Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable
16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.
In 1982, Californian surfer Dave Clark negotiated a lease over Tavarua Island with the Fijian government.
“Under Fijian law, the owners of an island are entitled to exclusive access to its surrounding reef as well, for fishing,” Che Slatter, standout local and James Kusitino’s mentor said. “The lease went through because at the time it was symbiotic for everyone — the resort created jobs for the surrounding community and the exclusivity clause let traveling surfers have some of the best waves on the planet all to themselves.”
In 1983, Tavarua Island Resort opened its doors. It was small, spartan, and family-run. Through the early 2000s, Tavarua grew, modernized, and hosted the world’s best surfers — even becoming an ASP world tour stop. It became Kelly Slater’s home away from home. He donated cash and time to the community, and in return the island blessed him with four CT wins and hours of tube time to bolster his Title runs.
How was this kind of edenic exclusivity enforced? If you tried to take a boat from a neighboring island, you were literally flagged down and turned around. “I grew up here,” Che said. “But I didn’t surf Cloudbreak until I was 20 years old.” Try to sneak in, get chased out by a boat — even if you’re Fijian and live a few miles away.
In the 80s, 90s, and early Oughts, there was little controversy surrounding the island’s exclusivity. The local surf community was small enough and young enough to accept Tavarua’s closed doors and not fight back.
Then, in 2008, the tone changed. As the number of Fijian surfers grew, and worldwide demand for the wave with it, opposition mounted against the lease agreement. “We as local surfers, along with other hotels and boat services, lobbied the government to open up Tavarua, arguing that public access to the wave would benefit the local economy more than leaving it exclusive,” Che said.
In 2010, Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama abolished exclusive surf rights. Cloudbreak was open to all.
At the same time, a 1-year-old named James Kusitino was taking his first steps at a nearby hotel where his mother worked. His father, a member of the Fijian military, noticed something peculiar early on.
“He’s quiet. Doesn’t say much. Clumsy around the house — but in the water, he’s like a fish.”
When James was four, the family moved to Sigatoka, a beautiful village next to Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park. Those sand dunes filter down a river and into the ocean, culminating in a fun rivermouth wave that James began surfing on immediately.
“Everywhere else in Fiji, all the kids play rugby,” James’s mother said. “Here, all the kids surf.”
“The current is strong out at the rivermouth, it made James unusually strong in the water for his age,” she continued. “People would see him out there on big days and be like ‘Who’s that kid? He has no fear.’ That was James. James is comfortable in big waves, he’s best in big waves. That’s his strength.”
When James was seven, some older locals boated him over to Cloudbreak — just six years after its public opening. “We didn’t know he went there — when we found out, we were a little scared. But he came back so excited and wasn’t even afraid,” James’s mom continued. “He’d come home after hours of surfing, crash on the floor, and watch surf videos until he’d sleep. I remember there being lots of Jamie O’ Brien on, lots of Andy Irons. He loved their surfing.”
James’s preternatural ability, combined with his unshakable surfing obsession and perhaps some Fijian mysticism, led to an uncommon connection with the ocean.
“I tell all the local kids just to follow James,” Che said. “If James paddles up the reef, follow him. Even if you don’t see a wave, just follow him. He either saw something or felt something. Just follow him.”
As James got better, he got more frequent access to Cloudbreak and Restaurants thanks to the tutelage and charity of older surfers. Naturally, school started taking a back seat. He began skipping classes to surf. Cloudbreak became the center of his universe.
“We pulled him out of school after Year 8,” his mom said. “When you have a kid that is this committed to something and this good at something and totally uninterested in anything else, we thought it was worth a chance.
“James’ dad was so supportive. He said point blank to me, ‘Look, he doesn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer. He wants to be by the ocean. If this doesn’t work out, he’ll be a great fisherman or boat captain. I want to let him try this dream,” Che said.
“Fiji hasn’t really had a surfer on the world stage before. He’s taken a different path. It’s a risk, but he has the talent and support to make it,” James’s dad concluded.
