Few things are more gratifying in the surf community than watching local groms grow and progress. We envy what’s ahead for them, we root for them as their turns get a little more oomph over the years, and most of all, they infuse a little more youthful energy into the rest of us as we too get older.
The man they call Dingo around the Wedge knows this all too well, watching the lineup evolve through the lens of a camera and shooting at the Newport mutant nearly every day for the past three years.
“There’s a lot of groms hanging out at the Wedge these days but there’s only a few who really stand out,” Dingo tells The Inertia. “Two of the current standouts are Kai Thompson and Kenny Kuypers.”
Thompson, always donning neon from head to toe, is impossible to miss and the kind of kid who will surf, skim, or boog at any moment. Anything to get in the water.
“He’s got the skills to be super successful on the local surf comp circuit, but you can tell he’s a free-spirited watergrom,” Dingo points out.
Kuyper, on the other hand, has his sights set on being a hard-charging standout bodyboarder at Newport’s most famous wave. His father, Ken, is a longtime Wedge regular who’s mentoring his son there.
“There’s no doubt both these groms have skills, but it’s the respect they have for their elders and the people around them that truly make them stand out,” Dingo added. “It’s a pleasure to watch both of them in and around the water and it’s going to be awesome to see what they do with their lives.”
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