Lahaina's Eli Hanneman Puts Championship Tour On Notice With Spicy Indo Edit
The day after Lahaina's Eli Hanneman won the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach we was flying home and could see the flames ravaging his hometown. The Maui fires were devastating in so many ways, but Hanneman found resolve in his surfing and endeavored to keep chasing his dream, in part to inspire and uplift his friends and neighbors who'd lost so much.
On the final day of the Challenger Series season in Brazil, Hanneman rose to the occasion and clinched his spot on the 2024 WSL Championship Tour. His pit crew at Red Bull Surfing are working on more of that story that's soon to come, but young Eli just dropped a cooking edit from Indo that, if nothing else, puts Tour surfers on notice.
Eli's surfing is high-energy, energetic and all heart. Full tilt, outer island-bred passion, from throwing full rotations, to the appreciation for a good rail game, to the comfort in size and power, he seems like he's going to transition very nicely on the Championship Tour stage.
As a rookie from Hawaii, Eli will enjoy the confidence of starting the season in familiar waters. While he's a Maui guy at heart, to elevate his career he's been spending a lot more time lately on Oahu so he can be closer to Pipe, Haleiwa and Sunset. That bodes well for him when it's time to pull on the jersey next month.
Plus, last year's rookie of the year Ian Gentile and journeyman Imai DeVault will be flying the Maui flag, so he's that island energy to tap into. He's also been absorbed into the San Clemente crew of Crosby Colapinto, Kade Matson and Cole Houshmand, meaning he's not going it alone. The boys fed off of one another's energy on the Challenger Series last season, and now it's onto the Big Leagues.
