Vaimiti Teiefitu, a Tahitian longboarder, is one of the few women to choose traditional surf craft, despite the unique and heavy waves of her home waters. Teiefitu, also known as Vai, has carved a niche for herself in a surfing world dominated by shortboards, and her story is one of passion, perseverance, and community building.
Hailing from Mahina on Tahiti’s north coast, Vai’s surf journey began at 16 with shortboarding. By 18, after a French brand left behind longboards on the island during a photoshoot, Vai’s interest in the sport was piqued. At the time, longboarding was relatively unknown in her area, with only a few older surfers in the scene. To learn the craft, Vai turned to online resources and watched videos of women longboarding in Hawaii. Inspired, she started experimenting with cross-stepping and noseriding, even though the waves in Tahiti weren’t ideal for longboarding. “The waves were super heavy and fast, not the type you look for to walk on the board,” Vai explains. “But I just tried anyway and learned everything pretty much by myself.”
After five years of working on her noseriding, Vai received an invitation to compete at the Mexi Log Fest in 2022, a prestigious longboarding event in Mexico. There, she immersed herself in traditional longboarding and connected with the global community. “I learned what the pocket was,” she says, reflecting on the steep learning curve she faced. “I had no idea what that meant in Tahiti. For me, the pocket was the barrel behind you, a section to escape from.”
Despite her limited knowledge of traditional longboarding, Vai’s courage was undeniable. In 2020, she began surfing Teahupo’o, one of the world’s heaviest waves, becoming one of the few longboarders to tackle its powerful breaks. “People think I’m crazy,” she laughs. “They see me on a longboard in big waves and wonder what I’m doing.” Her courage has earned her respect, especially from local surfers. “At Teahupo’o, I’m often the only one on a longboard, but the local guys call me onto waves.”
Beyond her personal achievements, Vai is passionate about supporting and growing women’s surfing in Tahiti. Two years ago, she founded Wavehine, a meet-up group for female surfers aimed at building a supportive community. The initiative has sparked interest in longboarding among local women and girls, and Vai facilitates workshops with international longboarding experts to share techniques and insights. “In Tahiti, longboarding isn’t well recognized as a sport,” Vai notes. “But there’s so much talent here, and more and more girls are getting into it.”
Vai is also inspired by a new generation of Tahitian surfers, like Vahine Fierro, a rising star on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour, and young talents such as Tya Zebrowski and Kiara Goold. These surfers are already making a name for themselves in big barrel waves and prestigious competitions, demonstrating the growing strength of women’s surfing in Tahiti. Vai reflects on her own path: “Growing up, I didn’t think I’d become a surfer. There weren’t many girls doing it, especially not in my community.”
But now, Vai believes that the tide is changing. “Tahitian women are rising,” she says. “There’s a lot more coming.”
Vai, alongside fellow surfers like Vahine, is helping to foster a fearless surfing culture in Tahiti, encouraging one another to take on bigger waves and push boundaries. “Vahine is my idol,” Vai says. “She’s inspired me to surf Teahupo’o and just send it—because that’s what she does.”
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