Quick Facts
Name: Leiola Kahaku
Nicknames: "“Lei”
Status: AM Bow/Pool Skate, total Soul Skater and is on the USA National Team for Slalom
Home: San Jose, CA
Age: 15
Favorite Skate Spot: Newark Skatepark and “The Hill” in South San Jose for slalom.
Favorite Tricks: Not really a trick, but I love the feeling of carving bowls fast and in tight pockets. My favorite is the feeling of fast, strong, hard front side “thunder grinds” that make the pool coping growl. I also love front side 50-50s up and down escalators. For slalom, I love pumping the Giant Slalom and down the hill!
Favorite Music: I like lots of different types of music including Hawaiian and Island Reggae, but I love to skate to old rock/punk rock which fires me up when I skate. Some of my favorites are Motorhead, The Damned, The Buzzcocks, Ramones, Joan Jett, Misfits, OFF!, Agent Orange, Adolescents and the Descendents.
Favorite Food: Hawaiian food (laulau, poi, kalua pork)
Sponsors: : Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, S1, Santa Cruz Boardroom, Puahina Hawaiʻi
Notable Achievements
USA Slalom Skateboarding Team Member and Leiola has a spot as part of the United States Delegation for the 2024 World Skate Games in Rome, Italy.
Other Interests
I make mini clay and wire figures/armatures, and mini bowls/pools for skateboard stop motion animation videos. I also like to make things from recycled materials. You can follow Leiola’s animation journey on her YouTube Channel
Dyslexic Advantage ArtShare Winner of 2023 - The Newark Sesh! Stop Motion Animation/Mini Documentary