is now. When we had it, it was maybe twenty cottages, with plenty of green foliage. Really nice. Had a long brick walk. We used to play roller derby there. My father used to own that but he got cockroached out of it somehow. That’s what happened.

No, not always. He gave me that board. I was a fat little boy. Told me “Go surfing.” After a while he told me to give the board back. "Enough surfing.” Cause that’s all I did. Used to cut school. Then he gave me a licking and after that I was more careful.

No (laughter)—I ought to take him. Think I will. He’d be stoked.

A lot of people comment on the chances you take in big waves; why do you do it?

I don’t know, it’s just there. It’s either you’re going to do it or you’re not going to do it. There’s certain areas in the wave where you’re either gonna prone out or do it. You have this choice to play it safe or go ahead and try.

 do you do it, though? How do you make that decision to not prone out like most surfers do?

I don’t know. Uh . . . just the feeling. I just want to do it. No reason, I just want to do it.

Yeah. You know, like if I’m playing volleyball or football or baseball I like to go as far as I can go, play as well as I can play.

On a big wave, what do you think about when this gigantic thing comes over? Anything special?

 think. Sometimes, maybe, "Uh oh, I'm going to get it!" But mostly . . . I don't know. I guess it's will power.

Is a big wave a problem-solving deal for you? For example, there’s a section about to close out. Are you thinking about that specifically? Or are you communicating with nature or something like that?

No, no, none of that jazz. I’m thinking definitely about the wave I’m riding and what I’m doing. How I’m going to get from where I am to where I’m looking at. If I see a section coming over I think about where I want to be, aim in that direction, and try to get there. I heard a story about this guy climbing a mountain, a really sheer cliff, and at the end of the story he'd just fasten his will on something, look at it, and a few seconds later he’d jump over it. It was ridiculous. He would just fasten his will and do it.

Don’t you think that we do a lot of things beyond our capacity just simply through concentration?

I think that’s the difference between not doing anything and doing something.

It’s the difference between proning out and going ahead.

Yeah. And I'm sure you can apply it to life, to everyday situations; you’re either going to do it or you’re not going to do it.

Makaha scares me when it’s big. At Sunset, the inside where it bowls up. I know what that spot means if you wipe out; I’ve been down there a couple of times.

It means you’re almost going to drown. It means you’re really going to get nailed.

Are you more scared of the wave, or what’s under the wave—coral and things like that?

The power of the wave. It can hold you under there as long as it wants. Once it gets you, you can’t do anything. You’re just a little tiny beetle inside a washing machine and you don't get out until it’s ready to let you out. That’s what I’m scared of. Like that Sunset spot, it nails you and doesn’t let you go. Other places in the lineup can nail you but you come out. You come up catch a breath, then go back down. That one place, it doesn’t let you up.

So what do you do? Go into a tuck position? Curl up?

Do you think that’s the trick in working with the ocean, to relax?

Yeah, you have to. You don’t conquer waves, you go with them.

Do you think that wiping out is a necessary part of the evolution of a good surfer?

If there is no way to make the wave, then it’s stupid to try. But if there’s a 20% . . . or no, a 5% chance that you can make it, and that you’ll learn something from trying, then you should go ahead. In that sense you learn by your wipeouts or your mistakes. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake if you’re progressing, and wiping out helps you progress. You have to wipe out to learn. Artists and other creative people aren’t afraid of mistakes.


When people talk about you as a surfer, they talk about your speed and aggression. Is that an accurate description of you as a surfer?

What do you think about the Australian idea of being less interested in speed, and more interested in maneuvers?

I like ones for money, you need money to survive in this world.

About 7' 8", roundpin, 18-and-a-half inches wide. Three to three-and-a-half inches thick, down rails, but not too bulky.

What do you think of innovations like twin- and tri-fins, hollow boards, things like that?

Tri-fins are gonna be unreal. All they need is a little more perfecting. Get the vee right and the fins. Twin-fins are okay for little waves. But for the moment, single-fins just have less hangups. Hollow boards, you're limited in your shapes when you have to mass produce.

You’ve grown up in Hawaii. Do you have any comments on what’s happened to the Islands commercially over the last 25 years?

It’s getting more screwed up all the time. My children will probably just get the tail end of what was true and nice about Hawaii.

We got screwed! The white people came with guns. All we had were spears. They took away everything that was ours. Very few people still speak Hawaiian. My parents did. They used to talk with other Hawaiians at Waikiki, but it gradually stopped . . . no more people to speak Hawaiian with.

If they would just come and do it right, it would be different. But they try and ingrain themselves too quickly. There is a lot of resentment on the part of the Hawaiian people. You get tired of the typical North Shore guy. For example, you get tired of longhairs because some of them are such jerks. Yes, jerks. Probably the original hippie was a nice guy, but then all the other cats jumped in. The original guys weren’t losers or ding-a-lings. But the ones today you get tired of. I wish they’d come, enjoy it, then go back where they came from.

You and some other locals have been involved in fights with surfers, including some big names, who have come here from other countries. What’s your side?

I think there’s a lot of ego involved. Maybe they’re out surfing, thinks he's really hot shit, and getting aggressive. It gets to a point where you either have to back down or get it on with the guy. It kind of bums you out. You gotta confront the guy with, you know, Here’s a knuckle sandwich, or you just walk away and avoid him. Except if you do that, it just keeps building up, you know? Most of the locals are such nice guys. Nice, polite, beautiful people. But you get some Mainland guy, the hero of 13th Street, California, he comes over, drops in on everyone, acts the big shot. People get mad. There’s no respect. Respect has gone down the drain.

I notice you don’t live in the colony at Sunset, but back up in the hills with your wife and children. Is there a reason?

Yes. The rent was getting too high. Also, we wanted to live by ourselves and not put on a front or be part of a particular group. It’s quiet where we live. No cars, no guys looking for trouble. I like people, but not that much. I like to be alone with my family.

But you do hang around with some of the locals.

Tiger [Espere], he’s great. A real Hawaiian; unreal. The Aikau brothers. Sam Hawk and Owl Chapman, I go surfing with them.
 

Paul Strauch and Joey Cabell, I guess. I was 13 or 14, and I used to watch Joey ride the nose at Waikiki. Really great, really agile, like David [Nuuhiwa].

How about today? Any young surfers impress you?

Craig Wilson has a style all his own. Larry Bertlemann, Davey Smith, Michael Ho. All the 

 were flipping at the Huntington contest when Michael was standing on the nose, shooting the pier backside.

Outside Hawaii, what surf areas do you like?

Lots of variety, and the waves have some juice. Windansea, the Shores, Blacks, and Newbreak. When I was there [in the '60s], hardly anyone surfed Newbreak. Skip and I used to all the time.

Skip’s so great still. Does his own thing.

Yeah, he is great. So smooth. Like he’s flying.

How do you feel about coffee, tea, alcohol, pot, and such?

Coffee and tea aren’t good for you. They’re stimulants. Cigarettes? Everybody knows they’re no good. Alcohol? For me, I don’t think it’s any good. I don’t drink any more. And pot? That’s a hard one. It can lead to addictive stuff. But I don’t think it should be banned because of that. There are people who are going to get there no matter what, heroin addicts and that type of trip. In general, I think pot is harmless. But individuals who do have problems shouldn’t smoke it, as it tends to bring out your problems and magnify them. You can really go on a bummer.

Do you think right now in your life you’re happier than you’ve ever been?

Definitely. I seem to have found what I’m looking for.

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