By Rebecca Parsons
Imai Devault has always gravitated toward the sea. He spent the first four years of his life living on Lanai, a Hawaiian Island approximately 10 miles off the coast of Maui. When he was four, Devault’s parents decided that there would be more opportunities for their children and family on Maui, so they made the short move. And so, Devault and his sisters spent their formative years on the west side of the Valley Isle.
Devault’s family, composed of ocean lovers, spent their weekends at the beach. Naturally, Devault decided to give surfing a try. He paddled out at Lahaina and was quickly hooked.
“My parents had me in a few sports when I was about six like baseball and soccer, but I think they could see that I had enough love in the water for them to pull me out of those sports to focus on surfing,” says Devault. “My sisters and I would spend six to eight hours in the water surfing basically every Saturday and Sunday, and we would try to go after school whenever we could. It was all I wanted to do.”
Devault took to surfing and when he was five, he decided to enter his first contest. It was a local longboard contest for kids of all ages held at The Cove, a surf spot on the south side of Maui.
“I still remember my first contest and heat so vividly to this day.” Devault recalls. “I was a very shy kid and the concept of surfing a contest in front of a lot of people terrified me. I didn’t want to do it at all. Luckily for me, my dad talked me into it by promising me we would go buy my first real custom board if I entered and just tried, so I did.”
Devault ended up taking fourth in his heat and didn’t make it into the next round. He did, however, get his first real surfboard as promised by his dad.
“The experience left me pretty stoked, so soon after I was excited for the next chance I got to do any contests,” says Devault.
Devault began entering contests and while he never had any major wins during his junior career, he did have some solid finishes. Highlights included a few finals at the Pipe Pro Jr., Queens Pro Jr., and making the final at the ISA World Junior Champs in Ecuador. His amateur events were similar: Devault acquired a number of second place trophies from the NSSA Nationals and the U.S. Champs.
“A big win still eludes me,” jokes Devault. “Even today on the QS and CT.”
In 2022, Devault made his debut on the Championship Tour. It was a challenging year to be a rookie, as the WSL introduced the mid-season cut. Devault had a lot of nerves going into the season and was on the cusp of falling off the tour at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. It was a make or break contest for Devault and in round three, he drew eleven time world champion Kelly Slater. It was a tight heat, but Devault ultimately took the win against the GOAT. Devault had always dreamed of qualifying while Slater was still on tour, so getting to face him one on one and take the win was a childhood dream come true.
Despite his efforts, Devault didn’t secure enough points to stay ahead of the cut line and found himself back on the Challenger Series after the mid-season mark.
“With the mid-year cut, I definitely felt a lot of nerves, and it definitely affected me and my performance,” says Devault of his rookie season. “I had a few great moments and a couple good heats, but I felt I never got remotely close to a confident level I know I can get to on tour. It all happened so fast, and falling off at the mid-season cut was a devastating blow, but it left me hungrier to get back and perform better.”
When the Challenger Series wrapped up, Devault found himself five spots short of requalifying for the Championship Tour.
“I was left pretty shocked and kind of questioning my surfing,” says Devault. “I just lost a lot of confidence. However, we had a solid break before this year’s Challenger Series started up, so I had time to really work on a lot of my mental and physical strengths and weaknesses.”
Devault’s hard work paid off. He kicked off the 2023 season with his best ever result—a second place finish at the Gold Coast Pro at Snapper Rocks. He will need a few more top finishes to secure a spot on the 2024 Championship Tour, but started out the season in a good position.
When Devault isn’t traveling for contests, the 25-year-old typically starts his day off surfing and training with his coach Pedro Robalinho. Devault has a great crew of competitive surfers that he regularly surfs with at home including Ian Gentil, who’s currently on the CT, Cody Young, as well as the upcoming talent a few years younger than him, like Jackson Bunch.
“Long term, my goals would be to have a solid run of years on the CT, fighting for world titles and winning events,” says Devault. “My goal is to inspire kids from Hawai’i just as my hero’s growing up did for me.”