Meet Kirra Pinkerton, A Young Woman Who Thoroughly Tamed The Ments

Despite her residence near the rolling surf of San Clemente, 19-year-old Kirra Pinkerton knows her way around a barrel. Steep take-offs over a shallow reef don’t bother Kirra, nor do they affect her effortless style in the tube.

A clip this good deserves an explanation, so we shot Ms. Pinkerton some questions. Check out her responses below.

Stab: Was this your first time to Indo?
Kirra Pinkerton: I went to Bali a few years ago for 2 weeks, which was the only time I’d been anywhere in Indonesia.

Who did you go with? How long were you there?
I went my dad (Jim Pinkerton) for three months. We went from island to island finding waves.

Were you there at the same time as the Ladybirds crew? If so, how was it surfing with them?
Yeah, I was there at the same time as them. I remember this one session at this wave 3bees where they were going charging and it got me excited to just go for anything. We took turns getting barrel after barrel. 

What was your favorite wave over there and why?
My favorite wave was definitely ‘The Corner,’ a little slab with square barrels and a tiny channel. You couldn’t find it without help; just pulling up it is a hard wave to find.

Where did you learn to tube ride like that? Surely not in San Clemente. 
I spent a lot of time in Kauai my whole life. I loved the adrenaline of surfing big waves and getting pounded since I was little. But I really haven’t gotten that many barrels before that trip to Indonesia.

Click here to watch Kirra Pinkerton pull into some frightening tubes.