There's been a significant push coming out of Maui in recent years. Albee Layer and Matt Meola have got the above-the-lip gig stitched up, Kai Lenny the SUP waterman role, and when the waves are coming out of the sky each of the aforementioned surfers, plus a growing cluster of others, dominate the lineup at Maui's premier XXL spot, Pe'ahi. Among them is Paige Alms. Paige is a 25-year-old Maui local who's holding down the XY side of the movement. Hailing from Haiku, Paige is making her own push into the big wave world.

Swellnet spoke to Paige after the recent Pe'ahi swell.

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Swellnet: The night before your first surf out at Pe’ahi, you’re loafing around the house, what was going through your head?
Paige Alms: I was getting pretty excited for sure, a little nervous but not scared nervous like last year just amped to see what the conditions would be like. Even with all of the forecasting, you never really know until the day of. I had a good night’s sleep and knew we wouldn’t have to rush in the morning as the swell would be on the rise and there was going to be no wind all day. 

The day of…you're up on the cliff, looking down, how were you feeling?
I actually didn’t go to the cliff in the morning. I got reports from people on the cliff and just spent the morning relaxing, not stressing, getting the ski ready and boards all waxed up. I went and picked Keala Kennelly up from the airport, brought her back to our place, and we loaded up the truck and went down to Maliko. I was so excited driving by Ho’okipa and seeing the size and how clean it was. We were amping!

What were you riding?
I rode my new 10’4” SOS Shapes Sushi model. The thing is magic, cuts through chop and is such a glider! So stoked to catch a bomb this winter!

Did you get a couple? Any stick out in particular?
I caught four waves; the first one was probably the best. It was clean, had a nice bottom turn and little pocket ride. I kicked out in the channel to Sean (partner and shaper to the stars Sean Ordonez) on the jet ski and was just so amped on how smooth the board felt. My second one was a nice drop, not the biggest wave but really smooth. My third had a few big chops in the face, and after going over the second one, my front foot slipped and I fell pretty bad, doing two or three cartwheels before penetrating. I got really good whiplash from that one and ended up taking four more on the head. I took a break for about half an hour after that one and ended up catching one right before dark. Great session.

Paige's first ride at Pe'ahi last Wednesday, kicking out with partner Sean on the ski (Take Shelter Productions)

Overall, how would you describe the day?
It was a great warm up day for me! The crowd was light, which never seems to happen anymore, and the wind was almost non-existent. It got a little bumpy later in the day and some bombs here and there for sure, but there weren’t any crazy west bowls coming out of nowhere, which was nice. It was a little more north than I thought it was going to be, but overall it was such a great swell!