Keala Kennelly’s indelible imprint on surfing still lingers today, as the current generation of female chargers fearlessly continue to break barriers, throwing themselves over heavy ledges at the likes of Pipeline, Teahupo’o, Jaws, Waimea, and beyond.
And Keala’s early embrace of the big wave world, despite being a boy’s club at the time, paved the way for what the current crop of women are doing in large surf. But her path within the surf world, especially during her professional career, wasn’t all roses and rainbows.
Famously, the Kauai-born surfer faced backlash in the male-dominated lineups at some of the world’s heaviest waves, not to mention her own struggle with owning her sexuality in an era rife with homophobia, sexism, and all sorts of offensive attitudes.
Well, on the latest episode of the We Shouldn’t Be Friends podcast – a recent-ish endeavor from surf media power duo, Nick Carroll and Hannah Anderson – Kennelly talks about her bumpy road through professional surfing. And in one instance, in particular, she talks about her relationship with 7x world champion, Layne Beachley.
“Layne doesn’t look up to anybody,” she said. “She puts herself up on her own pedestal. And just looks in the mirror. I’ve never met a more arrogant, self-aggrandizing person in my life.”
Cue Nick Carroll’s inimitable, breathless laugh.
Related: “Pipeline (and Pro Surfing in 2024) Is for the F*cking Girls”
Expanding upon their relationship, Kennelly continued:
“We had the same sponsor, Billabong, so I had to do a lot of things with her and stay with her. She actually made my time on Tour very miserable. She kind of outed me to my team manager at Billabong, while we were in Brazil, which was really fucked up.”
Related: Keala Kennelly and the Fight for an Equal Spot in the Lineup
Nevertheless, as mentioned before, Keala went on to have remarkable career inside the jersey and out. She never won any world titles on the CT, like Layne, but she did push the boundaries for women in heavy surf. And that impact is still felt today. Just look at the Caity Simmers’, the Molly Picklums, the Caroline Marks’ of the current field of female chargers – Keala laid the bricks for the sprawling big wave estate they’re residing in today.
Listen to the full podcast below.
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