Episode 113: Paige Alms Big Wave Surf Champion

Two time Big Wave World Champion and one of Maui’s token female big wave surfers, Paige Alms is an active water enthusiast and foil frother.

Born on the island of Victoria B.C. Canada, Paige relocated to Maui when she was nine years old after traveling the entire breadth of Australia in a van with her mom. Ho‘okipa became her stomping grounds by ten and at fifteen, Paige’s first big wave session had her instantly hooked. It's no surprise that Pe‘ahi, also known as JAWS, is where this athlete honed the skills for riding mountains since the famous big wave spot is only five minutes from her house.

In 2020 Paige was named the women’s winner of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards Biggest Paddle for a Dec. 12 ride at the world-famous Jaws, on a wave measuring 36 feet on the wave’s face. And just in late October it was announced that she won The Biggest Paddle Award again for a ride at Todos Santos, Mexico on January 11, 2021.

Paige continues to push herself to ride the biggest waves possible alongside her peers and hopes by doing so she can inspire other people to push their limits and live their dreams! She is on the forefront of women in big surf and has long fought for equal representation in her sport. 

Co-host, Dana Mei Lan Ong is a recreational surfer living in the Moku o Waialua, on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. She is also a former cyclist who belonged to the Century Road Club Association (CRCA) in New York City, and rode for the Gotham Bikes women’s team in the 1990s. She is a former leather designer, Metal guitar player, and generally a lover of the arts. In her “second life” she has been a family caregiver and works as an architectural design assistant. When she is not in the water with her favorite people, she’s probably cooking or eating fresh local food, scolding her beloved pets, and dreaming of the next day of glassy waves.

Book Recommendations:
This weeks’s book is Women On Waves by Jim Kempton.
Thank you to Women On Waves for sponsoring this episode with big wave superstar Paige Alms.
Find that and all our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at hearhersports.com/books.
Buying books through our Bookshop page is an easy, significant way to support the podcast. Thank you.

Paige on Instagram
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World Surf League on Instagram
Surf Equity
Honolulu Bill 10
The Wave I Ride
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