The news was first reported by The Inertia when they reported that Kalani had passed away. He was a rising star in both the surfing and skating worlds and suffered a seizure while surfing in Costa Rica.
He had a condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome which “is a condition in which there is an extra electrical pathway in the heart that leads to periods of rapid heart rate (tachycardia).” The syndrome is a congenital heart defect and is relatively rare. However, they can on occasion lead to sudden cardiac death.
Kalani’s younger brother Keoni posted to his Instagram story: “You are the best brother I could ever ask for. I will miss you Kalani.”
Kalani David was born and raised in Hawaii on Oahu’s North Shore. By 14 years old he was already considered “a seasoned veteran” as his X-Games biography put it. He clinched a gold medal at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Panama back in 2012, which was one of his many major accomplishments.
About Kalani from the X-Games Bio
Kalani David is one of the generation of young kids who are way better and progress way faster than action sports athletes of only a few years ago. Grew up surfing and skating, so he could be considered a seasoned veteran at the ripe old age of 14. He brings a hard-charging powerful style to the bowls and is used to winning-he won a gold medal in the 16 and under group of surfing’s ISA World Junior Championships in April 2012.
Kalani David Behind the Win ISA World Jr. Champs
“Kalani was one of the most talented surfer/skaters on Earth,” wrote Kelly Slater. “Constantly pushing the limits every time he was on his feet. Condolences to the huge community of friends Kalani had coast to coast and across the globe.”
It was August of 2016 when David suffered his first seizure while skating in Oceanside, California with friends. He posted to Instagram that he “fell on my face and woke up in an ambulance.” That episode had briefly stopped his heart which triggered three more seizures in the hospital.
“So grateful to be alive!” Kalani wrote.
A few months later, right before Christmas, Kalani had another seizure in Oahu, Hawaii. It happened in the middle of the night and he posted to Instagram that he was “lucky to even be alive” after seizing roughly 6 hours before friends found him. After that he spent 2 days in a medically-induced coma. This led to surgery being performed weeks later to get an extra muscle on his heart removed.
“If it was life or death, and I had to choose skating or surfing, I’d choose death.” he told Stab magazine back in 2016.
Tributes to the young phenom flooded in after reports of his death began to surface on Saturday. Peter King, a surf photographer and filmmaker, was one of the first to memorialize David. “I’ll always remember your stoke when we’d shoot skate n surf and how much hope you had for you future [sic],” he wrote.
Kalani’s last Instagram post:
I spent some time watching video highlights of Kalani’s past and thought it might be nice to share them with you.
Kalani David Surfing 7 Years Old
GoPro HD Hero Camera: Banzai Skatepark with Kalani David