Year of birth: 1997.
Hometown: Huntington Beacg, CA.
Stance: Natural.
Since making the trek with his family from Tokyo to Huntington Beach (so the family could surf more together), Kanoa Igarashi has ripened into one of the most phenomenal Under-13 surfers on the planet, as well as the most ferocious competitor in NSSA history- Kanoa recently stole the title from Cory Arrambide for the most NSSA victories in a single season , with a record-shattering 30 victories and counting.
The 12-year-old is also working on his third television documentary with the Japanese media.
Move over sushi, Karaoke and Toyota, because the next big thing coming out of the Land of the Rising Sun is Kanoa Igarashi and he means business!
On being a Celebrity in Japan: It's kind of cool, but a little weird. Over here, I never really had anyone recognise me or anything. But in Japan, sometimes just while I'm in the airport, people stop me and take pictures and ask me for my autograph. It's cool I guess. When I was younger I used to ask Kalani Robb to sign autographs... now I know how it feels.
On being followed by a TV crew: This is the third Japanese documentary-type thing I've done. It's a little weird having a bunch of guys with cameras following you around all the time, but it's still really fun.
On Winning: I just hate to lose. Whenever I don't make a heat, I get really frustrated with myself, but then I try and learn from what I did wrong. I love surfing contests. I like everything about it. It's fun and always challenges me.