Eli Hanneman surfs like a video game character. Glitchy fast. Rhythmic, but with superhuman power. He’s one of Maui’s latest world class exports, following in the footsteps of generational talent like Clay Marzo, Dusty Payne, Kai Barger, Kai Lenny and Albee Layer. Watch Eli surf and you’ll see traces of each.

He’s at the forefront of progression when it comes to aerial surfing, and we’ve watched him mature into one of the most promising up and comers, especially at places like Pipe.

Eli recently made the move from Maui over to the North Shore, and after getting sidelined by pretty nasty wipeout last year he’s been back to his regularly scheduled programming of winning regional WSL events, chasing the Challenger Series around the world, and sending it. When the waves are no good, he’s probably waxing some friends on his new ping pong table, or playing Fortnite (we hear he’s equally as deadly with a controller as he is in the water).

He’ll probably go on to win countless accolades and will no doubt eventually get the documentary treatment, but until then, the Proust Questionaire should do just fine. —Brandon

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What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Being one hundred percent positive that you’re where you’re meant to be doing what you’re meant to be doing, and that you’re serving your purpose in life. Believe it or not, that can actually be easy to forget sometimes. I tend to get mixed up sometimes. But there’s nothing that can make you more happy than knowing your purpose.

What’s your greatest fear?

Not feeling like I'm giving everything to be the best version of whether that's with surfing or just personal aspects.

What is the trait that you most deplore in yourself?

One thing that I tend to do a lot - which can work against or for me - is comparing myself to other people. I just have this standard for myself and I can sometimes place myself on a spectrum next to other people. I'm very competitive and competing has to do with other people, so you kind of need to have that base for yourself of where you want to be.

Which living person do you most admire?

I don’t know about as an individual/human being, but from a physical and mental standpoint, David Goggins is probably the most admirable person on Earth. I'm reading his book right now. Crazy psycho, huh? Can't hurt me. Right. Yeah. They ran the stuff, that guy went through snot.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I wouldn't say it's like a crazy obsession or anything, but I like to spend money on jewelry.

You can wear it and it looks nice, but it's also something that has value and the value remains as time goes on.

What is your current state of mind?

My current state of mind is kind of all over the place at the moment. I'm kind of just trying to find the balance and kind of clear the fog a little, and make the right decisions on certain things that are going on in my life.

What do you consider to be the most overrated virtue?

Humbleness could almost be the most overrated virtue. I feel like that one hits me hard. It's good sometimes, but then I feel like there's a major down downside to it also because it can almost confuse you into believing that you aren't what others or even you think you are.

On what occasion do you lie?

I've never really been much of a liar, to be honest. I feel like whenever I lie it ends up somehow catching up to me, so I usually just tell the truth.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

Sometimes I wish I had blue or green eyes or something. I don't know, brown eyes are just so basic.

Which living person do you most despise

I'd probably say that one artist Lil Nas X. That guy’s a complete clown and he got famous for being a clown.

What is the quality that you most like in a man?

I'd say the best quality a guy could have would be being humble. Humble people are always admirable. But a better word for it would be meekness, someone who you know is a powerful person but they don't display that unless they have to or need to. I think that's way more convincing than someone being overly confident or in your face about how great they are.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Probably the girls that are super cool, but don't necessarily know or think that they are. Not to the point where they're insecure, but to the point where they don't have to convince people that they’re cool or good looking or nice or whatever it may be. I feel like women are always just always kind of putting themselves out there, and when a girl doesn't need to do that, and it kind of just happens naturally, I think that’s the most important thing.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I say like, “that's super heavy” when something’s shocking or I'll say, “wow.” I say “wow” a lot.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Anyone that I consider family, and my faith.

When and where were you the happiest?

I feel like I have no reason to not be happy, so maybe right now. I feel like when I was younger, everything was just so great. When you hit puberty is when you start really thinking about the real world. So maybe when I was a little kid, basically every day up until the point of like 13 years old.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish that I was really good at something to do with music, whether that be playing the guitar, or being really good at the drums, or to have a super good voice. I don't know. That'd be pretty cool.

Eli the dart champion of Portugal
photo: Jett Schilling

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I'd be 6’3” [laughs].

What do you consider your greatest achievement to be?

I never know how to answer this one. I don't know if it counts as an achievement, but just the dedication of being consistent and staying at it.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, who or what would that be?

I dunno. It'd be pretty cool to be one of those celebrities or something, someone's who’s super famous, like Justin Bieber or something.

Where would you most like to live?

I'd probably like to live in Maui the most.

What is your most treasured possession?

My health. My life, I don't know. Surfboards.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

I think just being lost, or being one of those people that feels like they don't have hope or purpose un this life. Because that's pretty important, I think.

What is your favorite occupation?

Professional surfing athlete.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Once you break through the shell, you probably meet a whole other person. Once you get to know me, you kind of see like a different side of me,

What do you most value in your friends?

I most value people that you can trust and that you know actually care about you. Also, all my friends have really good senses of humor.

Who are your favorite writers?

What's his name, he worked with Kobe a lot. I can't remember his name. He wrote that book… Relentless, by Tim Grover, yeah.

Who are your heroes of fiction?

I don't know. I think Batman's pretty sick.

Who are you heroes in real life?

I think from like a surfing standpoint, anyone who's won a world title as a hero of mine. Because as I’ve gotten older, I've seen the the level of commitment it takes to get to that point.

What are your favorite names?

I think the name Lion is sick. Tiger is cool too.

What is it that you most dislike?

I dislike losing in anything, whether it's a board game or surf contest. Doesn't matter what it is, I just hate losing.