If you know anyone who picked up a golf club as a keiki and then went out and won an age group tournament a week later, you would have some idea about the innate expertise of the son and daughter team of Diesel and Rumor Butts.
They are professional surfers these days, cashing checks whenever they enter tournaments on the islands or on the California coast. Their father Quinton didn’t necessarily expect championships immediately, but at the same time, he recognized that ability of theirs at first glance, years ago.
No offense to him, but anyone who watched them in their first competitions saw the ability spilling over the waves.
“You could tell they were going places right from the start,” said Stan Lawrence, owner of Orchid Land Surf Shop in Hilo, who sharpened his eye from seeing talented Big Island surfers for years.
And, as the calendar turns the page to August, Lawrence expects to see more when he hosts the 36th annual Quiksilver Big Island Pro-Am Surfing Trials at Honolii, to be held during the best weekend for surf. The waiting period runs through Aug. 28.
Wins here send them to Oahu and then, perhaps, around the world as professionals.
The potential for a career exists still, as it did for them, though the scene changed dramatically after lava claimed what had been a jewel of a surf spot in Kalapana back in the 1980s.
Veterans will tell you Kalapana had everything that the more well-known locations on Oahu had, minus the larger crowds.
But these days, on the east side of the island, the place to be is Honolii.
“When we lost Kalapana, we lost a lot,” said Lawrence, “but we still have Honolii, it’s become a regular tradition.”
Diesel and Rumor Butts got started up the coast a little north at Hakalau Mill, where, a week after their first rides, Diesel, at the age of seven, won his 12-and-under menehune competition and Rumor placed third.
Not a bad way to start.
“We aren’t as well known,” Lawrence said, “but I honestly believe we have just as many good (surfers), as here else; we just don’t have as many of them. The population here isn’t quite the same.”
Rumor competed first, reaching the finals in her age group before coming in third, then Diesel went out and won, taking home a $500 check.
“They nagged me about going out every day,” Quinton Butts said, “and I mean every day, it didn’t end, they didn’t take a break.
“Finally, we went out there and I pushed them by hand to get them going, and then we did beach cleanup before we left, which is something that was passed down to me from my father — respect the land, don’t leave a mess, try to leave it better than it was when you got there.”
The tradition, he practice and the planning for the future all paid off for both of them. They have careers as professional surfers that ought keep them cashing winning checks for another 10 years, or more.
The sponsors flocked to them, offering money, equipment, travel expenses, all of it, and there are a lot of sponsors from Volcom, Body Glove, Basic Image, Bubble Gum Surf Wax, Matuna wax, Kairi Swimwear (for Rumor), and more.
Who’s next?
Lawrence feels like the numbers are in a continual stage of growth, that the keiki begging their parents to go surf Honolii will be able to achieve the same kind of success as Diesel and Rumor, if they have a similar level of desire.
“These are my plans,” Diesel said when asked what his plans are for the next decade or so. “People can do this, if they set goals and work at it, but you have to be out there all the time, you have to be consistent.
“If you set the goals and go practice and do those things, then build up your confidence,” he said, “you just keep going, don’t set limits, just work on your confidence and improve, try to do a little more each day; just build on that confidence.”
The place to start building for aspiring surfers on the east side on the Big Island is Honolii.
Entries are $75, available online at BigIslandProAm.com, or call 808.935.1533.