The 10-point ride.

The brief

Going into the 2025 ISA World Para Surfing Championships, Kai had already won back-to-back AASP world titles and the 2024 ISA Prone 1 crown. The expectation, internally and externally, was a defence. The pressure was real and so was the field — Australian Joel Taylor, in particular, was surfing as well as he ever had.

What happened

Across the early heats Kai progressed cleanly, prioritising consistency over spectacle. By the time he reached the medal rounds, the contest had turned into a tactical chess match between Australia's two strongest Prone 1 surfers.

Then a set arrived that would become the defining moment of the event. Kai paddled into a steep, fast wall, drove through a vertical hit on the open face, and committed to a section most prone surfers wouldn't take. The judges scored it a 10.00 — a perfect ride. Within hours, the clip had been picked up by international surf media and was being shared across the broader sports world.

One wave doesn't win the contest. But it can change which doors open the next morning.

The result

• Silver medal at the ISA Worlds — narrowly behind Joel Taylor in a closely-judged final
• The most-shared single para surfing clip of the year
• Five new sponsorship enquiries in the week following the event
• Mainstream broadcast features in Australia and Europe
• Direct invitation to multiple speaking events on resilience and high-performance under pressure

What it means for partners

The ISA 2025 silver is, on paper, a "second place." In practice, it generated more brand value, media attention, and partnership inbound than any single result in Kai's career to that point. The wave is now a permanent reference in the highlight reels every brief opens with.

Partners attached to Kai during 2025 received: organic mentions across a viral news cycle, broadcast logo placement in the international ISA feed, and follow-up content tied to the moment for months afterwards.