Zane Saenz

Living in Hau’ula, Hawaii, Zane Saenz is growing up with the North Shore as his playground. In his first open division entry at the APP World Tour Sunset Beach Pro, Zane advanced to the third round. A promising performance for a 15 year old at a heavy surf spot. Reflecting on his experience, Zane was kind enough to answer a few questions.  

Do you surf Sunset on a regular basis? 

 “I started surfing Sunset very consistently this Winter, about 3-4 times a week to prepare for the contest. During the week I go to school in the morning and surf in the afternoon.” 

What are your go to surf spots? 

“After surfing sunset so much I started to appreciate it and I really enjoy surfing there. I also like surfing at Ehukai and Turtle Bay.” 

When did you begin surfing on the North Shore?  

“I have been SUP surfing since I was 9 years old, but I only started surfing on the North Shore the past two years and more seriously and consistently the past year after getting my nice custom boards from Blue Planet and Kialoa SUP Surf Paddles from my sponsors. Having the right equipment made all the difference for surfing these types of waves.”  

What was the most significant thing you learned from the event?  

“I have not been in a lot of high-level SUP Surfing competitions, and it was a great experience to be in a jersey with other great SUP Surfers. I learned a lot more about wave selection and surfing for what the judges want, the maneuvers that will get the points and scores, which are competition aspects I realized I could improve on. 

Competing on the APP World Tour Sunset Beach Pro was pure fun! I was really excited to compete this year for the first time in this event, after watching it every year since I was a little kid and dreaming of being in it. I used to do the Nakamakai division at Turtle Bay and always got to see these athletes coming to compete at the World Tour and I was a grom in awe of them. It was such an amazing  experience to meet people all around the world at this event and they all are just super passionate about the sport, and very skilled at it.”