Interview: Tahitian Surfer Kauli Vaast On Winning Olympic Gold, How He Learned To Charge Waves, And More

At just 22 years old, Quiksilver sponsored surfer Kauli Vaast is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in the sport after he just won a gold medal for France at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympic surfing competition was held at Teahupo’o in Tahiti which just so happened to be this born-and-raised Tahitian surfer’s backyard so when new first broke that Olympics surfing were coming to his home wave he scrambled to qualify in a hurry.

Kauli Vaast sat down with me last week to talk about winning an Olympic gold medal at Teahupo’o, a wave he first surfed at just 8 years old, which also happens to be one of the heaviest and most famous waves on planet earth. We discussed his goals for the future, his journey with Quiksilver, life after winning a gold medal, and how he pulled off a viral moment in Paris where he went wake surfing behind a boat on the Seine River in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Interview With Kauli Vaast: Winning A Gold Medal In His ‘Backyard’ At Teahupo’o

“It was the best thing in the world that ever happened for me. The biggest goal… The biggest contest of my life… I was in the water and was just like ‘this could be the best result of my life too.’ So I was like 100% enjoying the moment and I was focused… And seriously, I couldn’t have been more prepared, I think I can say.”

“I’m not saying this after because I won, but really I was mentally, physically and emotionally prepared. I was just happy to be there and then focus as good as I could and really be stoked.”

Kauli On Life After Winning An Olympic Gold Medal

“Crazy. Yeah, I’ve been doing so much stuff. A lot of media and a lot of people have been coming to me and saying congratulations and I never expected that before.”

“(The celebration in Tahiti was) the best thing in the world to have the whole community, the whole island, home parents, family… To see them all so happy, it was something special, really.”

Kauli Vaast On What ‘Uncle’ Raimana Van Bastolaer Has Meant To Him Over The Years

“Uncle Raimana is the legend of Teahupo’o. He’s the one that pretty much showed Teahupo’o to the whole world and put Teahupo’o on another level with Surfing and getting big waves and then representing Tahiti to the world.”

“And then I wouldn’t be here without him because he helped me so, so much. He was the first person that really called my parents and told them ‘I’m gonna take your kid and then bring him to Teahupo’o and he needs to surf this wave as much as he can. And then he really convinced my parents… And my mom told me, it was really hard for her to let me go with him and then knowing that I’m going to surf Teahupo’o with the big waves and stuff.”

“So he was really important with all of that and then he always told me since I first started surfing Teahupo’o… He was just like ‘you have to go in the water.’ Even if I was scared and it was really big… ‘You have to go in the water because if you don’t go, you will never go.’ And that is how I start surfing Teahupo’o.”

“I mean, I started surfing with my dad. And then after, when he kept bringing me there, I was always like ‘ok, I’m going slowly… I’m in the water. I don’t care. It’s ok if I don’t take waves…’ But slowly I started getting waves (Then) bigger waves. And then this is how I started to surf and learn about Teahupo’o the wave. And then learning from the best because I was on the peak watching the older brothers going into some big ones and it was crazy.”

Kauli Vaast On What Physical Training Looks Like When He’s Not In The Water

“So for the moment, I try to have a little bit of rest so when I’m not in the water I’m trying to hold myself back. So a little bit of rest and have time with my family. That’s all I need right now and all I want because since the Olympic Final I’ve been going nonstop.”

“But for training, when I’m not in the water, I like to do other stuff / other training. Swimming… Running… I like to run. I like physical training. I do a lot with with my physio. I like doing naps. I like to eat. And then that’s pretty much the day when I’m not in the water, I’m doing these things.”

On The Bond Between Surfer And Jet Ski Driver When Big Wave Surfing

“Sometimes it’s really hard to find someone and then create that relationship with the driver because the driver is gonna put you on the (wave) spot and then you need to trust him 100%. And then he needs also your confidence for him to put you on a good spot. He needs to trust you too.”

“So it’s a really hard situation, and really hard to find that relationship. And then with Baptiste (Gossein), it was straight away. Like first time I did the tow-in wave I was with him, the first big one I got I was with him. And since then I’m 100% confident with him and I know like, he’s gonna put me on the best spot and then he’s gonna do all the work and then I just have to surf the line and try to find the line to come out and that’s my job. So we created that bond slowly.”

