Raimana Van Bastolaer

Hometown:

Tahiti

The Tahitian dream – Raimana is known and respected worldwide for his Polynesian Aloha spirit and for his death defying feats at his terrifying homebreak: Teahupo’o.

Short Biography

Raimana grew up as a bodyboarder and his first wave he ever surfed standing up was a 6 foot barrel at Teaupo’o and he scored a double page spread from it. In 2005 achieved worldwide fame when he was nearly decapitated by a jet ski while riding through a barrel – a photo of the incident made headlines worldwide and even resulted in a two-page spread in Sports Illustrated. Raimana, in typical modest-soft-spoken style played the whole thing down but it only added to his legend.

Look for him in Kelly Slater’s upcoming IMAX film, where he plays a major role.