ANDINO Kolohe

Preferred stance
Regular (worldsurfleague.com, 01 Jan 2020)

General
LITTLE RASCAL
He was born and raised in California, United States of America, but his parents decided to give him a Hawaiian name, Kolohe, which means 'Little Rascal'. "They just liked the name." He admits that it can be difficult to pronounce, so he is often called 'Brother' by his friends, a nickname given to him by his sisters. (teamusa.org, 31 Jul 2019)

TOKYO PREPARATION
He said he expects to ride smaller waves than what he is used to at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and planned to lose weight to prepare for the conditions in Japan. "My main thing in preparation for the Olympics is that I think the waves are going to be pretty small, barring some freakish typhoon or something. Maybe there'll be shoulder-to-head high surf. So, by the time I get to that point of the year, I'm going to try to be as light as I possibly can to surf those waves. I think the way I like to surf is pretty aggressive and snappy. Being light has always been better for me. I mean, I would be pumped if I got down to 73 kilograms, which is seven kilograms less than I am right now [2020]. Because, I truly do believe it could be very small, so every two kilograms you get off of your rig will help. That's the goal." (redbull.com, 26 Nov 2020)

OLYMPICS LEGITIMISE SURFING
He believes the inclusion of surfing at the Olympic Games helps legitimise the sport. "I was just really excited that surfing was getting legitimised. We're some of the most unique and raddest athletes in the world and I always thought it was a legit sport, especially when you're dealing with bigger surf and aerials. It [Olympic inclusion] legitimises it, so it's rad. I love my country and I always love watching the Olympics, so it will be really rad to be in the opening ceremony [in Tokyo] and to be a part of everything." (teamusa.org, 31 Jul 2019; usasurfing.org, 18 Oct 2019)

MORE TO LEARN
Speaking in 2019 he said he still feels like he has more to learn and give to the sport of surfing. "I have a freakin' awesome life. I live by the beach, everyone's healthy, and I'm so grateful. That makes me want to work harder, not just get comfortable and be passive about it. Gratitude kind of pushes you to be your best self. My job is surfing, and that's a dream job, obviously. There's only 32 of us on [the world] tour, and anyone who's not on the tour wants to be, so I think I am successful in that sense. But I feel like I have a lot more to give. I'm still young, with a lot more to learn and a lot more to get better at. In the next ten years I'd like to finish my career with a title. And if I get it early enough then a couple of titles, for sure. After that I want to have a big old family, and forget about competitive surfing and put all the hard work that I've put into surfing into raising a family." (olympicchannel.com, 17 May 2020; surfline.com, 28 Mar 2019)

FATHER IN FAMOUS FILM
His father Dino played a small role in the 1991 surf and bank robbery film 'Point Break' starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Dino played one of two surfers sharing a joint under a beach towel when Reeves and his partner [played by Gary Busey] come looking for hair samples to help identify the bank robbers they are chasing throughout the film. "Yeah, he [Dino] didn't have to go out of character much," Kolohe said. (theinertia.com, 06 Aug 2020; imdb.com, 01 Sep 2020)

At age 15 he became the youngest surfer to earn a National Scholastic Surfing Association [NSSA] open men's title. He went on to become the first men's surfer to win nine NSSA titles.(usasurfing.org, 18 Oct 2019; ocregister.com, 21 Dec 2019)