At the 2018 World Surf League award ceremony, Keala Kennelly, a Kauai-native, became the first openly gay Big Wave World Champion.
She has led the way for female surfers and taken on many “firsts” for the World Surf League. In 2003, she held the coveted Triple Crown of Surfing, which is only bestowed on surfers who win all three qualifying events. In 2005, she was the first woman to tow into Teahupoo, Tahiti. Then in 2016, she was the first woman ever invited to compete in the prestigious Eddie Aikua Big Wave Event, something many young women surfers only dream of. She’s ridden some of the best barrels in surfing history and opened the door for females to follow her down the line.
Whether or not you know these massive waves or follow surfing, we can all learn a few lessons in leadership from the woman leading the way for females everywhere, as well as the LGBTQ community. Here are 3 important takeaways Kennelly shared about being a surfing leader in her World Surf League acceptance speech.
1. Dream bigger. Always.
Kennelly started out by saying she’d dreamed of being a World Champion surfer since she was 7 years old. When she was 25 she came very close. That year she ranked second amongst female surfers in the league.
She felt being second was the toughest blow she’d ever received… and she’s gone face first into the reef at Teahupoo. Kennelly realizes now she didn’t make World Champion because she wasn’t dreaming big enough. Her dream was to be a World Champion, but she was closeted and hated herself.
It wasn’t until later, she dared to dream bigger. Her new dream was to be a World Champion who was happy and accepted herself.
All her life she dreamt of seeing a woman–any woman–compete in the all-male Eddie Classic, but she found she was dreaming too small for herself. Her dream to see a woman compete in the Eddie was actualized by herself as the first woman to be invited and compete.
2. Accept yourself completely.
She couldn’t be the competitor she is today—the one that took home the gold—if it wasn’t for her total acceptance of herself. When she was 25 and a closeted lesbian, there was always something holding her back. Now she is proud to be the first gay Big Wave World Champion and says she never would have made to where she is today without full acceptance of who she is as a person.
3. Uplift others around you.
Being a true leader means respecting and appreciating the successes of others. Kennelly says she would not have been able to break through so many glass ceilings if it wasn’t for the women who came before her.
She says, “Women are uplifting women. That’s what we do now.” She recalls the World Champion Title when she was 25 and how different the pay was for the men’s and women’s awards. She believes as a leader in her sport and her communities, it is up to her and other women forging the way to honor those who came before her and who fought for the equal pay she was given with this world title.
