Kehu
Butler
New Zealand
·
Surfing
Date of birth | 28 March 2000 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Tauranga, New Zealand |
Age | 26 |
Nationality | New Zealand |
Career start | 2016 |
Disciplines | Surfing Competition |
Kehu Butler started winning local competitions at a young age, but his first major win was in Piha at the Rip Curl Grom Search in 2010. Just nine years old at the time, Kehu won in the under-12 category and finished fourth in the under-14s. “That was pretty sweet,” says Kehu. “I remember walking up the beach to Dad with a huge smile on my face. I started getting a few sponsors after that and started thinking about surfing as a career.”
In 2012, Kehu won the U12 final in the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open in Lennox Heads. Two years later he was back to claim the under-14 crown. That same year he won the New Zealand national under-14 title and finished second in the under-16 category. He also made his mark on the world stage, finishing seventh in the under-16 ISA World Grommet Championship at Salinas Beach in Ecuador.
Kehu had another stellar year in 2015, winning the under-16 and under-18 national titles, finishing third in the Rip Curl International GromSearch in Brazil and topping it off with a win at the Occy’s Grom, one of the most prestigious junior surfing competitions in Australia.
Considering Kehu’s talent and dedication, it only seems to be a matter of time until he'll challenge the greats of his sport. “Long term, I want to make the WCT, but my ultimate goal is to be world champion one day,” he says. “I just want to go hard and give it my best every time I get on the water.”