“And then he’s a really good friend of Uncle Raimana, a really good friend of my parents, and he’s the best out there. He can read the waves better than anyone else. And that’s how we create that relationship and that’s why he put me on the biggest wave of my life two years ago.”

On Surfing With Family

“But now it’s not him anymore, it’s my little brother (age 17). And this is a feeling that I can’t really explain…”

“I can’t put any words to it because it’s so special to have your brother, a part of your family, younger than you, and then younger than anyone on the jet skis, driving the jet ski and then put you on the biggest wave I got in my life. It was two weeks before the Olympics. He put me into this big wave and it was just insane. The best feeling I could have.”

Kauli Vaast On Goals And Winning A Gold Medal

“It was not a goal (of mine) at the beginning because I never thought I would do the Olympics once in my life because the Olympics didn’t have Surfing before the 2020 Olympics and then it became an Olympic sport.”

“And then after they said that for 2024 Paris Olympics it would be in Tahiti and it became at this point, a big goal… First, a big dream, but a big goal and it all went super fast.”

“I got qualified really quickly. It was really hard but everything went super fast and with qualification, I had a couple contests at Teahupo’o to prepare myself for the competition at Teahupo’o. I know there are not many competitions there.”

“(Meanwhile) I was still following the Challenger Series season, the original season, to try and qualify for the Championship Tour at the same time. But at the end it went really quickly and the dream came true and then it’s incredible… Incredible, like to be able to show you this (shows me gold medal) means a lot for me because I never thought about it and then now I have the chance to hold it now and wow, it’s just insane.”

“And like I said, it came so quickly and that’s why I don’t really realize (what happened) at the moment because it’s such a big thing for me and I want to still be focused on the main goal and the main goal is still to qualify for the Championship Tour.”

Kauli Vaast On Working With Quiksilver

“I’ve been with Quiksilver since I was 13 years old, that was my first contract. (It was) the first really good contract so that I could do competitions in Europe and moving around and stuff. It was crazy. It’s been a long time now.”

“I’m super lucky and I’m grateful they still believe in me and trust me because this is how it works… They trust you to get the good results and they also want you to do it (for yourself). I’m super thankful (for them) and we keep going and it became like a family after a while because we went so much through up and down and I’m super, super lucky that they still trust in me.”

Three Quiksilver Items He Can’t Travel Without

“Oh that’s easy. The sticker. And then the how do you say the… the little bag that you, you can put across your chest with small items? Like a banana bag. So I put everything like my passport and everything I really, really need when I’m traveling. And then the third thing is my board shorts, obviously my board shorts because even if I’m going in the cold spot, I will wear my, my board shorts sometimes.”

On What It Takes To Go From The Challenger Series To Championship Tour

“It depends who you are. It depends how you like to surf because the waves… First of all, the waves are really hard on the Challenger Series. There are a lot of people too. Everybody is so good.”

“And then I think there’s a lot of chance (in having a) good year. You have the rhythm, you’re good physically an mentally. And then you go in the water… You have the best waves… You get good scores. You could get good results and then at the end of the year you’re qualified. But it takes time, a different time for everyone. It can be quickly, like for me with Olympics. Or it can take a little bit of time and yeah, we’ll see.”

Kauli Vaast On Learning To Surf In Tahiti And Adjusting To Waves Around The World

“Because I started surfing on the s——- waves in Tahiti, the North Shore side of the island where it’s a beach break. There are a lot of wind swells sometimes and it’s just super small all year. But when we get to the Winter season this year, we got the same swells as in Hawaii. It hits Hawaii first and then hits Tahiti after.”

“But yeah, I started surfing s—– waves and I got the chance to travel in Europe with hard conditions too, not the same as Teahupo’o. I had the chance to go surfing in Hawaii, surfing big waves, and that helped me a lot. And I learned how to surf Teahupo’o since I was eight years.”

