Sebastian Zietz grew up on Kauai as one of nine children. He was too busy having fun playing outside to realize that for decent chunks of time they were homeless. “I just thought we were camping,” he says. Fortunately, attending school barefoot was the norm for his classmates and the beach and surf became his favorite playground. Zietz cut his teeth in Kauai’s heavily guarded lineups, surfing next to future legends like Andy and Bruce Irons, Bethany Hamilton, and former tour star Dustin Barca. But right when his amateur career was heating up, his parents took him on a four-year journey across the country in pursuit of a family inheritance that didn’t pan out. After a series of misadventures that included living in a motorhome and on a boat, he made his way back to Hawaii, where he moved in with his older brother, and started surfing his brains out again. The brother roomie thing didn’t work for long, so he moved into Dustin Barca’s closet, and did everything Barca ordered. All the while, Zietz never ever seemed to stress about what he didn’t have. He was too busy having fun and being grateful for what he did. In 2012, he qualified for the Championship Tour while winning the Vans Triple Crown of surfing. He finished his debut season on Tour ranked No. 16, but slid to No. 20 in 2014, and missed the requalification cut in 2015. But a caught a break heading into the 2016 when he was granted entry into the Australian events as an injury replacement. Making the most of the opportunity he bagged his first career win at the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro. The victory secured him his spot for the rest of the year, and Zietz has been solid ever since. He married his longtime girlfriend, Krisy Fulp, in 2017, and the couple opened a fitness gym back home on Kauai. Zietz credits her for the extra motivation these days. He finished No. 14 in 2018, and today, Zietz is still widely considered the happiest surfer on Tour.