Photo: Samba Gibbons

Kanaiya Webb seemingly burst onto the surf scene outta nowhere and is already repping the pick of the sponsors a Northern Rivers kid would want on the nose of their board.

He’s got an impressive stack of fun clips that he edits himself, full of exciting surfing, obviously, but also a good dose of humour, music taste and cameos of other talented friends. They’re the kind of clips that make you want to go surfing (tick) but also gives you insight into the kind of nice-fella-who-just-wants-to-have-fun that he is (double tick). It’s quite a skill to make an edit look effortless, but Kanaiya does it with as much ease as he does throwing that fiberglass thing around in the water. Nodded to by the crème de crème of the surf industry lords, and confirmed by the ease he handled an on the spot phone call courtesy of Stace Galbraith a couple weeks back, Kanaiya Webb is somebody we’re proud to be fans of.

Who are you?

My names Manu Kanaiya Webb. I’m eighteen years old.

What do you do?

Surf.

How long have you been doing that?

Started surfing when I was about five. I feel like I was already in love with surfing before I even started.  I just remember watching a few surf movies as a grom and frothing on it.

Where is home for you?

I live in Northern New South Wales, twenty minutes inland from the Tweed Coast in a place called Bilambil.

Photos: Kai Neville, Prahled Webb

If you weren’t surfing, what would you be doing?

Hella bored! I would probably be skating. I used to skate a bit up until a few years ago, then I had a couple of injuries that kept me out of the water so I kinda gave up skating as I would rather be able to surf. I was pretty psyched on motor biking when I was younger. I used to fly around on a little Yamaha on our property, so I feel like if I didn’t surf I would probably be doing that too.

What do you think about the current state of surfing?

Very progressive, especially with some of the young girls.

What do you do outside of surfing and how does that thing influence or affect your craft?

I really enjoy editing and making my Youtube clips. I feel like that has definitely helps my surfing because you get to see things that you want to improve.

The best/worst thing about the surf industry?

I don’t really know to be honest. I’m kinda fresh meat.

Something you’re most proud of?

Probably when I got my license haha, that shit was so stressful. I am also pretty happy with my little Youtube clips. Pretty rewarding.

Biggest lesson you’ve learnt in life so far?

What goes around comes around. Good and bad.

Something anyone can do today to make the world a better place? 

Be kind. Be Humble. Treat people the way you would want to be treated. Respect each other and the planet.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome so far in your industry?

Haven’t really overcome any challenges in the industry yet. I guess it will be a challenge to be able to make a living off being a free surfer.

What is something people might not know about you?

I got my first tattoo when I was about eight from a wood fire pizza oven. I was playing on it and banged my head on the flue which cut my forehead and tattooed it with the chimney soot. I was so frothing that I got a tat haha.

Who do you think is doing it the best/coolest in your industry right now?

I reckon Harry Bryant. It looks like he is having a good time and not taking himself too seriously. The ‘Motel Hell’ clip he put out recently was skitz!

What do you think is the biggest issue young people are facing today?

Cost of living. Everything is so damn expensive.

Where do you want to travel to the most and why?

Mexican sand bottom points. They look super fun and less crowds than around here. Or I’d be keen to do an Indo trip. 

How do you feel about social media?

Can be good, can be shit. Think it’s mostly a waste of time, spend way too much time looking at pointless stuff. I feel like it ruins your attention span, you’re constantly seeing so much content that you lose appreciation for the good stuff.

It’s good for businesses and getting yourself seen. You can also be in control of your own content and how you want to be seen, so that side of it is pretty cool.  Just gotta find the right balance and not overuse it.

What do you do for fun when the surf is shit?

We are pretty lucky with the waves where I live, I feel like I can usually always find something to surf every day. But when I’m not surfing I play a bit of music, cut up my clothes and stitch stuff on them and hang with my mates. I like doing art, but I feel like the only time I do art these days is when I get fresh boards haha.