So it was a big combo, learning Teahupo’o, all big waves, reef breaks, and beach breaks at the same time and then doing competitions. So I had a lot of time spent in the water with both conditions. And then I think I have a pretty complete surfing (background) pretty much. And I like surfing s—– waves and very hard waves and I also like surfing big waves.”

On Beating Kelly Slater When He Was Just 17 Years Old

“(laughs) It was a dream come true, actually… I mean, I didn’t expect it. I was so focused in the contest I didn’t really realize who I was up against. I was just like doing my own thing and enjoying the moment because I had a perfect heat, perfect waves.”

“And then I went against Kelly and I just realized when I was sitting next to him (in the water), his name ‘Slater’ was on his jersey on his back and I was like ‘ohhhh, I’m against Kelly Slater. First time in my life. It won’t be the last, maybe, so I’m just gonna give everything I have’ and it was pretty hard after the heat because he’s my mom’s favorite surfer. And then she was like ‘oh, you beat Kelly but at least you won, so it’s good.'”

Kauli Vaast On Something People Outside Of Surfing Might Not Know About Him

“That I’m justhappy, I’m a happy person. I like to enjoy the moment even if it’s hard or complicated or whatever, even if it’s easy I’m just so happy to be here. And that’s how I think I keep going because I want to push, I like to push my limits and be happy.”

Surfing For Fun vs Surfing As A Profession

“It’s always fun to surf. I’m always having fun surfing competitions. That’s why I do competitions and I’m a competitor. But I like finding the same thing, happiness, in free surfing and free surfing I think is the best. You can surf with your best friends, ferfect waves everywhere in the world.”

“But when you get to the competitions… When you’re surfing competitions and you’re winning, it’s the best feeling in the world. That’s why you keep going. But in surfing, you lose more than you win and this is the game. But when you win, it’s the best thing.”

“When you lose, you’re like ‘oh, ok, next one, next one, next one’ you have this hope and yeah, it’s a different thing. Different worlds, Free Surfing and Competing. But it’s the same thing, happiness to be in the water.

Kauli Vaast On Surfing In Front Of The Eiffel Tower In Paris

“It was just two days after the Olympic Final. I only had the time to spend the night with my family, to party a little bit the next day, not even time to recover a little bit… Still partying and then went into the plane, go to Paris. In Paris I worked all the first day, media and stuff from 3 to 2 a.m. (Then I) went out, came back the next morning and then they mentioned the day before when I landed, they were like, ‘are you down to do something crazy?'”

“I’m like, ‘OK, what’s the deal?’ And then they explained the project and I was like ‘yeah, I’m down for anything. But are you sure it’s gonna work? Because you’re telling me it looks.. oh let’s grab a coffee tomorrow. It looks so simple. I do’t think (it will be) so simple.’ And they say the next morning ‘ok, be ready at 8.’ and I was like ‘ok.’ and I went”

SURF'S UP IN PARIS! 🇫🇷

Gold medalist Kauli Vaast got back from Tahiti to go surfing down the Seine. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/JOsyco74OF

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2024

“I went and the boat was ready. It was beautiful. It was sunny. I had the gold medal and I had to surf with the gold medal. I was a little bit scared to lose the medal. But in the end, we didn’t have that much time in the water. So it was really like… We had to be professional and get the shot and that’s what we did and were super stoked.”

Which Wave Kauli Is Most Excited To Surf

“Fiji. I’ll probably have more time this year and if there’s a swell I would love to go.”

Surfing Gold Medalist Kauli Vaast On Setting, Achieving Goals, And His Future

“At the moment, I’ve learn to write them down a little bit, a little bit of what my goals are for this year, for the next year. A little bit of idea of where I’m going. Of course, you always have them in mind but writing them down it’s something that you can remember and then also believe them when you’re writing. So writing them down, I have them in mind, but also believing that maybe one day they will happen. I started doing that not too long ago.”

“For the next year, (my goals are) to qualify for the C.T. (Championship Tour), to try and win a couple of events and be in the final five and then try to win a world title.”

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You can find Kauli Vaast on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with his success as he embarks on his next chapter as a professional surfer. You can also follow his WSL profile as he seeks to win on the Championship Tour next season. This interview as made possible by Quiksilver so be sure to show them some love too!

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)