It’s important to mention here that while there’s never been a full-time, sponsored professional surfer out of Fiji, James does stand on the shoulders of Fijian flagbearers like Tevita Gukilau, who has competed in three cloudbreak CT events as the local wildcard and surfs at a world-class level. Locals like Tevita cleared the path for James’s arrival on the scene.
With the support of his family and tutoring from Cloudbreak’s best, James got better and better, competing in his first contest at Cloudbreak at 10 years old and making a name for himself quietly around the islands.
Then, James got the go-ahead from his family at 14 to leave home and move into a house full of surfers on the mainland, a 45-minute boat ride to Tavarua.
“I try not to miss a swell,” James said. “If Cloudbreak is four foot, I’m there. People don’t think I was ever scared of the wave, but I was at first. I remember being young and paddling for my life on big days, seeing a huge barrel break right next to me. But the more you do it, the more you get used to it.
James got his proper big break only recently on Instagram, when friend of Stab Hunter Martinez posted this clip of James at Cloudbreak:
James’s style was unlike anything we’d seen at Cloudbreak. It captured praise from some of the world’s best. James’s backside tube riding was the Platonic ideal of surfing — functional, relaxed, graceful, devoid of any of the common physiological cliches that other younger surfers pick up competing against one another in California or Australia.
It was as if we got a glimpse of a surfer created in a vacuum, who was left to color Cloudbreak on his own terms.
But the truth is not that simple, or romantic, or free of hard work after all.
“I really want my surfing to look like Andy Irons, or Tosh Tudor, or Jai Glindeman. I love their styles. I watch them on repeat and try to do that but in my own way, add my own feeling to it,” James said.
“It wasn’t like this at first but now, in the barrel, I feel relaxed. I’ve been getting so many that it feels normal now. I ride longer boards than others do, because that’s all we had — leftover boards from pros. The longer boards helped me get barreled younger because I could paddle around the reef quicker, catch waves easier,” James said.
“But I also broke so many boards, I once broke four boards in a day at Cloudbreak” James said. “And that’s a big deal here, kids don’t want to charge too hard because if their board breaks, they can’t surf. But I didn’t want to hold myself back, so I just broke them and then would repair them or find some way to get a board.”
James starting working with Che at a restaurant on the mainland, cleaning dishes, sweeping floors, and sleeping in cars on the island to save up for boards, fuel, and food.
“The hardest part about being a Fijian surfer? Getting fuel, boats, and boards. That stuff’s expensive,” James said.
Mentors like Che are what make this possible. “When I was growing up, there was no chance of a Fijian pro surfer. We couldn’t surf Cloudbreak. It was the perfect storm of timing for James. I just want to help him get there. I’m not a ‘coach’, I don’t get paid or anything, but I work to pay for fuel, boards, and food so that the boys and I can be there every swell and make sure kids have a better opportunity to surf these waves than I did.”
The effort is paying off. Craig Anderson saw James’s approach at Cloudbreak last year and began talks about James riding for Former. Just last week, James announced that he was officially on the team.
“They sent James the contract last week. Fiji has its first official professional surfer. This is everything for James, a real chance to travel and not worry so much about boards and have the financial backing to go as far as he can,” Che said.
“We have plans already,” Che said. “James will be headed to Tahiti to surf Teahupo’o this year. The boys are gonna take care of him there. And then he’s headed to Hawaii this winter and he’ll be looked after there. That South Pacific connection helps. He has a network of people ready to help him represent all of us.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of surfing with James on my last few trips to Cloudbreak, and every time he’s blown me away,” Craig Anderson said. “His raw talent and unique approach in waves of consequence are like nothing I’ve seen before. In the water, he’s completely in his own world. To me, James is the most gifted 16-year-old surfer on the planet.”
At 16, with a style unlike anything the surf world has seen, the support of family and friends, and a contract with one of the most respected, core brands in surfing today, the “risk” is beginning to pay off.
“My dream waves to surf are Pipeline and Waimea. One day I want to compete in the Eddie, that’s my goal,” James said.
“I want to be a pro surfer — and yeah, I’d be the first from Fiji. That’s pretty cool.”
