Rider Profile: Shea Sevilla

Maui, Hawaii

Fall 2005

Maui is home to a ton of talented bodyboarders and Shea Sevilla is high in the pecking order.

He wakes up at 6 a.m., checks the swell, eats some breakfast and calls buddies to surf everyday. Shea lives on the island of Maui where bodyboarders are killing it. Shea is surrounded by talent, like Jimmy Hutaff and the Romero brothers, which only improves his writing.

Shea is one of the up-and-comers from the island of Maui. This T&C team rider is from the small town of Waiehu, Maui. He regularly hits up Pakuz, Paia bay, Makena, Hay Craft, and of course Laniopoko for some waves. He recently graduated high school and prepared to leave his mark on the bodyboarding world.

He has gained a lot of water time in the past 5-years with his best experience in the water at the 2005 world championships at Honolua Bay.

“The waves were coming in perfect, but the winds were blowing Konas. So instead of heading over to Honolua everybody headed over to Ree Bars. The waves were really fun. Guys from all over the world were there. It was awesome to be bodyboarding with the top guys from all over the world. But on the other hand it kind of sucked because it was packed. Everybody was killing from Ryan Hardys forward airs to Uncle Leroy Kaiwis infamous backside pits. So here comes this wave and I was in position. I went and got pitted really hard. After that wave I realized I snaked Damien King. So I went up to him, thinking he would be mad, and said sorry. To my surprise he said in a humble voice ‘No its okay its your spot anyway you live here.’ I was super stoked of what he said. After that I just gained way more respect for him not only because he was the world champion but also because he acted like a world champion should act very humble.”

He has surfed with world champions, and along with all of the other Maui riders, has a good chance of becoming one. His life revolves around waves and it always will.

“I plan to go to the air force and get a great job in there. I think that bodyboarding would be perfect for this life style because I have 30-day paid leave each year and I can can also jump from aircraft to aircraft to any Air Force base in the world.”

Ideal for wave-searching.