Attention Pipe Shoulder Hoppers: Watch Out For Kala Grace

Editor’s Note: Kala Grace just started his own surf school on the north shore. You can check it out here.

In an event full of home runs, Kala Grace’s grand slam of a wave was the highest-scoring ride of the 2022 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout.

Kala’s got deep family roots in the sand at Pipeline. Nephew (by blood) to Michael and Derek Ho. Cousin to Mason and Coco Ho. When he’s not running his surf school on the North Shore, you can find Kala in the thick of the Pipeline crowd, helmet on head and Derek-inspired airbrush at his feet, dropping into caves with a confidence that only comes with surfing Pipeline 100 times a year.

In our latest competitor profile for the upcoming Vans Pipe Masters (Dec. 8-20), Kala gives us a tour of his late uncle’s gym and tells us what he’d do if he took home the winner’s check of $100K. But he also offers a blunt assessment of the revamped rules. Overall, it gets his thumbs up. But he’ll stick to the tube — airs aren’t his style. And make no mistake, he plans to make full use of the no-priority rule.

“I’m not a hassler, but I’ll be in the spot, for sure,” he said.

As one of 20 Hawaiian surfers in the draw, that spot will likely be under the hood, deep in the bowl. Hit play for a chat with a guy who only plans to swing on nines.