Keanu Asing is the smallest surfer on Championship Tour, with one of the biggest personalities. The gritty Hawaiian scrapper grew up surrounded by surfing prodigies, rolling and rumbling with the likes of Ezekiel Lau, Carissa Moore, and John John Florence on Oahu from the age of eight. Tiny and tough, loving and loyal, he learned the warrior’s way from his father Tommy, a legendary state Karate champion. While wins never came easy for Keanu during his rise through the amateur ranks, he earned his share anyway. And though John John and Carissa cast big shadows as they jumped into surfing’s big leagues in 2011, Keanu’s road was tougher. He finally qualified in 2015, and enjoyed a respectable rookie season. But 2016 was tougher; he only advanced out of one heat during the first six events. His chances for requalifying looked bleak, but then something clicked at the Quiksilver Pro in France, where he shocked the field with a win. He did it the hard way, defeating Kelly Slater, John John Florence and Gabriel Medina with the wickedness of his backside attack, and his relentless high tempo. While the win wasn’t enough to get him over the qualifying hump in 2016, his renewed confidence served him well in 2017; he won three qualifying series events, and clawed his way back to surfing’s big stage. But his biggest win, by far, was marrying Kailin Curran, the UFC straw-weight fighter who keeps Keanu on his toes.