“Keala Kennelly is the best female big wave-surfer on earth.” - The New York Times

Keala Kennelly is a 4x WSL Women’s Champion at Teahupoo, Tahiti (The heaviest Wave on the planet), an X Games Gold Medalist, an Espy nominated athlete, the first Woman to win an open gender category at the XXL Big Wave Awards, and the first Woman invited to compete against the men at the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Event.

In 2016, she won the Pure Scot Barrel of the Year Award at the XXL Big Wave Awards for getting barreled at Teahupoo, Tahiti. This award makes her the first woman to win in any open-gender category. Later that same year(2016) she was nominated for an ESPY Award. At the end of 2016 Kennelly made history once again by becoming the first woman ever invited to the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Event.

Keala helped establish a Women’s Big Wave Tour and was part of a committee that was responsible for getting women included in the Titans of Mavericks Big Wave Event and winning the fight for equal pay in surfing in 2018. A true pioneer Keala’s groundbreaking performances in some of the heaviest waves in the world have shattered glass ceilings in her sport. She continues to challenge peoples perceptions of what a women is capable of in the water and break through the gender barrier by doing things that no one ever believed was possible for a female.

In 2016, she won the Pure Scot Barrel of the Year Award at the XXL Big Wave Awards for getting barreled at Teahupoo, Tahiti. This award makes her the first woman to win in any open-gender category. Later that same year(2016) she was nominated for an ESPY Award. At the end of 2016 Kennelly made history once again by becoming the first woman ever invited to the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Event.

On land Keala has another career as an international DJ playing events all over the world. She has also had acting roles on the popular film Blue Crush and HBO’s John From Cincinnati. She has been in numerous award winning Documentaries including She is the Ocean and Out in the Lineup (a film about LGBT Surfers). Keala is a role model for women and a crusader for LGBT rights and equality in women's sports.

Surfing, Actress, Television Actress, Movie Actress, DJ, Athlete, Award-Winning Athlete, Sports Sports Motivation, Sports Speakers, Extreme Sports, Sports Industry, LGBTQ, Inspirational, Actors, Acting,