Kamehameha Surf Team Pack
Ezekiel Lau leads the Kamehameha Surf Team and makes history
By Daniel Ikaika Ito/Contrastmagazine.com
Ezekiel “Zeke” Lau literally grew up in a girl’s dorm. The 17-year-old, regular-footed surfer was raised at Kamehameha School’s Alice Knapp Dormitory. His mother, Daina, is a middle school dorm advisor so the Lau family lives up on the hill at the KS Kapālama campus. Although their residence sounds like a teenage boy’s dream, it was actually a lonely place for Zeke as a keiki.
“I was surrounded by girls and learned how to play by myself,” says Zeke about his childhood. “I have three sisters so I grew up with a lot of females, but all around it’s been good: I’ve been around the school and got to know pretty much everything about the school living there.”
Lau will be a senior next Fall at Kamehameha, and despite being a day-student, he is familiar with the nooks, crannies and corridors of Kamehameha like a boarder. He appreciates the pristine view of Honolulu from the slopes of Kapālama– from Zekeʻs balcony itʻs easy to see when his beloved, homebreak Kewalo Basin is firing. Other than the breathtaking scenery, Lau is stoked on Kamehamehaʻs state-of-the-art athletic resources, which helped shape Zeke into the athlete/shredder he is today.
“There is so much [athletic] facilities,” explains Zeke about the campus. “My dad always wanted us to workout and play sports. Thereʻs basketball gyms, soccer fields, weight rooms and the pool so we got to use all those facilities living up there.”
Having easy access to those facilities made training even easier says Zeke. Right now, pound for pound, Lau is probably the most-athelitically fit surfer in the world. Zeke is built like a high school wide receiver, but can punt airs like a featherweight grommet. Growing up on Kamehamehaʻs campus had a hand in Zekeʻs athletic prowess and surf skill, which is why Zeke is so psyched to represent the Hawaiian school in scholastic surfing.
“When I was small I always wanted to surf for the school like football and basketball is a school sport,” says Zeke. “I always wanted to compete in surfing for the school so itʻs nice I get to do that and make a change.
This is only the second year for the newly-formed surfing program at Kamehameha, and Lau is the stud of the squad. For the first time in the school’s 124-year history, two campuses (Kapālama and Maui) will be competing together under one Kamehameha flag. Lau will be leading the high school team and Maui’s Imai DeVault will anchor the middle school team at the 2011 National Scholastic of Surfing Association Championships, which will be held at Dana Point, Calif. from June 16-18.
To commemorate this history-making event, Fitted and Zeke designed the first Kamehameha New Era snapback with a matching long sleeve shirt. The shirt has the Kamehameha motto, I mua, which means to “go forward” in English, down the sleeves. So-Cal is cold from the June Gloom and a long sleeve shirt is the perfect piece to rock between heats.
The Kamehameha New Era snapback is made out of water resistant ripstop material and the color way is also inspired by the school.
“The colors of the hat came from Kamehameha’s blue and white and with the snapback it’s something different that can fit anybody and can take to the beach,” explains Zeke. “The material is waterproof and you can wear it all day on the beach.”
The Kamehameha Surf Team Pack is dropping on Kamehameha Day, Friday June 10. Zeke and the Kamehameha surf team leave for California on June 13, rocking the Fitted freshness and representing Hawai‘i on the mainland.
