Kaipo Guerrero Knows Everyone in Surfing. So Who Does He Think Owns Its Future?

From calling Jack Robinson the wrong name on live television to stage-diving with Ozzy Wrong, the WSL's Kaipo Guerrero gives BOMBA an unfiltered look behind the curtain, and names the surfers he believes are shaping what's next.

There aren't many people in professional surfing who know the sport quite like Kaipo Guerrero. He's watched world champions grow up, interviewed the biggest names in the business and spent countless hours navigating the beautiful chaos of live television. And now he's live on BOMBA YouTube!

So when the Hawaiian broadcaster starts talking about who could become surfing's next world champion, it's probably worth listening.

BOMBA caught up with Kaipo in Peniche, Portugal, where the tables were turned on one of the most recognisable voices in professional surfing. What followed was a wonderfully loose conversation about the sport's future, its funniest personalities, spectacular broadcasting fuck-ups and, somehow, a stage dive at a punk-rock concert.

Caio Ibelli has what it takes to become world champion

Among the names Kaipo singled out was Brazilian surfer Caio Ibelli, someone he has known since childhood and whose potential he still firmly believes in.

"Caio Ibelli I've known since he was a kid and I'm just so proud of him," Kaipo told BOMBA. "He's one of my favorites cuz I really think Caio has a world title. He has what it takes to be a world champ."

It was one of the interview's strongest endorsements, particularly coming from someone who has spent so much time watching surfing's elite at close quarters.

Kaipo also singled out Kolohe Andino, a personal friend, before turning his attention to two surfers bringing something different to the sport.

"I'm really going to be excited next year to see Sierra Kerr on tour. That's going to be a really big one."

Then came another name: Wesley Dantas, better known as King Wesley.

"He's got just a really unique style. And I love original kind of people that bring something different."

That final observation says plenty about Kaipo's taste in surfing. For someone who has watched thousands of heats, individuality still matters. It's not simply about who wins, but who makes you want to keep watching.

Carissa Moore, motherhood and the meaning of aloha

Few surfers received a more personal endorsement than five-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist Carissa Moore.

Kaipo has watched Moore's career unfold from its earliest days, including a period when young girls competed alongside boys in Hawaiian amateur contests.

"When she was a little girl, there wasn't a little girls division in the Menehunes," he recalled. "It was mixed, boys and girls. And it was more than a handful of times that she would win and beat all the little boys."

Having witnessed her rise through five world titles, Olympic gold and motherhood, his admiration extends far beyond her surfing.

"She's a good human. And it's genuine."

He went on to explain the Hawaiian concept of aloha, describing it as something rooted in love and the way people carry themselves.

"She is a prime example of someone that has aloha in them and brings it everywhere."

For all the medals and world titles, that might be the compliment that matters most.

Kelly Slater's secret humour and a spectacular live-TV fuck-up

Naturally, we wanted to know what the world's best surfers are like when the cameras aren't rolling.

According to Kaipo, Griffin Colapinto is pretty funny, Jordy Smith has a gift for one-liners and Kelly Slater possesses an underrated sense of humour.

"Kelly's like sneaky funny," he laughed.

But being surrounded by surfing royalty doesn't make Kaipo immune to embarrassing moments of his own.

During a particularly exhausting stint at Margaret River, he spent roughly four hours in the water while juggling information coming through his earpiece. By the time Jack Robinson had won his final and the post-heat interview came around, things went sideways.

"At the end of the interview with Jack winning, I called him John John."

Yes, John John Florence.

"Sorry, sorry," Kaipo remembered saying, explaining that he and Robinson are good friends.

Rather than dwelling on the mistake, he offered some surprisingly useful advice about the realities of broadcasting.

"If you do eight hours of live TV, nobody's perfect. And you just have to roll with it cuz sooner or later, you are going to screw up."

As for who would be financially ruined by a hypothetical WSL swear jar?

"Most of the Australians usually swear. They are winning that battle."

Even Kaipo has cleaned up his vocabulary, apparently thanks to fellow commentator Joe Turpel, who, according to him, never swears.

From Pipeline to punk rock: life beyond the commentary booth

Pipeline remains Kaipo's favourite location to watch competitive surfing, largely because Hawaii is home. He also loves the rhythm of Australia's consecutive tour stops and admits that he'd love to see Jeffreys Bay return to the schedule.

But when conversation shifted to free surfing, his enthusiasm was impossible to miss.

"Harry Bryant I think is one of my favorites right now. Also Noa Deane, which is another incredible free surfer."

Then came the inevitable mention of Ozzy Wrong, and one of the interview's best stories.

During a trip to New Zealand, Kaipo found himself at a reunion performance by the Goons of Doom, the punk-rock band associated with Ozzy.

He decided to ask whether he could join them onstage.

"Everybody wants to feel like a rock star every once in a while, right?"

The band obliged. Kaipo grabbed the microphone, performed a song and then did what any sensible surfing commentator would do.

"At the end of the song I put the microphone back and I just like jumped into it and everyone caught me."

A full-blown stage dive into the crowd.

"It was pretty rad. The whole thing was rad."

Surfing's future needs more originals

Perhaps the most revealing part of our conversation wasn't a single prediction but Kaipo's appreciation for surfers who bring something genuinely different.

From the French-Tahitian connection producing talents such as Kauli Vaast and Vahine Fierro, to Sierra Kerr and Wesley Dantas, he sees value in different surfing cultures, personalities and approaches.

He also spoke warmly about the talent emerging from Portugal, the Basque Country and France, particularly the crossover between European and island surfing cultures.

For someone who has spent so much of his life inside professional surfing, that curiosity remains remarkable.

"The best part of my job is to be pretty much a part of this," he explained, describing the WSL travelling community as almost a second family.

"For me at my age to still be deeply involved in surfing is a blessing. I'm very, very, very fortunate and I don't forget that."

Perhaps that's why Kaipo remains such an engaging presence in a sport that can occasionally take itself far too seriously.

He knows the champions, the contenders and the characters. He's witnessed the careers, the chaos and the occasional disastrous interview.

And if there's one thing his predictions suggest, it's that surfing's future won't belong exclusively to the athletes collecting trophies.

It'll also belong to the originals who make the whole thing worth watching.

Watch BOMBA's full exclusive interview with Kaipo Guerrero, filmed in Peniche during the WSL