THE BIBLE OF THE SPORT

So she did. Aside from surrogate brothers Bruce and Andy, who were kind to her, most of the other boys hated her. They said she was "retarded" by surfing. A retard. Keala. They made fun of the way she walked. Her body. The way she dressed. Keala couldn't help but genuinely believe that something was wrong with her. And that's probably why Sergio happened.

She was out of high school at 16. GED. After a falling out with her dad, she fell in with a guy named Sergio. He ended up being a psycho. She actually moved to Long Beach to be with him; Keala didn't know anything. He was the only guy who had ever showed any interest in her at all. She thought it was love. The guy turned out to be a scary gangster; her dad practically disowned her. She finally came up for air two-and-a-half years later. That's when she moved home again. Kauai never seemed so beautiful.

That's when she started wishing on the first stars at night that someday she'd win the world championship. That's when she hit the ground running on the WQS. And that's when she met Roxanne.

EXCERPT 3
She also told me she was a little miffed that she wasn't invited to the Pipeline Masters. I said that if any woman were to be invited, chances are it would have to be the world champion.

"Layne?" Keala said. "No way, she's scared of places like that. That's why I won at Teahupoo in 2000." I reminded her that I was there when Layne was dropping into some of the gnarliest lefts of the 2000 OP Pro Boat Trip Challenge in the Mentawai's.

"Yeah, well, when they finally invited me last year, so did I," she countered, matter-of-factly. "And at least I won the thing."

And that was that.

I remember sitting in Keala's bathroom, watching her get ready for another round of "spinning" in town. She wanted me to check her make-up at every turn, the sparkly eye shadow especially. It's new to her, this make-up thing, and she trusted my opinion. For the moment, I was just one of the girls, hanging out, watching Keala Kennelly, in her bra and panties, get ready for the night and dishing on all sorts of matters. She is completely comfortable with her body around guys. "I've been getting dressed in parking lots all my life," she quipped.

Then she sat up on the counter and showed me the underwear photo, the one that caused all the trouble at the 2001 SURFER Poll. Keala had her "Pussy Posse" with her that night and the drink and the laughter and the attitude was flowing. That's how they all ended up at the official portrait station hiking up their skirts to expose their panties. Printed in bold on Keala's crotch were the words "BE YOURSELF." The very next day, both Bruce and Andy scolded her for it. She felt bad enough, but it only got worse when Laird Hamilton called and told her to "knock that kinda shit off."

Laird Hamilton? Bruce and Andy I understand, but Laird Hamilton? What the hell business was that of his?

This preceeding excerpt is from Matt George's Surfer magazine profile of Keala Kennelly. To read the provocative profile in its entirety go to your favorite surf shop or newstand and pick up Surfer magazine volume 43 Issue #8 or click here to subscribe.