Koa Smith, 14, and brother Alex Smith, 18, are the featured hosts for the next episode of “MTV Teen Cribs,” filmed earlier this year at their parents’ Kilauea home.
According to a press release, the show is expected to air Saturday between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Hawai‘i time. MTV is channel 17 on Oceanic Time Warner Cable, but the Saturday-evening schedule does not list the show.
They both ride for the Rip Curl team, and both have surfing pedigree and recent history that has “successful professional” written all over it.
The crew at MTV recently headed to the Aloha State to catch up with the two young rippers at home.
“It was a one-shot deal. We walked them through the house and the cameras followed us,” Alex Smith said. “We showed them the fridge, through the rooms, and they seemed to take a liking to all of our animals,” he added after the cameras were turned off.
“It was a pretty fun gig. I hope everyone likes it.”
Besides the variety of pets and farm animals, the MTV crew caught a bit of the day-to-day adventures of the Smith posse, when they aren’t traveling the globe in search of perfect waves.
Alex Smith, who rides a Bill Johnson six-footer, had recent success at the National Scholastic Surfing Association nationals, and a perfect 10-point ride out at Pipeline in the Monster Energy Pro.
His breakout year was 2005, when he took home HASA State Champion honors, NSSA Nationals Finals honors, and the 2005 National GromSearch crown, amongst other accomplishments.
“A-money,” as he is sometimes called, has what has been described as an extremely smooth style with an explosive repertoire, with his competitive skills honed from the expertise of Hawaiian legend Ben Aipa.
When he’s not charging waves, he enjoys compiling video on his iBook G4.
Koa Smith rides a 5-foot, three-inch Xanadu (“They are sick,” he said), and most recently let his board and skills do the talking, as he claimed a rare double-victory at the NSSA Nationals at Lowers, winning both the Open Boys (with a perfect-10 ride score) and Explorer Menehune divisions.
With a low center of gravity, an impeccable set of mechanics (thanks to the help of Aipa and father Andy Smith’s stellar video work), and a small body filled with talent, Koa Smith offers a glimpse into the future of surfing with every wave he rides, according to his Rip Curl handlers.
At the 2005 NSSA Nationals, at the age of 10, Koa Smith amazed the nation, as he continually took down kids three years older than him en route to three finals, including a runner-up finish in the Open Mini-Grom division. He also claimed double-victory honors at the 2005 NSSA Hawai‘i Regional Championships.
Fast forward one year, and the experienced, seasoned, 11-year-old Koa Smith continued his competitive terror at the 2006 NSSA Nationals as he sliced, diced, carved, and crushed his competition en route to an Open Mini-Groms National Championship. Four months later, the youngster dubbed “Bucky” by the family dentist because of his large teeth captured another national title when he took down the hottest 12-and-under groms in the nation at the 2006 Rip Curl GromSearch National Final.
